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When Kids Overdo Athletics

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - School is underway and so are the wide variety of sports in which kids have the opportunity to participate.

One of the things that makes sports so complicated is that there are also excellent opportunities for community sports and teams. This is a great thing because activity needs to be encouraged in our young people but there can also be a problem. Many young athletes are being selected - often by their parents - to play one sport all year long with the hopes of having a college scholarship or professional career in sports in the future.

No less of an authority than sports medicine guru Dr. James Andrews has said in the wind down of his career he is trying to stem the tide of the dramatic increase in overuse injuries in our kids.

It is important that we are very careful to not take athletics, which can be a big positive, and turn it into a negative.

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