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In recent years, sports specialization has become a hot topic amongst both parents of young athletes and medical professionals. There are a lot of questions swirling around early specialization: When should my child begin to focus on just one sport year-round? Are there injury risks associated with specialization? Does specializing in one sport provide a significant benefit for their skill development?
While answers to these questions aren’t always straightforward, in a recent study Dr. Mininder Kocher, an orthopedic surgeon and associate director of the Boston Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine Division, found some compelling evidence of the risks of early sports specialization.
Retro parenting: Three things we should go back to doing
The world is a different place than it was when I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s. Mostly, that’s a good thing. There are so many ways that technology has made life easier and better, the internet has brought knowledge to our fingertips and connections that span the world — and as a physician, I am grateful for all the life-saving discoveries of the past few decades.
However, when it comes to parenting, not all the changes have been good.
Kids and blood pressure: What every parent should know
We tend to associate hypertension with older age, but the truth is that anyone can develop high blood pressure — even kids. In fact, pediatric hypertension occurs in 2 to 5 percent of kids and is one of the top five chronic diseases in children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. While an elevated blood pressure reading may seem alarming, it isn’t always a sign of a more serious disease. Here’s what every parent should know about blood pressure in kids. …
26.2 for three: A transplant nurse’s tribute to her patients
Heartbreak Hill: It’s the notorious Boston Marathon landmark that runners both anticipate and dread. But when Deshanthi “Desh” Perera approaches that challenging climb on April 16, she’ll have special motivation propelling her uphill. Perera, a nurse working on the organ transplant inpatient unit of the Pediatric Transplant Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and first-time marathoner, isn’t just running for the glory of a personal best time or the satisfaction of completing the race. She’s running for all of the remarkable patients at Boston Children’s, including three of her own. …