BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – According to top medical professionals across the country, concerns over injuries among single-sport athletes are growing.
With better facilities and greater accessibility, young athletes are able to train year-round for a variety of sports.
But in some cases, that increased workload can be dangerous.
“Around 13-14 years old, but it can certainly be earlier than that,” said Dr. Danielle Pawlichuk of Baton Rouge General Hospital’s family and sports medicine department.
Dr. Pawlichuk says too much repetitive motion can lead to serious injuries.
“If we don’t take the steps early, then you could have permanent damage or you know never be able to play again,” emphasized Pawlichuk.
As a former swimmer, she speaks from experience.
“I had overuse injuries when I was swimming and ended up making them worse because I was pressured to keep going,” said Pawlichuk. “Or was scared that I was going to not get my spot on the national team or get cut from the relay. So, I just put the brave face on and kept going. Ended up being part of why I couldn’t swim through college.”
“Things are becoming more serious now than ever,” says Dre Guerin, owner of X-Factor Sports Performance.
He says he is using his space to combat issues like burnout and overuse injuries.
“We’re going to give them everything they need from single-leg work to jumping, sprinting, hopping, from pushups to pull-ups, because all sides of the body have to be equally strong,” said Guerin.
X-factor works with five local high schools, and that he sees hundreds of kids every couple of weeks.
Most want to make it in one sport, but he hammers home that versatility can make them even better athletes in not only their favorite sport but life.
“If you look at this as translating towards life, you need to be able to move period,” detailed Guerin. “Because as you get older and you’re outdoors, you still probably going to have kids, you still need to move around and have fun.”
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