Sports Experts Warn of Specialization, Overuse

Dr. Matzkin, an orthopedic surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, opened the lecture, questioning the popular notion that 10,000 hours of practice are necessary for proficiency in a field. She described overuse injuries by professional athletes and children and warned of overspecialization. Half of high school and middle school athletic injuries are due to overuse, she said, and therefore are largely preventable. “Changing sports is good for the body,” she told Groton students.

 

The physician for teams including the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, Dr. Matzkin noted that less than 1 percent of young athletes reach an elite status, and fewer still play professionally. Early injuries make athletes prone to more injuries as well as to degenerative conditions, such as osteoarthritis, later in life.

 

The topic turned to supplements when Dr. Blauwet, a rehabilitation and sports medicine expert, took the mic. She warned that products labeled “all natural” sometimes have hidden stimulants or steroid-based ingredients, and that because they are unregulated, their labels can say anything. “When you take that pill or use that powder,” said Dr. Blauwet, herself a former paralympic athlete and decorated wheelchair racer, “you really don’t know what you’re taking.”

 

Dr. Blauwet  distinguished between energy drinks and sports drinks; the former may contain untested ingredients and as much as six times the caffeine in a cup of coffee, while sports drinks are made to stricter standards and help athletes stay hydrated. She recommended chocolate milk, a “perfect blend of carbohydrates, protein, and fat,” for recovery after a tough workout.

 

Dr. Oh concluded the presentation. An orthopedic surgeon and physician for the New England Patriots and New England Revolution, he drove home the risks of overuse with tales of increasingly common “Tommy John” surgery in teenagers. The surgery reconstructs an elbow ligament using a tendon from elsewhere on the body. 

Young pitchers are experiencing injuries once limited to seasoned pros. Little League has limited the number of pitches a player can throw, he said, but softball has not yet imposed similar rules. One of Dr. Oh’s impressive photos showed twenty-five chunks of cartilage pulled from the elbow of a professional pitcher.