Sports Medicine for Parents and Coaches.

Sports Medicine for Parents and Coaches

Boyle DJ. Washington, DC 20007, Georgetown University Press, 1999, hardcover/paperback, 120 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-87840-732-4 (hardcover), 0-87840-733-2 (paperback), $29.95 (hardcover), $12.95 (paperback).

The purpose of this book is to give a sequential progression for a parent with a child who wants to participate in athletics. It includes the pre-participation physical examination, conditioning, treatment of injuries, and sport-specific injuries. The content is largely geared toward the parent or the parent-coach. The book is divided into 5 parts and has a glossary.

The first part focuses on preparing children for sports participation. It also covers the athlete with disabilities as well as the physical conditions that limit participation in sports. The inclusion of information on child development and skill acquisition expectancies will be very useful to a parent or coach of young athletes. This part of the book also contains guidelines that parents can use to help their child choose a sport in which he or she may be more successful.

The second part focuses on maintaining good physical conditioning. The comments on preseason conditioning are good and should help the young athlete see that training before a season starts can help avoid injury. There is some confusion in the book about whether weight training is recommended for prepubescent boys and girls. The author remarks that this group makes few strength gains; however, in the next paragraph, he recommends that "to build strength, boys should lift heavy weights several times." There are no recommendations for strength training for girls. Including a comment on the appropriateness of strength training for girls would be helpful for the coach and parent, because girls are at greater risk for many injuries than boys. The information on fluid replenishment is good; the "Tips for Coaches" section is a great addition that provides key points on this topic for the coach and also cues the parent to its importance. Part 2 includes information on drugs, diet, and eating disorders in appropriate detail to help guide a parent concerning these issues.

Part 3 begins with basic definitions and addresses specific injuries categorized by body part. The initial treatment of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) is emphasized. The details and treatment of the injuries are kept at an easily understandable level for parents and coaches. This part includes a great deal of information on injury with a number of illustrations to complement the text. However, 2 illustrations contain problems. First, the illustration of the hamstring stretch does not differentiate the position of the back that allows one of the most common stretching errors to occur: In that position, the back gets stretched, but not the hamstring muscles. Second, I would not recommend treating a quadriceps femoris contusion with an Ace bandage on the knee as shown in another illustration, because placing an individual in non-weight bearing in that position may increase the likelihood of falling. In addition, the quadriceps femoris is a 2-joint muscle, but only 1 joint is addressed. Aside from these exceptions, the text provides good injury recognition, follow-up suggestions, and some rehabilitation guidelines.

The sport-specific injuries dominate part 4. The sport or groups of sports are listed with their most common injuries. Each injury is described, including the cause, the complaint, treatment, and surgery. Each sport section ends with a "tip for coaches" that addresses prevention and on-the-field considerations. These tips are direct and sometimes include the little things that make a big difference in preventing an injury or curtailing the extent of an injury.

Part 5 of the book is directed to the physicians who want to be or are on the sidelines. It suggests the items that should be in a sports medical bag. The author does push for a physician to be at all sporting events; depending on the specialty of the physician, a trainer may also be advantageous. The end of the book lists "Ten Commandments" for parents of young athletes. Relevant stories make 10 points that every parent and coach should keep in mind to ensure that children's athletic endeavors result in good, salt fun.

The author has achieved his goal of providing an easy-to-read guide for the parent and coach of the young athlete. The book is organized so that information can be accessed quickly. It is written from personal experience and includes stories not only from the medical viewpoint, but from the viewpoint of the parent and coach. This approach allows the author to provide a great resource for parents and coaches.

Rose L Smith, PT, SCS, ATC University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio

Ms Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy Program and an adjunct instructor in the Athletic Training Program. She performs clinical responsibilities with the student athlete population for Spectrum Rehabilitation.