Sport injuries featured on ‘Healthy Living’

With fall sports in full gear, a Western Baptist Hospital orthopedic surgeon discusses ways to avoid and treat sports injuries on “Healthy Living,” a 30-minute program on Paducah’s Channel 2.

The program, hosted by the hospital’s customer service director Stacey Young, features an interview with Brian Kern, M.D, of the Orthopedic Institute of Western Kentucky.

“It’s normal for kids to have aches and pains when they play sports,” Dr. Kern said. “It’s not normal for a kid to have pain. When kids have pain altering their ability to play their particular sports, it’s not OK to play through the pain. Legitimate pain should always be (looked at).”

Dr. Kern said he recommends children stretch before and after exercising and cross-train to avoid injury.

“Ninety percent of children I treat for broken bones don’t need surgery,” he said. “Most of the injuries I see are preventable, believe it or not. A lot of the acute sprains and strains could have been prevented. I try to teach kids early on that stretching is very important. The other thing I see is (the need for) proper training as well. They expect the sport to get you in shape and that’s not the case. You need to get in shape for the sport.”

The program will air at 6 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. Fridays, beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 21. 

“Healthy Living” is designed to inform and educate viewers about various health issues. It can be viewed at http://tv.westkentucky.kctcs.edu/videoclips/healthy_living/.