06
November
2019
|
00:05 AM
America/New_York

Parents vs. Science in Youth Sports. Who Wins?

Orthopedics This Week reports on the findings of a new study which demonstrated what parents and their youth athletes consider to be sports specialization differs from how it is scientifically defined.

Orthopedics This Week spoke to Stephen Fealy, MD, orthopedic surgeon at HSS, who was not involved in the study, to discuss how might the findings affect the way physicians treat these types of patients. Dr. Fealy cited, “There can often be a large disconnect between reality and what parents think their children ‘will be.’ While orthopedic surgeons are not counselors, it is important to have pattern recognition. Players often come in with throwing coaches or strength coaches, and the data and performance of the athlete does not correlate with expectations.”

Dr. Fealy added, “This cohort of athletes are young and likely doing a lot of other things so their daily schedule is not as well-documented as higher level athletes’ may be. Therefore, it is possible that physicians may miss the subtle signs of overuse and early extra or sub specialization if there’s no regular check-in.”

Read the article at ryortho.com.