After a routine tennis practice early in May, I wandered home and rested on the couch. Later that night, I noticed a nagging pain in my lower back. I took a couple of Advil and ignored it. In two days, I was back out on the courts again...but every time I hit my backhand a sharp pain shot through my leg and back. Still, I played through the pain, after all it was a USTA match--I couldn't let my team down. The next day I could barely walk. I took Sunday off but came back for more on Monday. I couldn't miss my tennis drills. During Tuesday's singles match, I had to retire because of pain. When I visited the doctor in intense pain, he said that I aggravated my piriformis and should take a month off. I lasted two weeks.
Last month, I watched my stepsister Alex in her first basketball scrimmage of the season. Fearlessly, Alex stepped in the lane, drawing a charge. She went down with a thud, knocking her head against the court. More than a minute later, she slowly pulled herself up off the ground, rubbing the back of her head. In the absence of a certified athletic trainer, Alex wandered back to the sideline as the final seconds of the first half dwindled away. In the second half, Alex was back in full action as if nothing had happened. After the game, Alex complained of a headache and her parents watched for symptoms of concussion. When I spoke to her later, she admitted that she probably shouldn't have played the second half. "I just hated not to," she said. "I'm tough."
Both of these stories illustrate the influence of sports no-pain, no-gain culture. From an early age, children learn to sacrifice their bodies, to play through pain and to be tough in sports. After all, "there's no crying in baseball" (or any sport for that matter). We learn these cues from every aspect of our culture, even from our parents.
In June, HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel aired a provocative piece on "boomeritis." According to the sources in the piece, American baby boomers, unwilling to kick their daily sports habit, are pushing their bodies to the edge. Instead of slowing down, these weekend warriors with overuse sports injuries fill doctor offices and hospitals looking for an easy cure--a quick pill. What the weekend warriors fail to consider is the message that they are sending to their children and grandchildren.
We need to look in the mirror and consider if we are sacrificing our health for the love of the game?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Concussions are brutal reality in high school sport
Since 1997, more than 50 teens have been killed after sustaining head injury in sport (see graphic from NY Times). Concussions, 'the silent sports injury,' are a stark reality in high school sports. A recent series of studies out of Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital revealed that girls are more than twice as likely to sustain concussions in sport than boys (see NY Times article). Although football still causes the highest rate of concussions (with 47 per 100,000 incidents of participation), girls soccer is next in line (with 36 per 100,000).
Interesting stuff, I know. So should we ban kids from playing sports, you may be asking yourself? Of course not. Dr. Dawn Comstock, a co-author of the study, points out that the benefits of participating in sport far outweigh the dangers. But, we should be aware of the risks of playing sport. (Believe it or not, this research out of Ohio State is the first sustained epidemiological study on high school sports injury. It will allow the general public to learn about injury patterns in sport and most importantly prevention techniques).
These particular findings do raise several questions: why are girls more likely to sustain concussions than boys? And, why are they held out of competition for longer than boys? Researchers noted that several factors may be at play here: 1. perhaps there are physiological differences 2. perhaps it's because girls were less protective head gear in sports 3. perhaps girls are more likely to report concussions or 4. perhaps coaches, parents, trainers, etc., are more likely to listen when a girl reports symptoms of a concussion.
According to CDC guidelines, an athlete diagnosed with a concussion should sit out at least a week before resuming play. According to the study, boys sit out approximately three days while girls sit out for a week or more. Why aren't boys held out for the appropriate amount of time? I dare say culture might be a factor here. Whatever the reason, it's a problem to stick an athlete back in competition before he or she is ready.
Interesting stuff, I know. So should we ban kids from playing sports, you may be asking yourself? Of course not. Dr. Dawn Comstock, a co-author of the study, points out that the benefits of participating in sport far outweigh the dangers. But, we should be aware of the risks of playing sport. (Believe it or not, this research out of Ohio State is the first sustained epidemiological study on high school sports injury. It will allow the general public to learn about injury patterns in sport and most importantly prevention techniques).
These particular findings do raise several questions: why are girls more likely to sustain concussions than boys? And, why are they held out of competition for longer than boys? Researchers noted that several factors may be at play here: 1. perhaps there are physiological differences 2. perhaps it's because girls were less protective head gear in sports 3. perhaps girls are more likely to report concussions or 4. perhaps coaches, parents, trainers, etc., are more likely to listen when a girl reports symptoms of a concussion.
According to CDC guidelines, an athlete diagnosed with a concussion should sit out at least a week before resuming play. According to the study, boys sit out approximately three days while girls sit out for a week or more. Why aren't boys held out for the appropriate amount of time? I dare say culture might be a factor here. Whatever the reason, it's a problem to stick an athlete back in competition before he or she is ready.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A Tale of Two Teen Mothers: Support breeds Success
As a fifth grade first baseman on the Winder-Barrow Cubs recreational softball team, I became fast friends with Kim and Christy (though they were just mere fourth graders). Over the next two years, we became inseparable as our comeback squad climbed from worst to first. We went to the batting cages and practiced fielding line drives. We laughed; we cried (you get the picture)….but after awhile, our friendship drifted into the realm of mere acquaintance when Kim and Christy entered the wide world of Winder-Barrow High School (with its myriads of clicks) and I continued my education at a local Christian school. I still ran into Christy at Wednesday night youth group and we often chatted about our crushes of the month and eventually her new boyfriend. I eventually completely lost touch with Kim—I only heard about her life through the grapevine.
Even so, I must admit it came as a shock to me (though I suppose it shouldn’t have given the locale of our upbringing) during my freshman year of college to learn that both girls were pregnant.
Despite the unexpected turn of events, Christy (who hailed from an upper middle class background) managed to finish high school. Although her parents were disappointed, they rallied around Christy, providing both financial and moral support. Christy remained in a nurturing environment. Although they didn’t get married, the young man who got Christy pregnant played a vital role in young Samantha’s life. In fact, it was in large part due to this experience that Christy decided to become a nurse. So, once more, her family pitched in and Christy juggled caring for Sam and attending college. Today, Christy is happily married, working at a local hospital and has a beautiful ten-year-old daughter.
Things didn’t go as well for Kim, who lacked Christy’s nurturing environment. You see Kim came from a part of Barrow County that I didn’t get to that often. Though I didn’t know it at the time, Kim played softball through a scholarship program. With three children, Kim’s parents often struggled to make ends meet. And, when she got pregnant during her senior year, her family wasn’t able to offer her much in the way of support. Though she was a good student, Kim was forced to drop out of school because of her situation and began working at the local Dairy Queen. The last I heard, things weren’t getting much better for Kim. A single mom (lacking any support from the baby’s father), Kim lives in a single-wide trailer down a dirt road a few miles away from her family. Though she wanted to get her GED, Kim struggled to find the time, juggling caring for Jackie and working full-time as an assistant manager at Dairy Queen (while making only slightly more than minimum wage).
Unfortunately, Christys are the exceptions and Kims are the general rule in this area. For individuals like Kim with little family support, the community provides few services. Based on the anecdotal evidence that I have seen and experienced, support breeds success in teen moms. In order to give teen moms the tools to succeed and become greater contributors to our communities, they need the resources to finish their high school education. Like Dr. Claude Burnett, I believe that combating teen pregnancy is key in the battle to end the cycle of poverty. So, I leave you with two questions: what can we do as a community to combat teen pregnancy? Is combating teen pregnancy the only solution to ending the cycle of poverty?
Even so, I must admit it came as a shock to me (though I suppose it shouldn’t have given the locale of our upbringing) during my freshman year of college to learn that both girls were pregnant.
Despite the unexpected turn of events, Christy (who hailed from an upper middle class background) managed to finish high school. Although her parents were disappointed, they rallied around Christy, providing both financial and moral support. Christy remained in a nurturing environment. Although they didn’t get married, the young man who got Christy pregnant played a vital role in young Samantha’s life. In fact, it was in large part due to this experience that Christy decided to become a nurse. So, once more, her family pitched in and Christy juggled caring for Sam and attending college. Today, Christy is happily married, working at a local hospital and has a beautiful ten-year-old daughter.
Things didn’t go as well for Kim, who lacked Christy’s nurturing environment. You see Kim came from a part of Barrow County that I didn’t get to that often. Though I didn’t know it at the time, Kim played softball through a scholarship program. With three children, Kim’s parents often struggled to make ends meet. And, when she got pregnant during her senior year, her family wasn’t able to offer her much in the way of support. Though she was a good student, Kim was forced to drop out of school because of her situation and began working at the local Dairy Queen. The last I heard, things weren’t getting much better for Kim. A single mom (lacking any support from the baby’s father), Kim lives in a single-wide trailer down a dirt road a few miles away from her family. Though she wanted to get her GED, Kim struggled to find the time, juggling caring for Jackie and working full-time as an assistant manager at Dairy Queen (while making only slightly more than minimum wage).
Unfortunately, Christys are the exceptions and Kims are the general rule in this area. For individuals like Kim with little family support, the community provides few services. Based on the anecdotal evidence that I have seen and experienced, support breeds success in teen moms. In order to give teen moms the tools to succeed and become greater contributors to our communities, they need the resources to finish their high school education. Like Dr. Claude Burnett, I believe that combating teen pregnancy is key in the battle to end the cycle of poverty. So, I leave you with two questions: what can we do as a community to combat teen pregnancy? Is combating teen pregnancy the only solution to ending the cycle of poverty?
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Teen Pregnancy: Does community support help end poverty?
Many studies have linked teen pregnancy with the cycle of persistent poverty that has plagued the South for more than a century. These studies don't surprise me, though.
While my mom may not have bombarded me with lectures about safe sex (see my last blog), she did instill in me the notion of avoiding sex at all cost as a teen.
You see, I come from a long line of teen mothers. My grandmother became pregnant as a high school senior and was forced to leave school and marry under a cloud of shame (the notion of a shotgun marriage should come to mind here). Following in her mother's footsteps (though obviously unintentionally), my mother, too, was forced to drop out of high school, as the result of a teenage pregnancy. Though there were by far more options by the late 1970s, my mom also married the man who got her pregnant, my dad.
Because of overwhelming family support, both women overcame the shame and challenges associate with teen pregnancy but not without a myriad of personal struggles along the way. Both women endured emotional scars and marital hardships. Both eventually divorced the men that they married more out of obligation than perhaps love. (My grandmother eventually remarried my grandfather). But, despite all odds, both women entered the workforce and achieved financial success and personal happiness.
However, as my mom mentioned repeatedly to me in my teen years, she never had a childhood. She was forced to grow up overnight. By her own admission, she lost the opportunity to explore career paths that intrigued her (like meteorology) because of her choices. (Of course, she also never failed to mention after relaying these warnings that having me was the best choice that she ever made.) Though in some ways I was very naive about sex as a teen, these motherly warnings did make me consider the consequences of teen pregnancy.
As a local journalist, I often have encountered stories of teen pregnancy. And, what continuously interests me is the notion of family and community support given to teen moms. Will family and community support of teen moms help combat the area's persistent poverty, as suggested by Dr. Claude Burnett? I will explore this question in next week's blog--A Tale of Two Teen Moms: Support equals success?
While my mom may not have bombarded me with lectures about safe sex (see my last blog), she did instill in me the notion of avoiding sex at all cost as a teen.
You see, I come from a long line of teen mothers. My grandmother became pregnant as a high school senior and was forced to leave school and marry under a cloud of shame (the notion of a shotgun marriage should come to mind here). Following in her mother's footsteps (though obviously unintentionally), my mother, too, was forced to drop out of high school, as the result of a teenage pregnancy. Though there were by far more options by the late 1970s, my mom also married the man who got her pregnant, my dad.
Because of overwhelming family support, both women overcame the shame and challenges associate with teen pregnancy but not without a myriad of personal struggles along the way. Both women endured emotional scars and marital hardships. Both eventually divorced the men that they married more out of obligation than perhaps love. (My grandmother eventually remarried my grandfather). But, despite all odds, both women entered the workforce and achieved financial success and personal happiness.
However, as my mom mentioned repeatedly to me in my teen years, she never had a childhood. She was forced to grow up overnight. By her own admission, she lost the opportunity to explore career paths that intrigued her (like meteorology) because of her choices. (Of course, she also never failed to mention after relaying these warnings that having me was the best choice that she ever made.) Though in some ways I was very naive about sex as a teen, these motherly warnings did make me consider the consequences of teen pregnancy.
As a local journalist, I often have encountered stories of teen pregnancy. And, what continuously interests me is the notion of family and community support given to teen moms. Will family and community support of teen moms help combat the area's persistent poverty, as suggested by Dr. Claude Burnett? I will explore this question in next week's blog--A Tale of Two Teen Moms: Support equals success?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
