How Can We Reduce The Number of Knee Injuries In Female Athletes?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 23:36. | comments

The New York Times recently ran a thought provoking story by Michael Sokolove called The Uneven Playing Field . The long and short of the article was that the bodies of female athletes, especially their knees, are taking a beating playing sports.

The New York Times recently ran a thought provoking story by Michael Sokolove called The Uneven Playing Field
. The long and short of the article was that the bodies of female
athletes, especially their knees, are taking a beating playing sports.

Brooke de Lench

Soccer Goal Posts Can and Do Fatally Injure Kids

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 21:55. | comments

At the beginning of the month, 8-year-old Gabriel Mendoza was hanging on the crossbar of a soccer goal post during a soccer game in South Mountain, Arizona, when it fell on him. He was the ninth boy in the past three years to die from a falling goal post. News reports of his death did not say whether the goal post was anchored or, if it was anchored, whether it was anchored incorrectly.

Brooke de Lench

Concussion Bill of Rights #6: Information to Parents on Follow-Up-Care and Written Consent Before Return to Play

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 21:07. | comments

Too often, parents are in the dark about the important role they play in their child's recovery from concussion and the all-important decision on when it is safe for their child to return to the playing field.

The sixth right of parents under the Parent's Concussion Bill of Rights is therefore the right to receive written notice of injuries suffered by their child and to provide written consent before their child is allowed to return to play.

In the case of concussions, parents should be provided with:

Brooke de Lench

Concussion Bill of Rights #5: Neuropsychological Testing for Athletes In Contact Sports

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 21:02. | comments

With several recent studies demonstrating the clinical value of neuropsychological (NP) testing in evaluating the cognitive effects of and recovery from sport-related concussions, such testing has become increasingly popular in recent years, with the 2008 Zurich consensus statement on sports concussions¹ viewing NP testing as an "aid in the clinical decisionmaking process" and an "important component in any return to play protocol."

Brooke de Lench

Concussion Bill of Rights # 4: An Athletic Trainer Should Be On Staff

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 20:57. | comments

Among the things which increase the anxiety level of parents of children playing contact sports is the fact that many high school programs don't employ athletic trainers who have received training in recognizing the often subtle signs of a concussion. Only 42 percent of U.S. high schools, according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, have access to an AT.* In some states, the number is much lower (Over three-quarters of Nebraska high schools, for instance, are without ATs).

Brooke de Lench

Concussion Bill of Rights #3: Adoption and Enforcement of Conservative Evaluation & Return-to-Play Guidelines

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 20:54. | comments

The sad fact, and what makes it sometimes hard for parents to truly believe that programs are taking concussions seriously, is that many of the sports programs in which their children participate do not follow any set of return-to-play guidelines, and if they do follow guidelines, they are too liberal in terms of same-day return-to-play (RTP). When parents are kept in the dark like that, when they have no clue as to how a program treats concussions, their anxiety level naturally goes up.

Brooke de Lench

Concussion Bill of Rights #2: Coaches Need To Be Part of Solution, Not the Problem

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 20:48. | comments

While there are many coaches who take concussions very seriously, there are still far too many in this country, from youth football, hockey, soccer, lacrosse or basketball all the way up the ladder to the professional level, who:

Girls Need To Exercise For Today's Health and Tomorrow's!

Submitted by Gwenn OKeeffe on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 13:55. | comments

Meredith Rainey Valmon

Top Ten Nutrition Tips for Active Children

Submitted by Meredith Rainey Valmon on Fri, 05/09/2008 - 15:22. | comments

Here are my top ten nutrition tips for active children:

1. Support Hydration

Children have special fluid needs. Compared to adults, kids are more likely to suffer a heat illness when exercising in the heat.
A list of nutrition tips for active children to meet their energy and hydration needs.

Read more »

Sometimes a Game Is Just That: A Game

Submitted by Gwenn OKeeffe on Thu, 05/08/2008 - 20:11. | comments

My daughter and her friends are typical 7th graders. When they find a new activity they like, they dive in head first leaving all other activities behind in the splash. Doesn't matter if they also are involved with trumpet, violin, piano, biking, rock climbing, drama, cooking, ballet, fencing, or any other activity. Doesn't matter that they have homework and the need for some free time and family time. To this age group, a new activity is like falling in love - it becomes their be all, end all.

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