Visit Opt Ortho for Physician Recommended ProductsLearn More

Texas Orthopedics
(512) 439-1000
(512) 439-1000
  • Online Bill Pay
  • Patient Portal
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Refer A Patient
  • CAREERS
(512) 439-1000
  • Online Bill Pay
  • Patient Portal
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Refer A Patient
  • CAREERS

Texas Orthopedics

  • Home
  • Providers
  • Locations
  • Specialties
  • Resources
  • Contact

Dr. Rodriguez Shares Fall Sports Injury Prevention Tips for the Austin American Statesman

August 15, 2022Filed Under: General Tagged With: athletes, concussion, fall sports, football, injury prevention, orthopedic surgeon, sport injury, sports medicine

Throughout the fall sports season, you can find many of our orthopedic surgeons on the sidelines at local sporting events. Texas Orthopedics is proud to support the athletes, coaches, and athletic trainers in our community and share one common goal – injury prevention.

In a recent interview with Nicole Villalpando with the Austin American Statesman, sports medicine specialist J.P. Rodriguez, M.D., and pediatric neurologist Kate Labiner, M.D., shared their expertise on how athletes can best prepare their bodies for fall sports to avoid injury. You can read the entire article below or find it on the Austin American Statesman website here.

On playing fields all across Central Texas, kids are practicing football formations, learning this year’s band halftime show and picking up the pace as they get in shape for cross-country.

The start of the school year for many students means a return to sports and other physical activities after a summer off.

Here’s how to get ready and things to watch out for throughout the school year:

Protecting against concussions

“Concussions don’t just happen in head-to-head collisions as seen in football,” said Dr. Kate Labiner, a pediatric neurologist with Pediatrix Child Neurology Consultants of Austin. “They can happen from any blow the head. My dog concussed me one day,” she said.

A concussion can be caused by getting hit by elbows and knees as happens to cheerleaders and basketball players. It can be caused by people running into one another while playing soccer, lacrosse or field hockey. It can be caused by a volleyball or basketball hitting the head. It can be caused by a band’s color guard hitting someone with a flag or a fake rifle. In some sports, there doesn’t even have to be a big hit. In football, the repetitive head motions can cause damage for linemen, whereas wide receivers usually get damage from a big hit.

Dr. Labiner recommends that kids who are active in physical activities get a baseline concussion screening. Most school districts and some private schools have access to these screenings, which involve a 20-minute computer program. Parents or students can request one or have one done at a neurologist’s office.

“The baseline screening is important to be able to compare how a child’s brain worked before the concussion and afterward,” Dr. Labiner said. “If we don’t have baseline testing, we are comparing them to the age norm. That doesn’t account for kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or dyslexia.”

Concussions might be felt immediately, but sometimes the symptoms are more obvious a day or two later. Look for sleepiness or difficulty falling asleep, brain fog, a headache that is similar to a migraine in intensity, light or sound sensitivity, dizziness or nausea.

The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a return-to-play protocol for schools and students to follow. It calls for a slow progression back to activity. For instance, you start with light walking and if you are symptom-free for 24 hours, then you go to the next step like jogging. You work your way up until you can return to practice and then competition.

“You want to wait until you go through all the steps, Dr. Labiner said, because a second concussion can make the symptoms worse than the first one and can take longer to recover from. The brain is the one organ I cannot replace.”

If you do have a concussion, you can help your brain by following the return-to-play protocol and by taking magnesium and omega 3 vitamins to help your brain. Most of the time, you don’t need to go to the emergency room unless you have vomiting that won’t stop, you have been unconscious for more than five minutes or are confused for more than 15 minutes.

Parents should ask kids questions that are not yes-or-no. Things like “What is the date today?” “Where are you?” “What is your coach’s name?” can help determine confusion.

Ease into sports gradually

“All athletes, even kids, need to be incremental about getting back into shape”, said, Dr. J.P. Rodriguez of Texas Orthopedics. “Focus on building muscle strength, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance in the beginning. Usually, a lot of early problems are too much, too fast,” he said. “At all levels, the preseason is one of the highest times for injuries, whether it’s the NFL or even middle school sports.”

Shoulders, ankles, dislocating the knee or tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee typically are some of the preseason or early season injuries.

According to Dr. Rodriquez, “A lot of that is preventable if they come into the season in really good shape. Body maintenance year-round is important for athletes. You should never have gotten out of shape in the first place. If you are counting on getting in shape for football, yes, it works most of the time, but you’re putting yourself at risk for injuries.”

Dr. Rodriguez says athletes need to work on building symmetry in their bodies to help prevent these kinds of injuries. They can have a trainer or a physical therapist evaluate them and give them exercises to work on building on both strength and range of motion on each side of the body.

Later in the season, injuries are not so much from not being conditioned well. Instead it’s overuse injuries.

“Athletes should warm up by doing dynamic stretches, such as high kicks. They should cool down with more static stretches, such as pulling your foot behind you to stretch out the hamstring muscle,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “It’s not just about the football players. People taking part in dance, band, color guard and other physical activities all need to be in good shape to make it through the season.”

If you have an ache or a pain that you experience while practicing or during a game, talk to a trainer to get specific exercises to work on that area as well as to be evaluated to see if you need to take a break or practice differently to avoid a more permanent injury.

Prepare for the heat

You shouldn’t go from being inside with the air conditioning playing video games all summer, to hours of practice outside in triple-digit temperatures. School programs should be easing kids into outside time to get bodies used to the temperature. Each day, do a little bit more outside, until you can handle being outside for all of practice. Take frequent shade breaks.

Drink water often. You should be able to urinate frequently and should not feel thirsty. For kids really working out hard, a drink with carbohydrates or a gel with carbohydrates might be necessary. If there’s a lot of sweating, a drink with electrolytes might be helpful.

“Hydration isn’t something that you try to solve during the game or at practice,” Dr. Rodriguez said.  “Don’t try to fix those problems on the fly. Come in hydrated with all the electrolytes ready to go.”


If you have questions about our orthopedic, spine or rheumatology services, or would like to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists, book online or call (512) 439-1001.

Keep up with Texas Orthopedics news by following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Related posts:

4 Ways to Ease Back into Fall Sports Default ThumbnailDr. Logan on KVUE: Stay Safe While Getting Fit in the New Year Cross Country Athlete Learns to Listen to Her Body After Season Ending Injury Dr. McDonald on Real Simple: How to Recover After a Workout

Filed Under: General Tagged With: athletes, concussion, fall sports, football, injury prevention, orthopedic surgeon, sport injury, sports medicine

Primary Sidebar

Categories

Arthritis
General
Rheumatology
Sports Medicine
Spine
Shoulder/Elbow
Hand/Wrist
Hip
Knee
Foot/Ankle

Follow

    

Popular Blog

OrthoLoneStar Announces Executive Leadership Changes

New Leander Office!

Footer

    Blog Post by Category

  • Arthritis
  • General
  • Rheumatology
  • Sports Medicine
  • Spine
  • Shoulder/Elbow
  • Hand/Wrist
  • Hip
  • Knee
  • Foot/Ankle
  • TX Ortho News

    News and Blog

Patient Education

From orthopedic injuries to physical therapy, our patient education library explains many of the conditions and treatments you may want to read about. Learn More

Patient Stories

Our doctors, physician assistants, nurses, and professional staff are what truly make Texas Orthopedics so great. See what our patients are saying about us. Learn More

Why Choose TX Ortho

Why Choose TX Ortho Learn More
  • Services
  • General Orthopedics
  • Sports Medicine
  • Spine Care
  • Joint Replacement
  • Trauma and Fracture Management
  • Physical Therapy
  • Electrodiagnostic Testing (EMG & NCS)
  • Imaging Services
  • Infusion Therapy
  • Surgery Center
  • Pediatrics
  • Telemedicine
  • Specialties
  • Hand & Wrist
  • Elbow
  • Shoulder
  • Hip
  • Knee
  • Foot & Ankle
  • Neck
  • Back
  • Rheumatology
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Locations
  • Patient Education
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Testimonials
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Refer a Patient
  • Careers
  • TX Ortho News
  • Patient Login
  • Online Bill Pay

Doctors

  • › W. Parker Abblitt, MD
  • › Abed Abdelaziz, MD
  • › Robert E. Blais, MD
  • › Kenneth Bunch, MD
  • › Christopher M. Danney, MD
  • › Robert A. Foster, MD
  • › Peter M. Garcia Jr., MD
  • › Brian T. Hardy, MD
  • › Austin D. Hill, MD
  • › Vishal Kancherla, DO
  • › Robert J. Koval Jr., MD
  • › Kamen Kutzarov, MD
  • › David C. Laverty, MD
  • › Zachariah Logan, MD
  • › Michael D. Loeb, MD
  • › Joseph R. Martinez, MD
  • › Benjamin A. McArthur, MD
  • › John E. McDonald Jr., MD
  • › Ai Mukai, MD
  • › O. Atilla Onan, MD
  • › Mark S. Parrella, MD
  • › J.P. Rodriguez, MD
  • › Claire Ryan, MD
  • › Vilas Saldanha, MD
  • › Blake Schultz, MD
  • › W. Randall Schultz, MD
  • › Scott A. Smith, MD
  • › J. Brannan Smoot, MD
  • › Joseph H. Snowden, DPM
  • › Jason R. Somogyi, MD
  • › Daniel T. Stewart, MD
  • › Kristopher G. Stockton, MD
  • › Ryan M. Taylor, MD
  • › Ryan M. Tibbetts, MD
  • › Blake Turvey, MD
  • › Todd Walker, MD
  • › Greg L. Westmoreland, MD

INFORMATION ABOUT THE NO SURPRISES ACT AND GOOD FAITH ESTIMATES

Copyright © Texas Orthopedics, All rights reserved.

iHealthspot Medical Website Design and Medical Marketing by iHealthSpot.com

Texas Orthopedics provides comprehensive orthopedic care by offering on-site X-ray, MRIs, bone density scans, physical and occupational therapy, general orthopedic services, sports medicine, spine care, joint replacement, fracture and trauma care, infusion therapy, and a Joint Commission-accredited outpatient surgery center. In addition to orthopedic surgeons, we have physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists at our locations in Kyle, Round Rock, Lakeway, Northwest Austin, Leander, Central Austin, and South Austin, TX.