Anchorage Daily News

Fifteen years of professional hockey and a lifetime of checks and cheap shots took their toll on 39-year-old Chris Newans -- bumps, bruises and knee surgeries. He even had plastic surgery to reconstruct parts of his face.

Newans has hung up his professional skates and is passing his training wisdom on to the next generation of Alaska's athletes. The facility director at Acceleration Alaska said though injuries are often inevitable, athletes can train to help avoid the avoidable and recover from the inevitable.

Among athletes ages 5 to 14 who play basketball, football, soccer, baseball and softball, an average of 25 percent have been injured, according to Safe Kids U.S.A.

While some injuries can't be dodged, trainers and doctors say many can be avoided with prevention, proper training and responsible practices.

Newans and a team of 12 trainers work with athletes of all ages, starting with those as young as 7 or 8. He said injury prevention starts with a proper warm-up.

"We try to have a complete body warm-up," he said. "Jumping jacks, squats, lunges, a few laps around the track."

Acceleration Alaska treats every client personally and doesn't have a formula specific to training teens and young adults, Newans said.

"We get to know every athlete who comes in here on a personal level," he said. "The No. 1 thing is to get kids where they want to be."

Helping athletes reach their peak potential does have its limits. Trainers work within the parameters of common sense and medical knowledge.

The facility won't typically let athletes lift weights until the age of 15 or 16.

"We use resistance bands so we're not putting stress on growth plates," he said.

Growth plates are cartilage and soft tissues found in and around developing bones. In teens and young adults, the area is softer than bone, allowing for growth. In late teen years, the plates begin to harden and are ultimately replaced by bone.

Too much weight-bearing exercise on the plates can damage them, leading to permanent disfiguration or interfering with proper growth.

Dr. Shawn Johnston, a sports medicine specialist at the Alaska Spine Institute, said one of the best ways to prevent injury in young athletes is sports-specific training.

He cautions that moderation and gradually adding to workouts is the smartest approach. Sudden increases in intensity and training tend to lead to injuries.

"Going out to the tennis court and hitting 3,000 serves a day is probably a bad idea," Johnston said.

Overuse injuries, which occur over time from repeated motion, are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle- and high-school students, according to Safe Kids U.S.A.

Johnston said though he sees more traumatic injuries from contact sports like football and hockey, he sees a greater number of injured athletes from other sports.

"More of what I see in a month are overuse injures," he said. "Too much running, too much skiing, too much lifting."

He said the way a body is structured and moves also plays a role in the likelihood an athlete will be injured. For instance, he said young women who have developed wider hips may encounter problems with knee joints compared to those with narrow pelvises.

While there aren't treatments to overcome those physical characteristics, proper training and physical therapy can help athletes avoid the typical pitfalls of their body makeup.

Johnston said that teen athletes have a lot stacked in their favor when it comes to recovering from joint and soft-tissue injuries.

He said the determination of disciplined athletes and the general physical condition of most teens in sports bodes well for their recovery time.

He said one challenge is to get young athletes to allow proper time to heal and seek treatment for more serious injuries to keep them from being long-term problems.

"As a doctor, you're usually pulling on the reins to try to keep them back," Johnston said.

He said parents and caregivers could be a big help, or a small nuisance, when trying to treat young athletes.

"It usually depends upon what high school they go to," Johnston said.

It is important parents, coaches and caregivers remember that every teen and child is different. They participate in athletics for different reasons and each has different goals and aspirations.

Pain thresholds vary, as do levels of physical growth and emotional maturity.

If a child says something feels wrong, it's never a bad idea to consult a medical professional. Early detection can keep minor injuries from becoming chronic problems.

Freelance writer Tiffany Clements lives in Anchorage.

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