b'Children are playing sports in record numbers.It is estimated that there are 30-45 million youth athletes in the U.S., and with North Texas being the fourth largest metropolitan area in the na-S PO R TS I NJ U R I ES I N T E EN Stion, many of those are our kids.The benefits of playing sports are innumerable, but the risk of injury is always present.Young ath-letes (under the age of 14) account for more than 3.5 million med-ical visits for sports-related injuries annually.The pressing need for pediatric sports medicine specialists has developed in recent years, so facilities such as the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine at Childrens Health are working to not only treat injuries but also to prevent them in the first place.Dr. James Andrews, for whom the center was named, was recently in Dallas and spoke to the issue of sports injuries in children and the work of the Institute.There is arguably no one more highly qualified to speak on the subject.Dr. Andrews has, among many otherpositions,servedasaSeniorMedicalConsultantforthe Washington Redskins, as the Orthopedic Medical Director for the Tampa Bay Rays, as the Medical Director for the Ladies Profession-al Golf Association, as the Medical Director and Orthopedic Sur-geon for Auburn University, and as part of the Medical and Safety Advisory Committee for USA Baseball.He is proud to have his name affiliated now with Childrens Health, and he says, For them to fund this is going beyond the call of dutyYouth sports is dom-inant here.(North Texas) probably has the highest density with youth sports in the countryThis is a unique facility, and my hat is off to the Dallas community. The Institute offers some of the most advanced techniques in athletic training and sports-related injury treatment in the nation.I think it is essential to point out that the old adage is true; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.As logic should tell us, an uninjured joint is always superior to a surgically repaired one. - Dr. James AndrewsDr. Andrews says that according to their records, they estimate that sports-related injuries are up ten-fold since 2000, and he attri-butes much of that to two major causeswhat he terms specializa-tion and professionalism.Kids are specializing in one sport year-round and training at a professional level as early as age four.He believes its too much, too fast, too soon.Overuse injuries are on the rise because kids are using the same muscles repeatedly all year long.Baseball is a prime example.Dr. Andrews own grandson was once asked to pitch four games in one day.The statistics at American Sports Medicine Institute in Alabama indicate a 7- to 10-fold increase in throwing arm injuries since 2000.ASMI together with the Andrews Research and Education Foundation in Pensaco-GoodLifeFamilyMag.comSEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 201937'