CHICAGO – Whether a child chooses baseball, swimming, soccer or gymnastics playing sports is as American as apple pie. More than 60 million American kids age 6 to 18 participate in organized athletics. But along with playing sports often come injuries – and pain.
From pulled muscles to concussions, sports-related injuries are common in young athletes, sending more than 2.6 million children to the emergency room every year. During September, Pain Awareness Month, don’t let your child become a statistic.
“Now that kids are back in school and fall sports are well underway, there are many things parents can do to help their children avoid getting hurt while still enjoying sports,” said Anita Gupta, D.O., Pharm.D., a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Committee on Pain Medicine. “And if they do get injured, it’s also important to address the pain effectively.”
Common injuries in young athletes include knee pain from football or soccer and shoulder problems from swimming and pitching in baseball and softball. Physician anesthesiologists who specialize in pain medicine note help is available if your child sustains a sports-related injury and also recommend things to do to prevent future injuries.
Treating the Pain
If your child complains of pain after playing sports, don’t shrug it off. If the problem seems relatively minor, such as a sore muscle, icing and resting for a day or two makes sense. If the pain doesn’t get better or is more serious, see a physician who specializes in pain medicine, such as a physician anesthesiologist. Some things to keep in mind:
Try an Ounce of Prevention
Before your child puts on a uniform or takes the field, there are things you can do to head off injuries.
“Pain medicine specialists such as physician anesthesiologists can fully assess the cause of the pain and recommend the most effective treatment to ease pain and get young athletes back in the game,” said Dr. Gupta.
For more information about pain treatment and the importance of a pain medicine specialist, visit our pain management page.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 52,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring that physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during, and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care that every patient deserves.
For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount.