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Helping Young Athletes Manage Stress

Helping Young Athletes Manage Stress

by | Nov 18, 2020 | Sports Medicine

For all kids, managing stress is important. However, young athletes have an added layer of pressures and our team is here to provide tips on properly managing those stressors. Pediatric psychologist Emily Stapleton, Psy.D., works closely with our young athlete population at our Frisco campus. As a former athlete herself, she has a passion for supporting athletes’ mental health for optimal performance, injury prevention and rehabilitation outcomes.

Below are a few tips to help parents, athletic trainers and coaches of young athletes manage stress.

CONNECT and help problem solve.
When overwhelmed, teens may struggle to break down a situation into manageable pieces. Talk to them and help them take one step at a time.

TIME your conversations wisely and keep it positive.
Let emotions from games or practices settle before talking about performance or outcomes. Waiting a couple of hours to discuss these topics allows athletes to reflect on their performance with less stress.

REFRAME success.
Expectations from parents and coaches can unknowingly increase pressure to perform and negatively affect self- confidence. Encourage athletes to focus on putting forth their best efforts and measuring personal progress rather than only focusing on end results or winning.

TEACH coping skills for life.
Coping skills can help an athlete learn to self-manage when stress starts to take over. Expose your athlete to yoga, taking walks, diaphragmatic breathing (i.e., deep breathing), progressive muscle relaxation (i.e., tensing/releasing muscles) and other techniques to relax.

MAKE ROOM for breaks.
Teach athletes the importance of down-time for rest and recovery. Helping athletes develop time-management skills and minimize over-scheduling will improve stress management.

ENCOURAGE life outside of sport.
Making time for other interests and hobbies apart from the primary sport, including fun activities and time with friends, helps create balance and build resiliency. Allowing athletes to have a breadth of interests and hobbies to draw from when experiencing distress.

PROMOTE healthy sleeping and eating habits.
Stress is easier to manage and less likely to build up with healthy habits in place. A balanced, sport-appropriate diet and quality sleep (at least eight hours for teens) support young athletes in academic, sport and social settings.

ASK for HELP when you need it.
Talking through stressors with a licensed psychologist or mental health counselor can be a healthy outlet for chronic stress and help athletes learn positive coping strategies to use in the future when experiencing negative stress.

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Learn more about pediatric sports medicine.

Soaring to New Heights: Growth Spurt in Dancers

Soaring to New Heights: Growth Spurt in Dancers

by | Nov 13, 2020 | Sports Medicine

In general, females undergo growth spurts earlier in life than males. This means that most girls experience significant growth at a younger age than boys. Julia Buckelew, P.T., D.P.T., says, “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), peak height velocity occurs at an average age of 11.5 years old in girls and 13.5 years old in boys.” Some dancers can experience a delay in puberty which may cause the growth spurt to occur at a later age. Hormonal and weight changes that occur during growth spurts affect dancers in a unique way. Challenges include changes in:

  • Flexibility and strength.
  • Physique.
  • Balance and proprioception (the awareness of the body in space).
  • Body mass and center of gravity.

Sports medicine physician and former dancer Jane S. Chung, M.D., advises dancers to be aware that these changes that occur in this peri-adolescent period of growth, may predispose them to be prone to injuries. She says, “Techniques and certain routines which they were able to perform prior, can sometimes become more difficult for them to perform as a result of these changes that affect their body.” This can sometimes be frustrating for the young dancer, but Chung encourages dancers to be kind and embrace these changes, instead of fighting against them. Work with your dance teachers to help adjust and adapt to the new growing body.

Chung sees peri-adolescent and adolescent dancers in her clinic with these conditions and many others:

  • Bone, muscle, ligament and tendon injuries.
  • Stress fractures and other over-use related injuries.
  • Conditions specific to the female athlete such as the female athlete triad.

“Dancers should try to be patient with themselves during times of growth,” says Buckelew. She teaches dancers to recognize these changes and perceived setbacks as temporary. As a physical therapist and one of our dance medicine specialists, she sees many dancers who become discouraged with their movement quality and performance. “If we can help them understand and anticipate the changes associated with their growth spurt, they are likely to come through this phase with new respect and confidence in their bodies.” She recommends focusing on improving movement quality and technique during this time.

Three tips for dancers to rock their growth spurts:

  • Know it’s coming and won’t last forever.
  • Pay attention to your body.
  • Ask for help or modifications.

Chung and Buckelew have a passion for caring for dancers. They share their expertise to the community to help dancers and others prevent injuries and develop skills that help them perform at their best.

If your dancer has concerns or activity-related pain, request an appointment in our Sports Medicine clinic.

Keeping Up With the Count – This content is provided by a multidisciplinary team of staff that are passionate about keeping young dancers safe and healthy.

Helping Truth Achieve Her Goals

Helping Truth Achieve Her Goals

by | Oct 21, 2020 | Sports Medicine

“Truth has pretty much grown up on the soccer field,” says her mother, Agatha. Truth watched her father coach soccer, and both of her older sisters play, so she developed an undeniable love of the game early. She also developed an amazing talent. Truth has played for Solar Soccer Club in Dallas since she was 5 years old. She has participated in training camps with the USA National team, and when she was in seventh grade, she committed to play collegiate soccer for Southern Methodist University (SMU).

In January, Truth was playing in a scrimmage. Positioned to score, her leg collided with a defender attempting to block her shot. Truth felt a “pop”, fell to the ground, and had to be carried off the field. Fortunately, Truth’s mother knew exactly where to take her daughter for treatment. 

Her mother was a pediatric nurse at Scottish Rite for Children for five years before going to graduate school to become a family nurse practitioner. As part of her clinical training, Agatha worked with Assistant Chief of Staff and pediatric orthopedic surgeon Philip L. Wilson, M.D., and certified nurse practitioner Chuck Wyatt, M.S., CPNP, RNFA. Since Agatha experienced the expertise and caring clinical approach of Scottish Rite during her time there as a nurse practitioner student, she immediately called Wyatt at the Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center after Truth’s injury.

Truth-soccer-3.jpg

After a physical examination, X-rays and confirmation with an MRI, Wyatt explained to Truth and her parents that she had torn the lateral meniscus and damaged her articular cartilage in her knee. One week later, Wilson performed surgery to repair the meniscus and address the bone and cartilage defect in the joint. This type of meniscal repair and joint surface treatment required Truth to wear a special brace and use crutches for two months.

Wyatt says, “Rehabilitation is an extremely important component of an athlete’s course of recovery and safe return to sports.” Unfortunately, not long after Truth’s surgery, the coronavirus pandemic forced facilities to stop seeing patients in person. Wyatt and the Sports Medicine team were able to continue Truth’s care and monitor her range of motion and recovery virtually with telemedicine visits.

When it was safe, she transitioned from her home exercise program to in-person physical therapy. Truth was motivated and engaged when her physical therapy began because she knew her physical therapists wanted to get her back on the field as much as she did.

Today, Truth is back on the soccer field with the Solar Soccer Club, playing the game she has loved since she was little. She has been training hard since she was cleared three months ago to achieve her goal of getting back into “soccer shape.” “Scottish Rite for Children works effectively and purposefully to heal our young, growing athletes,” says Agatha. “We are all delighted that Truth had a healthy, speedy recovery full of people in her corner who cared about her and helped make this challenging process a very pleasant experience.”

Wilson says, “Truth’s injury would have made some kids second guess their future in sports, but her drive and commitment to her sport and her physical therapy program are second to none. Our team is inspired and motivated by athletes like her, and we can’t wait to see her succeed at SMU and beyond.”

We enjoy hearing about our current and former patients’ success stories. Tell us about your MVP. 

Recovery Snack Checklist for Young Athletes

Recovery Snack Checklist for Young Athletes

by | Sep 23, 2020 | Sports Medicine

It is important for young athletes, like high-level gymnast Shayley, to understand how to properly fuel their bodies – before and after a practice, competition or game. Our certified sports dietitian Taylor Morrison, M.S., R.D., CSSD, L.D., stresses the importance of having recovery snacks on-hand.

Many parents ask, “What is a good recovery snack that I can have ready for my athlete after a game or practice?” While important to know quick ideas, it’s even more important to know what makes up the ideal recovery snack. 

In addition to providing specific examples, Morrison likes to provide a framework to follow in order to make the right decision. She says this also helps to prevent “snack fatigue” down the road. 

Here is a guide to creating optimal recovery snacks You can use the examples listed to build snacks your athlete will enjoy or add in some of your own food examples as well.

Three Key Components to the Ideal Recovery Snack

  1. Carbohydrate: replenishes depleted energy stores in the muscle and liver. Maintains energy levels and allows the body to maintain lean muscle.
  2. Protein: used to rebuild or repair worked tissues in the body.
  3. Fluid: prevents dehydration and promotes optimal recovery.

Recovery Snacks Should be Made with Whole Foods Not Packaged Supplements
It’s important to focus on whole foods for recovery vs. supplements because the micronutrients in the foods can also be important factors for recovery and injury prevention. Some of these micronutrients include: 

  • Vitamin D
  • Calcium
  • Potassium
  • Fiber
  • Magnesium
  • B12
  • Iron

To know more specifically how much carbohydrate, protein and fluid your athlete needs for optimal recovery after long intense games or tournaments. meet with a registered sports dietitian who can create recommendations unique to your athlete.
 

FOOD/DRINK PROTEIN CARBOHYDRATE FLUID
Chocolate milk milk milk & chocolate milk
Turkey wrap + water turkey tortilla water
Smoothie milk fruit (fresh or frozen) & milk ice, milk & fruit
Peanut butter toast + milk peanut butter & milk toast & milk milk
Yogurt + granola + water yogurt granola + yogurt water + yogurt
Granola bar + string cheese + sports drink string cheese granola bar sports drink
Dried edamame + fruit + water edamame fruit & edamame water & fruit
SAFE Program

SAFE Program

by | Sep 9, 2020 | Sports Medicine

As experts in caring for young athletes, our Sports Medicine team at Scottish Rite for Children is focused on providing tips and tools for kids to stay healthy – before they might need us. Sometimes the best way to learn how injuries occur is to evaluate children and young athletes who are not injured. Towards this effort, the Movement Science Lab in Frisco is leading a research initiative called the SAFE Program. The Specialized Athlete Functional Evaluation is a project which invites sports teams of all skill levels and ages to perform a variety of sports-related and other tasks to assess balance, mobility, agility and strength.

The Purpose
Sports specialization occurs when an athlete focuses on only one sport, year-round. More than ever, young athletes are concentrating on a single sport, which has resulted in an increase of overuse injuries due to a lack of variation in their training and no real off-season. Data collected from the SAFE Program will be a great resource to help our team identify who might be at the greatest risk of injury. 

The Process
Through the SAFE Program, healthy athletes go through a series of performance tests that evaluate their strength, speed, agility and flexibility. In addition, the Movement Science team uses high-speed motion capture to analyze each athlete’s motion during dynamic movements, such as running and jumping, and sport-specific tasks based on their primary sport, like penalty kicks, layups or back handsprings. Small reflective markers are placed on the athlete’s body during this motion analysis testing help our team accurately measure how each joint moves in 3D. 

One of the most important aspects of the SAFE program is injury surveillance. Each athlete receives a monthly survey asking if they have sustained an injury in the previous month. If so, they are asked follow-up questions regarding details about where and how the injury occurred. Athletes who are interested may come back for a second round of testing after six months or a year. This will provide our team the opportunity to analyze changes in performance due to growth, improvement or an injury.

The Goal
The SAFE program will allow the Movement Science team to create a database of assessments in hundreds of athletes across all ages, sports and skill level. Then, injury surveillance after SAFE testing will provide our experts with additional information to see if any of the movement or performance measures could potentially point to a future injury. Ultimately, the goal is to create an injury prevention program, using these same SAFE tests, that can provide athletes with an individualized, comprehensive performance report which includes an injury risk assessment.  

Leader of the project and assistant director of the Movement Science Lab in Frisco, Sophia Ulman, Ph.D., is excited to see this initiative come to life. “I have a passion for sports and the SAFE Program is a project that can really make an impact in the lives of young athletes,” says Ulman. “Although we are still in the data collection phase, once we have enough information, we hope to be a resource for our highly athletic community. We want to be a go-to center for young athletes – before, during and after an injury. This program will eventually allow us to provide injury prevention assessments, help determine injury risk and interpret prevention strategies – helping athletes stay safe and in the game.”

To learn more about Movement Science, please call 469-515-7160 or email MSL.Frisco@tsrh.org.