Nov 11, 2007
HEALTH:
How to keep athletes safe and healthy
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Keeping athletes safe and healthy on the field was the goal when Danbury Hospital invited community coaches, trainers, emergency medical technicians, physical therapists, sports medicine doctors and others who care for athletes to its recent Sports Medicine Seminar for Coaches and Trainers.
A panel of orthopedic doctors from the Center for Advances Orthopedics at Danbury Hospital discussed common injuries for young athletes, including growth plate fractures and microfractures; caring for collapsed athletes; what to do for heat-related illnesses; and the latest in concussion management.
Panelists included Michael Brand, MD, J. Albert Diaz, MD, Ross Henshaw, MD, and Matthew Rogell, MD, all from the department of surgery, section of orthopedic surgery. Ronald Tietjen, MD, chief of Orthopedic Surgery, moderated the seminar.
Several of the doctors are team physicians for local high school and college sports teams and have first-hand knowledge of how sports injuries are treated. They encourage all coaches, trainers and others on the field to recognize the early warning signs of problems, practice prevention, and to know the latest advances in responding quickly to injuries.
The panel discussed new advances in treating common injuries, like growth-plate fractures; new standards being developed by teams and leagues to limit injury, and how harmful techniques like spearing, or hitting with the helmet, can be in football.
Dr. Diaz said that growth plate fractures and Osgood-Schlatter Disease are commonly in the news today, and can cause long-term problems when not addressed properly.
Overuse injuries, he said, are also common, especially in young athletes. That’s why, he said, teams and leagues are starting to develop standards for how often pitchers, for example, can throw, or how many days rest they need between games.
Dr. Henshaw discussed on-field care of the collapsed athlete, and addressed causes of collapse, including injury, heat stroke, cardiac problems, electrolyte imbalance and dehydration.
He urged coaches and trainers to recognize the warning signs of such conditions, and to make sure they know a player’s medical history, especially if they have diabetes, asthma, allergies or other conditions.
Dr. Rogell talked about heat stroke, heat exhaustion and heat-related problems. While not usually an issue in the cool days of fall, heat conditions can be problematic in the dog days of summer, he said, when students often train twice a day on the field. Heat stroke, he said, can be life threatening, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. He advised all coaches to recognize early warning signs of heat illness, which can affect all athletes, but especially those who have other diseases, are sleep deprived, are obese, are poorly acclimated to weather changes, are inexperienced, dehydrated, are taking medications, or have a family history.
Prevention is also the best defense, he said, and recommended these steps: get athletes acclimated to the environment, make sure they wear proper clothing, make sure they have enough sleep, make sure they have proper food and water, make sure athletes are educated, fit, and do an environmental risk assessment.
Dr. Brand discussed the latest controversy in concussion management. One of the problems, he said, is that motivated athletes often won’t tell coaches when their head hurts for fear that they’ll be removed from the game. “They shrug it off,” he said.
Concussions that go unrecognized are especially problematic in adolescents whose brains are still developing.
Dr. Brand recommended that coaches know the signs and symptoms of concussion. Signs include: appearing dazed, seeming confused about the game, answering questions slowly, forgetting what happened prior to the concussion, retrograde amnesia, and loss of consciousness. Symptoms include headache, nausea, loss of balance, nausea, sluggishness, and double-vision.
Being prepared is always the best defense both on and off the field, said the panel.
For more information regarding about sports medicine, or the Center for Advanced Orthopedics at Danbury Hospital, visit www.danburyhospital.org. If you’re looking for an orthopedic physician referral, contact the Danbury Hospital Call Center at 1-866-374-0007.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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