Youth athletes are facing injury, surgery, and rehabilitation at a higher rate than previous generations. This can be traced back to a handful of factors. Overuse and repetitive stress injuries have spiked as a result of increased practice repetitions and games. Then you have the precise identification of injuries. Misdiagnosed and overlooked injuries are now being appropriately identified. Finally, breakthroughs in surgical technology and the incorporation of comprehensive rehabilitation as a vital part of the recovery process have led to more youth athletes utilizing the surgical route than ever before.

Experts Warn Of Injuries Caused By Overuse, Lack Of Rest In High Stakes World Of Youth Sports. @jeffvaughn reports. https://t.co/GO69Up6fhG pic.twitter.com/2Wlg2S7Q36

— KCAL News (@kcalnews) May 16, 2018

To understand the scope of this increase and how youth organizers, coaches, and parents can protect youth athletes we consulted with a surgical expert in the week’s episode of Sideline Data. Dr. Robert Marx is a Sports Medicine Surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery specializing in knee and shoulder surgery. He is also one of the HSS Orthopedic Consultants for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and for the second opinion program for the National Hockey League (NHL).

Aside from his work in the operating room, Dr. Marx is the Deputy Editor for Sports Medicine for the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and five books, including three relating to ACL injury and surgery. Dr. Marx has been voted as one of the “Best Doctors in New York” by New York Magazine for the past several years. Dr. Marx is also the Co-Medical Director of the HSS Sports Safety program which is working to alleviate the prevalence of youth injuries, such as ACL tears, in the United States.

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