Before you invest in a new pair of running shoes for your child this season, you might want to consider a startling statistic: Every year, 3.5 million kids are treated for sports-related injuries. Making sure that children take the right precautions before they're active can help keep them out of the emergency room.

Preventing Injuries
Parents shouldn't hesitate to trust their common sense when it comes to helping prevent injuries, says Brett Powers, DO, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine on the medical staff at Corona Regional Medical Center (CRMC).

"Children who are involved in sports all year long may need to give their body a chance to recuperate," he says. "Those who aren't active during cooler weather can expect to feel sore if they suddenly pick up a racket and play tennis for several hours."

Help head off injuries by focusing on safety and making sure everyone in your family follows these tips:

• Wear appropriate safety gear. For example, wear a helmet and pads for your knees, wrists and elbows if you inline skate. Select the proper shoes for your sport -- and wear them only for that activity. Replace them when the treads start to look worn or the shoes no longer provide support.
• Stretch before any type of physical activity. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons advises would-be athletes to warm up by running or jumping in place for three to five minutes, before gently stretching each muscle for 30 seconds.
• Stop playing if you're in pain. Talk to your children so they don't ignore aches and pains in joints and muscles. These are early signals that could help prevent more serious injuries.

When the Worst Happens
Even with all the right precautions, sometimes injuries still happen. Surgeons at CRMC can help treat sports injuries when physical therapy alone isn't enough.

The best part? Your kids will be back on the field after several weeks of rest.

"The minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures we perform reduce pain and decrease recovery times," Dr. Powers says. Rather than performing surgery through an incision that's a few inches long, surgeons perform procedures through incisions that are a few centimeters, maybe shorter.

Minimally invasive procedures performed at CRMC to help repair sports-related injuries include:

Brett Powers, DO

Surgical grafting. A torn ligament or meniscus (shock-absorbing cartilage) can be surgically repaired. During the procedure, the weakened or stretched tissue is reconstructed using tendons from elsewhere in the leg or arm.

Internal fixation. Complex fractures of the wrist or ankle are held in place with surgical fixation devices -- metal rods, screws, plates or pins -- that hold bones together throughout healing.

For more information on surgical procedures available at CRMC, please call 951-270-0882.

800 South Main St., Corona, CA 92882