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RallyNorth.net and Northeast Rehab Health Network present youth sports injury lecture tonight at Merrimack College that is worth attending.
Called, “Play Now, Pay Later,” it sounds a tad harsh.
But that’s the truth, according Dr. Steven Andriola, of Orthopedics Northeast in North Andover and Salem, N.H., when understanding youth sports injuries.
Dr. Andriola will be part of lecture tonight, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Merrimack College’s Rogers Center, “Injury Prevention in Youth Sports: Play Now, Pay Later.”
He will be joined by Andrew Cannon, who works in the Sports Medicine curriculum at Merrimack.
The focus will be on educating parents, athletes and coaches about sports injuries and particularly prevention.
“The first thing is parents, kids and coaches have to understand that injuries are the price of doing business,” said Dr. Andriola, who will be available for questions tonight. “Sometimes that is lost. And then after an injury there is down time. That’s part of sports.”
Dr. Andriola and Cannon will be talking many different injuries, including the all-to-familiar anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injures orthopedic care-givers are seeing in girls and young women.
Dr. Andriola says athletes knowing their bodies is important to the process. They should also know that while the media might call an athlete a “hero” for playing through pain or an injury, that isn’t necessarily the case.
“There are long term effects, especially in some of the throwing sports like baseball,” said Andriola. “We’ve seen it in the shoulder and particularly the elbow of kids that probably over-exerted themselves. And for what reason? To win a game or championship? It’s not worth it.”
The event is free of charge and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by Merrimack College, Northeast Rehab Health Network Sports Medicine Division and RallyNorth.net.