7 Healthcast: Kids sports

"When we played baseball as kids it was a summertime sport we rotated between football, basketball, soccer and baseball," Timlin said.

Now more kids are in more intense sports programs, playing the same sport year round. The result- more injuries.

Common sports injuries in kids include stress fractures of the low back, ankle injuries, elbow injuries and knee problems. An ankle injury during soccer sidelined 13-year-old Megan Kevdar.

"I knew right when I went down that something was wrong because it was like a pain I never experienced," Kevdar said.

Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Brian Grottkau of Mass General Hospital for Children says when it comes to kids and sports:

"It's really important that coaches and parents realize that kids are not just little adults," Grottkau said.

One thing that separates children from adults is the growth plate. They're actively growing.

"Something that maybe a sprain, a contusion or a strain in an adult, may have some negative ramifications for growth in the future," Grottkau said.

Megan had surgery to repair a ligament in her ankle and after rehabilitation is back on the field. Dr. Grottkau says preventing sports injuries is the goal.

"50% of these are felt to be avoidable with proper equipment, conditioning, cross training and proper fields of play," Grottkau said.

And take some advice from Red Sox manager Terry Francona:

"There's something to be said for kids just enjoying learning how to compete and moving from one sport to another and not getting so specialized," Francona said.

And if you'd like to learn more about preventing sports injuries, we'll have plenty of experts on hand at the Health and Fitness Expo this weekend.

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