our health: BACK COLUMN
We’ve Got Your Athlete’s
BACK to School Basics.
Adolescent Athletes and Spine-Related Pain
BY CHRISTOPHER HAPP, D.O.
ORTHOPEDIC SPINE SURGEON
Because school is back in full swing, new leagues for fall
sports are ramping up, and it’s that time of year when
adolescent athletes across the country start to experience
back pain.
It’s during the first few months of resuming sports that
these injuries are most likely to occur. There was a time,
perhaps more distant than I would like to acknowledge,
when an athlete played three, four or even five sports
throughout the year. Today, sports are becoming more focused and competitive. Traveling and select teams abound,
so athletes are spending more and more time specializing
on the one sport they enjoy most. As our state’s favorite
pastime resumes, Texas high school football, it is common
to have a waiting room with more than one or two Friday
night athletes on Monday mornings. Low back pain accounts for 5 to 8 percent of athletic injuries.
Injuries are often due to one of the following: poor
condition of the spinal musculature, poor biomechanics
or repetitive stresses specific to the sport. Overuse stress
injuries to the spine are more common with certain sports
such as: wrestling, gymnastics, football linemen, volleyball
and rowing. These sports tend to involve repetitive hyperextension of the spine. This can lead to strains and sprains
or even fractures and instability.
My job as a spine surgeon is to rule out serious injuries
and disorders such as a disc herniation, malignancy, or
neurologic deficit. Less than 1 percent of back pain complaints are related to serious spine pathology or require
emergent treatment. Even with an aggressive diagnostic
workup and multiple follow-ups, an organic and isolated
cause is identified about half the time when dealing with
adolescent back pain.
Acute sprains and strains are generally treated with the
age old rest, ice and anti-inflammatories. More modern
MINIMALLY INVASIVE
SPINE SURGERY
WEATHERFORD
CLINIC EVERY TUESDAY
SEPTEMBER 2015
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Common conditions treated:
42
Bulging Disc
Degenerative Disc
Low Back & Leg Pain
Facet Arthritis
Foraminal Stenosis
Herniated Disc
Myelopathy
Neck & Arm Pain
Pinched Nerve
Sciatica
Scoliosis
Spinal Arthritis/Bone Spurs
Spinal Stenosis
Spondylolisthesis
Upper Back Pain
BAYLOR SURGICAL
HARRIS METHODIST FORT WORTH
HARRIS METHODIST SOUTHWEST
PLAZA MEDICAL CENTER
“My approach with each individual patient is to provide the
most effective treatment in the least invasive way possible.”
*New Patient Appointments (within 2 weeks)
*Accepting most insurance
(817) 916-4685
1105 Santa Fe Dr., Weatherford, TX • www.DFWSpineCenter.com
*Not all patients are candidates for minimally invasive procedures.
Christopher Happ, DO
Orthopedic Spine Surgeon