Hospitals expand treatment programs for young, injured athletes

About 35 million kids play organized sports each year. As sports become more competitive, many young athletes train year-round. That means more injuries - and more surgeries to fix them.

Remi Ramos has been playing competitive tennis for eight years.

"No time off. Never any time off!" she said.

But last year an injury changed everything for the 17-year-old athlete.

"I was in the middle of a four-hour match and I slid on the clay courts, and I felt something pop in my hip," she said.

Ramos had a labral tear in both hip joints. Surgeries would require more than a year off the court. And it all happened at the height of college recruiting.

"It couldn't have been a worse time for this to happen!" she said.

More than 3.5 million kids receive treatment for a sports injury every year. In the past 10 years, football injuries rose 23 percent and soccer injuries by 11 percent. Since 2000, there's been a five-fold increase in shoulder and elbow injuries among baseball and softball players.

Now hospitals around the country are expanding their programs to care for young, injured athletes.

"What we found at our center is there are a lot of kids participating in sports, probably more young kids than there are weekend warriors who are injuring their hips," said Jeremy Frank, MD, pediatric sports medicine specialist at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

To fix Ramos' injury, Frank made three small incisions to stitch part of her hip joint, called the labrum, and re-shaped the ball and socket.

It's been a long road to recovery for Ramos and her coach - but she refuses to give up.

"There was no stopping me from coming back!" she said.

"She's an unbelievably disciplined young lady and she loves the sport," said Brian Gordon, her coach.

After a year and four months of recovery, Ramos is training for her first tournament.

"I'm extremely nervous, but I'm extremely excited!" she said.

The rehabilitation process is different for kids and teens who suffer sports injuries. For example, while adults can lift heavier weights to build muscle, pediatric patients may need to do higher reps and lower resistance to avoid hurting growing bones, muscles and tendons.

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