Sports injuries in young athletes

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- About 35 million children play organized sports each year. As sports become more competitive, many young athletes train year-round. That means more injuries and more surgeries to fix them.

Remi Ramos has been playing competitive tennis for 8 years. Ramos told ABC30, "No time off. Never anytime off!"

Last year an injury changed everything for the 17-year-old athlete.

Ramos told ABC30, "I was in the middle of a four-hour match, and I slid on the clay courts, and I felt something pop in my hip."

Ramos had a labral tear in both of her hip joints. Surgeries would require more than a year off the court. This all happened at the height of college recruiting.

Ramos said, "It couldn't have been a worse time for this to happen!"

More than 3.5 million kids receive treatment for a sports injury every year. In the past 10 years, football injuries rose 23 percent and soccer injuries rose 11 percent. Since 2000, there has been a five-fold increase in shoulder and elbow injuries among baseball and softball players.

Now, hospitals around the country are expanding their programs to care for young, injured athletes.

Jeremy Frank MD, pediatric sports medicine specialist at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital told ABC30, "What we found at our center is there are a lot of kids participating in sports, probably more young kids than there are weekend warriors, who are injuring their hips."

To fix Remi Ramos's injury, Doctor Jeremy Frank MD, made 3 small incisions to stitch part of her hip joint, called the labrum, and reshaped the ball and socket.

It has been a long road to recovery for Ramos and her coach, but she refuses to give up.

Ramos said, "There was no stopping me from coming back!"

Her tennis coach, Brian Gordon, told ABC30, "She's an unbelievably disciplined young lady, and she loves the sport."

After a year and four months of recovery, Remi's training for her first tournament.

Ramos said, "I'm extremely nervous, but I'm extremely excited!"

She is ready to prove that she is better than ever!

The rehabilitation process is different for kids and teens who suffer from sports injuries. For example, while adults can lift heavier weights to build muscle, pediatric patients may need to do higher reps and lower resistance to avoid hurting growing bones, muscles, and tendons.

For more information, contact:

Geo Rodriguez
Corporate Communications
Memorial Healthcare System
(954) 265-3455