Perhaps I am a bit off target here. I have recently read a really thought
provoking book: Joan Ryan (1995) Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making
and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters. The Women's' Press. It
has some very interesting insights into the pressures elite child athletes
can face. Did anybody in the UK see the programme on BBC2 last week called
"Go on my son" about child footballers and their fathers? Oh boy!.....
While I agree with the suggestions for treatment you have already received
has anybody stopped to look at the overall picture. This is a child. One
of the best solutions for shin splints is rest and gradual return to the
sport. Would it really be a long-term problem if your patient took a 6 week
(or whatever) break from competitive football and training? I know it is
hard to get children to rest, but by cutting the formal football he/she is
involved in he/she will have relative rest and hopefully improvement.
Perhaps a break from football in the short-term may seem impossible due to
the pressures to attend selection trials or the winning of certain events.
However, if it is short-term influences that are the pressure to continue to
compete, who is looking after the overall welfare of the child? Who is
pacing his/her development and working long-term to prevent burn out. What
age should a footballer aim ideally to peek their career (?early 20's and
their career lasts until they are in their 30's?)?
Look at shin splints in this context. A rest now will have no influence on
long-term career, but not dealing with shin splints now could be the
beginning of long-term problems and may be one of the factors that influence
whether he/she makes it. I would tend to be wary of patching a child up
with tape so that they can continue to train/compete, but there again I
maybe haven't got the whole picture in this particular case!
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 12 September 2000 12:42
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Shin splints
Dear List Members:
Can anyone please direct me to references or
detail a protocol for treating shin splints. The patient is a 12 year old
elite soccer player with a 2 month history of pain.
Thank you.
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