July Health Check Archive Save Email Print
Treating Sports Injuries
Posted: 12:05 PM Nov 2, 2006
Last Updated: 12:05 PM Nov 2, 2006

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When you think of sports injuries, some type of contact comes to mind. But a new picture is emerging with young female athletes. They are anywhere from four to eight times more likely to suffer an ACL tear than are male athletes.


In July's Health Check: what young women and their parents need to know.


Rehab has become familiar to Lindsay Hansen since she injured a ligament that connects the upper leg bone to the lower leg bone.


"It's been tough," she says.


It's even tougher because Lindsay, a star athlete who won a state title in volleyball with Elkhorn High School, is rebuilding her leg for a second time.


She bears a scar from her first surgery in her sophomore year and a new scar from an operation this spring.


Lindsay says, "It's definitely easy to go negative with it, but you have to stay positive because otherwise you just break down."


Hansen rehabs her leg at Alegent Health Sports Medicine. Trainers believe a combination of factors lead females to injure their ACLs more often than do males, so they're working on solutions.


They want coaches, female athletes, and their parents to think differently about sports and conditioning.


Scott Butterfield, with Alegent Health Sports Medicine, says, "What we want to do is help people work out in a different way; to become more educated; to realize if you put too much stress on certain joints and muscles it may cause a tear to happen or it may accelerate that tear."


After attending hundreds of games, Lindsay's dad, Jeff, knows that his daughter's injuries are not unique.


He says, "Every team you see, someone has had a major injury. You can really minimize the opportunity for it to happen if you learn the right techniques and fundamentals in any sport they're in."


Lindsay learns more about her body every day.


The injury means she'll red-shirt her freshman year at Morningside College but eventually, she expects to trade rehab for the volleyball court.


"I'm just going to keep going strong and get back to playing again," she says.


Alegent Health Sports Medicine is sending trainers to 10 metro high schools this fall. They'll work on preventive programs, and help coaches and high school trainers better assess and treat injuries.



Click here for more information on preventing sports related injuries.










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