Archive for Archives
Relationship talks: Staying together through a child’s illness
Among the many stresses of having an ill or injured child, parents often feel a strain on their marriage. Whenever she can, clinical social worker Katherine Preston, LICSW, reassures families that a child’s illness does not automatically spell the end of the parents’ relationship. Based on studies of families facing childhood cancer and diabetes, Preston ... Read More
Early sports specialization: How to support your child
Early sports specialization — intensive training and competition in a single sport at the expense of other activities — has become the expected norm for young athletes hoping to excel. While parents may believe they’re helping their children achieve future athletic glory, getting too serious too early has produced a rash of “adult” injuries in ... Read More
Ski and snowboard injuries: How to reduce your risk
If you and your family ski or snowboard, you know the joy of breathing fresh winter air while much of the world is cooped up inside. You may also know of the sports’ many benefits, such as developing strength, balance, even emotional resilience. There are plenty of upsides as long as you can keep yourself ... Read More
After hip dysplasia, Emma smashes her cast
When she could walk again, Emma Wilkinson and her parents threw a big party. Diagnosed with hip dysplasia at the age of 4, Emma had spent 10 weeks in a spica cast that made almost all physical activity impossible. Now, baseball bat in hand, she took aim at a piñata replica of her cast while ... Read More
Foot deformity and amputation: Maria’s tough choice
Whenever she could, Maria Dupuis found a way to walk. She walked when she had to wear a cast from her chest to her ankles. She walked when the curve in her spine reached 94 degrees. When her right foot pointed up to the sky rather than straight ahead, she walked on her heel. Maria ... Read More
Congenital scoliosis: Maria’s story
Growing up in a big family helped. When Maria Dupuis came home from the hospital after surgery to correct her scoliosis, her sisters played Subway Surfer with her and her brothers braided her hair. Having so many siblings around to play with probably motivated her to get up and start walking sooner. And when other ... Read More
When athletes push too hard: How to screen and when to refer
With the rise in the number and competitiveness of female athletes, overtraining has become a serious health risk for many young women. Whether it comes from a coach, parent, teammate, or the athlete herself, the pressure to perform drives many young athletes to practice unsafe behaviors in an effort to boost performance. Instead of building ... Read More
Ski and snowboard safety: Helmet guide
They’re large and they mess up your hair. Nonetheless, more than 80 percent of skiers and snowboarders wore helmets during the 2017-2018 season. The rise in helmet use is welcome news for specialists in sports medicine and traumatic brain injury prevention, says Jessie Oldham, a postdoctoral researcher who focuses on sport-related concussion. Oldham recently shared ... Read More
Everli: Living her best life after atlantoaxial instability
When they travelled to the orphanage in China in early 2018, Shannon and Matt Gottschalk knew the toddler they hoped to adopt had Down syndrome. They knew she had been abandoned by the side of a highway and delivered to an orphanage by the farmer who’d found her. The couple was surprised, however, that at ... Read More
Nurturing strength: Tips for parents of female athletes
The drive to succeed can push female athletes to excel at any cost. Female athlete specialist, Dr. Bridget Quinn, talks about what parents and athletes can do to nurture strong bodies and healthy attitudes that will serve the athletes well now and in the future. What pressures are female athletes under? Today’s young athletes are ... Read More