Do you have a child involved in sports and wonder what you need to know to prepare for them for their next season? UI Sports Medicine will sponsor a pre-season presentation focusing on youth sports medicine issues and injuries next Monday night, August 14.  

Ned Amendola, Director of UI Sports Medicine, and physician to the Iowa Hawkeye's, says it's important for children playing at the 'youth' level to prepare to play. "A pre-participation evaluation is necessary to see if there's any predisposition to problems in children, like environmental-related problems, such as exercise-induced asthma or heat illness. There's obviously a number of common musculoskeletal problems that occur in kids, and it's good to kind of discuss those - what's common, what to look for, and educate the people supervising these sports."  

"I think kids run the same risks as older players, but they also have their own additional specific risks," Amendola says.

"Some of these issues are related to overuse problems, from their developmental status. It might be due to their growth plates because there are some areas that are a little bit weaker, more prone to injury. It may be related to their knowledge about hydration and nutrition and what they need to do to stay healthy in playing outdoor sports.  

Children run the risks of doing too much too soon. "I think in a lot of cases, there's a big spread between children and their growth rates. Some children grow very quickly and are much heavier, so they're putting very, very significant stresses on joints where their muscles are not totally developed yet. Some of those conditions are prone to happen to the kids that develop very quickly.

"An example is Osgood-Schlatter disease.It's a knee condition that happens in the growth plate of the knee, and it is much more common in kids that go through a very quick growth spurt during adolescence," he says.  

"I think there are a lot of myths about children participating in sports in terms of how much they can do, if they can do weight lifting, if they can do other resistance activities and how does it affect their growth. I think if the parents understand what's going on, then it makes it much easier for them to deal with the child in sports and to deal with the coaches. So again, communication and education makes everyone much more comfortable."

Other presenters at the seminar include:

Kathy Melon, a dietitian who helps with dietary consults with athletes, will talk about some of the supplements that youths use, as well as energy drinks-are they beneficial, are they necessary, and what should be done for proper hydration and nutrition.

George Phillips, a University of Iowa Children's Hospital pediatrician who also works in the Sports Medicine Center, will talk about medical issues in children, particularly environmentally-related problems, heat illness, things to look for as pre-participation physical conditions that may be pre-disposed to injury.

Amendola will talk about musculoskeletal problems in children.  

The seminar will be Monday, August 14 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Sahai Auditorium. Admission is free for anyone that wants to attend. There is no need to register.

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