Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Sports medicine briefs

Do kids need sports drinks?

Although children may request sports drinks, they offer little advantage over cool water, say nutritionists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital. Sports drinks are designed to benefit athletes engaged in continuous, high-intensity aerobic workouts that last for 90 minutes or more.

But, if the availability of sports drinks encourages your kids to drink, consider making your own. Combine caffeine-free herbal tea, a little sugar, a pinch of salt and a few ounces of orange juice. Chill in individual bottles.

Active kids need to fill up on fluids to prevent dehydration. Children should be encouraged to drink before heading outside and every 15 to 30 minutes during playtime activities.

Mature approach can lead to longer athletic life

It’s not surprising to see older athletes holding their own against the younger generation, say experts at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

“As opposed to the early ‘70s and ‘80s, elite athletes are better conditioned,” said Dr. Joe Chorley, a sports medicine specialist at BCM and Texas Children’s Hospital. “When they're not playing a sport, they’re either cross training, strength training or doing some type of aerobic activity.”

Chorley said recreational athletes who want to compete longer could learn from the “old” pros. He recommends eating properly, avoiding the “weekend warrior” mentality, doing strength training, listening to the body and picking an enjoyable sport to keep motivated.

“You’re seeing more elite athletes having longer careers,” Chorley said. “Recreational athletes can do the same if they take care of their bodies and follow some sound advice.”

New shock wave therapy treats tennis elbow

Tennis elbow sufferers can now receive a new non-invasive, shockwave treatment from orthopedic specialists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The OssaTron treatment was approved by the FDA after being studied by Drs. Evan D. Collins and David H. Hildreth, both hand and upper extremity orthopedic specialists at BCM.

“The treatment doesn’t come with the same risks and recovery time that can accompany surgery. It’s an effective non-operative approach to treating tennis elbow that literally takes less than 20 minutes to perform,” said Collins.

The process of the OssaTron, called extracorporeal shock wave therapy, reduces inflammation and stimulates healing for chronic tendinitis such as tennis elbow. Using electrohydraulic, or “spark gap” technology, the OssaTron emits the same type of high-energy shockwaves originally developed to treat kidney stones and is now the only FDA approved shock wave treatment for tennis elbow.

“For those patients living with chronic pain because conservative treatment was unsuccessful and they were apprehensive about surgery, these treatments offer much promise,” Hildreth said.