# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Sleep this way to add almost 5 years to your life | CNN

# data[].attributes.body
The following article connects to personal health and wellness. Published by CNN, the article discusses how these 5 new sleep habits have been researched to increase life expectancy in both men and women. Center for Disease Control and Prevention explain how 1 in 3 Americans experience sleep deficit. The article highlights 5 key tips; a full 7-8 hour sleep, an uninterrupted sleep, foregoing sleeping medication, waking up easily, as well as being able to fall asleep easily. Lastly, the article states how we are able to train our brain to fall asleep and wake up better.

The article is important to students as allowing them to understand that good sleep helps our function better throughout the day such as coming to school and learning. We can teach our students healthy sleeping habits such as putting electronics away at a certain time so we are not tempted to stay up later or staying in routines of a sleep schedule.

LaMotte, Sandee. “Sleep This Way to Add Almost 5 Years to Your Life.” CNN, Cable News Network, 24 Feb. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/health/sleep-longevity-study-wellness/index.html.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sleep this way to add almost 5 years to your life | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
People who followed five sleep tips added nearly five years to their lives, a new study found.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Why Wash Your Hands? Read the Science Behind the Recommendations.

# data[].attributes.body
The CDC had released an article backed by research and studies of why hand washing is so crucial to our personal health and wellness. In summary, the CDC shares how when we inconsistently are washing our hands or aren’t washing them properly, we are at higher risk for respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases and infections. Hand washing is proven to minimize the spreading of germs onto other objects and people. Lastly, the CDC shared how often times antibiotics will be prescribed for diseases that are cause by germs spread through not washing hands. By practicing healthy hand washing, we can minimize the use of unnecessary prescription of antibiotics. The article highlights healthy ways to wash hands properly and to stay in routine of doing so.

This article is important to share with children to discuss the importance of hand washing and what we can do to practice healthy hand washing. Sharing this with students, I would discuss how around the room we are constantly picking up items that others have touched. If we don’t wash our hands, we spread bad germs that can make us sick. You can practice handwashing in the classroom as well and demonstrate proper hand washing. As a lesson on handwashing, I would have students rub glitter on their hands, and practice handwashing habits until all the glitter is gone. The glitter can represent "germs" on our hands and how although we don't see them the way we see the glitter, they stay on our hands similar to the glitter and take a good handwashing in order to remove them

“Show Me the Science - Why Wash Your Hands?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 May 2023, www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.

Feces (poop) from people or animals is an important source of germs like Salmonella, and norovirus that cause diarrhea, and it can spread some respiratory infections like adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease. These kinds of germs can get onto hands after people use the toilet or change a diaper, but also in less obvious ways, like after handling raw meats that have invisible amounts of animal poop on them. A single gram of human feces-which is about the weight of a paper clip-can contain one trillion germs . Germs can also get onto hands if people touch any object that has germs on it because someone coughed or sneezed on it or was touched by some other contaminated object. When these germs get onto hands and are not washed off, they can be passed from person to person and make people sick.

Handwashing with soap removes germs from hands. This helps prevent infections because:

People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick.

Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.

Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another person's hands.

Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections.

Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy. Handwashing education in the community:

Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 23-40%

Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%

Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%

Reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%

About 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the
world .

Handwashing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia , .

Although people around the world clean their hands with water, very few use soap to wash their hands. Washing hands with soap removes germs much more effectively .

Handwashing education and access to soap in schools can help improve attendance .

Good handwashing early in life may help improve child development in some settings .

Estimated global rates of handwashing after using the toilet are only 19%.

Preventing sickness reduces the amount of antibiotics people use and the likelihood that antibiotic resistance will develop. Handwashing can prevent about 30% of diarrhea-related sicknesses and about 20% of respiratory infections (e.g., colds) . Antibiotics often are prescribed unnecessarily for these health issues . Reducing the number of these infections by washing hands frequently helps prevent the overuse of antibiotics-the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world. Handwashing can also prevent people from getting sick with germs that are already resistant to antibiotics and that can be difficult to treat.

1. Franks AH, Harmsen HJM, Raangs GC, Jansen GJ, Schut F, Welling GW. Variations of bacterial populations in human feces measured by fluorescent in situ hybridization with group-specific 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1998;64(9):3336-3345.

2. Freeman MC, Stocks ME, Cumming O, Jeandron A, Higgins JPT, Wolf J et al. Hygiene and health: Systematic review of handwashing practices worldwide and update of health effects. Trop Med Int Heal 2014; 19: 906-916.

3. Hogerzeil H. Promoting rational prescribing: An international perspective. [PDF - 6 pages] Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1995;39:1-6.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
centers for disease control and prevention

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Wash Your Hands? Read the Science Behind the Recommendations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn why washing your hands is one of the most important steps you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Even Short Bursts of Daily Activity Lengthen Life

# data[].attributes.body
Published by US News in relation to personal health and wellness, this article shared how physical activity lasting up to 10 minutes of movement, helps prevent major health problems such as heart attacks and strokes in older ages. The article explains how these activities can include your everyday routines such as walking. If we walk everyday somewhere but we do it at a quicker pace, it gets our heartbeat up and blood flow improves. The article addresses how exercise doesn’t need to be long and exhausting to keep your body healthy, rather we can do our everyday activities with quicker movement to improve our cardiovascular and heart health.

Teaching this article to students shared with them the importance of keeping a healthy heart, and how simple it can be through things we do everyday. Share with students that we can do this in brainbreaks doing jumping jacks faster and quicker, or at recess find new ways to get in fast pace movement.

Thompson, Dennis. Even Short Bursts of Daily Activity Lengthen Life - U.S. News &amp; World ..., www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-10-02/even-short-bursts-of-daily-activity-lengthen-life. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Oct. 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Good news for couch potatoes - bursts of activity as short as one to three minutes in duration can prompt a steep decrease in the risk of heart attack, stroke and early death, a new study reports.

Researchers tracked the activity of more than 25,000 people in the United Kingdom, all of whom had wearable devices that monitored their movement down to 10-second intervals.

The investigators found that short bouts of activity lasting fewer than 10 minutes caused a significant decrease in heart attacks and strokes, as well as death from any cause.

These weren't activities where someone needed to don sportswear and athletic shoes, either, said lead researcher Matthew Ahmadi, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Sydney in Australia.

"The health-enhancing benefits they received all came from activities of daily living such as playing with children, gardening and household tasks that mixed in short bursts of vigorous intensity," Ahmadi said.

"Our study found that the health benefits traditionally attributed to exercise-based activities can also be achieved through everyday activities. This was a nice finding, particularly for adults who are unable to or cannot exercise regularly," he said.

Although even short bursts of activity produced benefit, the longer the bouts, the better off participants were, the researchers found.

Compared to people who only moved in bouts of one minute or less:

People who regularly moved 5 to 10 minutes had a 52% reduced risk of early death and a 41% reduced risk of heart attack and stroke.

Those who regularly moved 3 to 5 minutes had a 44% reduced risk of early death and a 38% reduced risk of heart attack and stroke.

Folks who moved 1 to 3 minutes were 34% less likely to die early and 29% less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

The intensity of the activity did matter, the findings showed.

People who huffed and puffed with vigorous activity for at least 15% of each bout - about 10 seconds per minute - saw the greatest benefit, according to the report.

Even bouts of activity of less than a minute were associated with health benefits if they contained 15% or more vigorous movement, the researchers said.

"People don't need to necessarily do short bursts of activity that are only vigorous. As long as they are able to do their daily activities in bursts with a little extra effort or pace lasting a few minutes at a time they can get health benefits," Ahmadi said. "And then if they want to top it off and get more 'bang for their buck,' they can also do them at a high effort to get that vigorous intensity."

Fewer than 1 in 5 middle-aged adults regularly exercise, the authors said in background notes.

For the study, Ahmadi's team analyzed data from 25,241 adults who were part of a long-term U.K. health study. The researchers focused specifically on people who said they don't exercise in their leisure time.

Ahmadi said the results seen are likely due to the heart-healthy benefits of any kind of activity.

"These short bursts of activity done at moderate or vigorous intensity are likely leading to cardioprotective adaptations, such as improved blood pressure, blood sugar control, strengthening our heart muscle and reducing our body's oxidative stress," he said.

Dr. Catherine Benziger, a member of the American College of Cardiology's Prevention Council, agreed that the results show that "any amount of exercise is good for your heart."

"People often think they have to go out and buy all this fancy equipment to play pickleball or go for run, and it's really not that hard," said Benziger, director of research at Essentia Health Heart and Vascular Center in Duluth, Minn. "It does not require any equipment to dance, to garden, to walk your dog. People just need to get out the front door, get outside."

Technology often leads people to sit around, staring at screens, and it's a temptation that must be resisted, she said.

"Moving more, sitting less is the name of the game," Benziger said. "Dance to a song while you're cleaning. During commercial breaks of a television show, get up and move around. That would be, I think, classified as this kind of movement that they're talking about."

Once someone is up and moving, they can then gradually extend their bouts of activity if they want to further improve their health, Benziger added.

The findings were published in the October issue of The Lancet Public Health.

SOURCES: Matthew Ahmadi, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow, University of Sydney, Australia; Catherine Benziger, MD, MPH, director of research, Essentia Health Heart and Vascular Center, Duluth, Minn.; The Lancet Public Health, October 2023

Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Even Short Bursts of Daily Activity Lengthen Life

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
US News is a recognized leader in college, grad school, hospital, mutual fund, and car rankings. Track elected officials, research health conditions, and find news you can use in politics, business, health, and education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Flossing your teeth may protect against cognitive decline, research shows | CNN

# data[].attributes.body
In discussion of personal health and wellness, CNN published an article sharing how flossing daily can help prevent a decline in cognitive function. Through 14 studies over 34,000 adults, it showed that those with tooth loss and decay, faced more problems of cognitive abilities, functions and impairment. This article also mentions that keeping good oral health improved issues with other health complications and diseases.

To discuss this with students shows them why it’s important for us at a young age to always practice healthy oral habits, not just as in brushing our teeth, but flossing as well. The article helps student understand that if we start these habits now we can strengthen our cognitive function now and maintain these habits longer.

Kent, Lauren. “Flossing Your Teeth May Protect against Cognitive Decline, Research Shows.” CNN, Cable News Network, 8 July 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/07/08/health/flossing-tooth-loss-cognitive-decline-wellness/index.html.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Flossing your teeth may protect against cognitive decline, research shows | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Flossing your teeth is good for dental health, but it also may also protect against cognitive decline, new research suggests.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article supporting healthy eating published by CNN, studies had found that students between the ages of 5-18 through 2005-2020 when the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act took place, that BMI had decreased in this age group. Through the reading, you will understand that obesity is a widespread problem within our country. Programs such as National School Breakfast and Lunch aimed to provide more nutritional meals, as "these meals make up an estimated 50% of the calories in a child’s day." Efforts continue to be made that support healthy eating habits within schools.

Discussing this article and topic with students can help them to understand why it is so important to practice healthy eating habits. Poor eating can lead to serious health issues, so if we can reduce the risk and make healthy choices at school, we can encourage them to carry out these practices at home. Share with students examples of healthy foods for our body to make us stronger and how eating well can support us more in doing things we love like playing sports. Show students an example of the "portion plates" and what we should fit into our eating, such as veggies, protein, and carbs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Changes to US school meal program helped reduce BMI in children and teens, study says | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Changes to school nutrition standards that pushed more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products significantly decreased kids' and teens' body mass index after the standards were implemented in 2010, a new study finds.

# data[].attributes.body
Mental health has more recently than ever had a negative effect of students. “School-based services help students navigate the system,” says Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach." The article shares how schools across the nation partner with hospitals and organizations to provide students different types of mental health support. Providing this in schools waives a parents worry of funding for support from therapy or psychologists, by having these programs in schools, students can receive the servives needed at no cost. Having this at school allows the medical provider a chance to see the child outside of a session; how they cooperate or act around others in different settings, communication with teachers, and easier access for time to check in on the student.

This topic during this time is so important to share with students. Mental health is something that students most likely are starting to struggle with, but at this age may not know how to ask for help. If I were to discuss this with my students, I would share the schools counselor information, have the counselor or psychologist come in and speak about the topic, and share with students what mental health is, how you may feel and how to express these thought, feelings, and emotions to others to get help.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the number of young people experiencing depression and anxiety continues to grow, schools play a critical role as providers of mental health services: Some 70% of children in the U.S. who seek and receive mental health support get it at school.

"School-based services help students navigate the system," says Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach, director of policy and advocacy at the National Association of School Psychologists. "It can be very daunting for a parent with a child who is struggling. When there are services at schools, kids are more likely to ask for help."

They may also be more likely to get help sooner: Due to a lack of mental health providers nationwide, the wait to see a private practitioner is as long as six months in some areas.

But schools can struggle to meet the need with existing mental health staff as well. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 students for each counselor, but the nationwide average was 415 students per counselor in 2021. The numbers are even worse for school psychologists. While the National Association of School Psychologists recommends 1 psychologist for every 500 students, in some states the ratio is as high as 1 to 5,000.

School-community partnerships, in which hospitals, universities or community organizations work with school districts to bolster the mental health services they provide to students, can help. There are four main types:

Direct partnerships between a school or district and a community organization to provide clinicians in schools.

Community schools, which provide a range of supports for students, including mental health support, from different partners.

Comprehensive behavioral health models, in which local hospitals provide clinicians and integrate social-emotional curricula as well as training. pre-doctoral interns within schools.

School-based health centers, which provide both physical and mental health services to students as well as, in some cases, community members.

All of these programs bring psychologists or social workers into school buildings, sometimes part-time and sometimes every day. Often, these partner clinicians work directly with the psychologists, social workers, school counselors and teachers employed by the district. Funded through a combination of insurance, district funds, grants and philanthropy, partnerships can relieve schools of some of the financial burden of employing those providers directly.
Most importantly, students benefit. When school staff can collaborate with partner specialists in the school building, services can go deeper and kids are more likely to get the support they need.

"The more mental health services are embedded in schools, the lower the threshold for access and the better the student outcomes," says Andria Amador, senior director of behavioral health services for Boston Public Schools. "If you're a provider, you can go next door and ask the teacher, 'How did the child do today?' You can track their progress."

Seamless Support in Schools

School-based health centers have been around since the 1970s, but the mental health component has grown over the past 20 years, even if staffing levels were sometimes low. Today there are more than 2,500 SBHCs across the country.

To students and their parents, these partnerships may not be visible. The process for receiving services takes place entirely within the school's walls. Any child who needs it can receive treatment for anxiety, depression or other concerns, regardless of their family's ability to pay.

If a parent, teacher or student expresses a concern about the child's mental well-being, the issue is brought to a team comprised of school mental health providers, partner providers, teachers and administrators. The child is assessed and the team decides on an appropriate level of care. That's when they reach out to the child's parent to get their consent for care and to bill medicaid or insurance.

Many districts provide three types of mental health support. The first, which is enough for most students, involves schoolwide wellness promotion, in-class discussion of coping strategies and schoolwide mental health screenings. Some students who need more support may respond to the next level, small group intervention. These can include affinity groups, like those for students of color or those who identify as LGBTQ. The third level is for kids who need one-on-one counseling, crisis intervention and intensive case management.

More often than not, these services happen at school, during the school day. Clinicians, whether they work for the district or a partnering agency, can observe the child on the playground and in the classroom.

"These are known entities in the building to support students and educators as well," says Amy Blackshaw, behavioral health project director for the California School-Based Health Alliance, which advocates for SBHCs in that state. "It's critical to embed that in the schools."

Strength in Numbers

School-community mental health partnerships can help districts address persistent problems. For example, Seattle Public Schools, working with the University of Washington, established an initiative in 2002 focused on the disproportionate number of suspensions and expulsions of African American high school students in the district. The partnership helped the district build data analysis tools to better understand the issue and implement professional development and coaching at schools where the problem was severe.

Practitioners from the university also worked with the district to identify students struggling with the transition from elementary to middle school, or middle to high school. Together they designed a new way to screen students and provide support.

School mental health partnerships can make it easier for districts to tackle the ongoing shortage of mental health clinicians.

In 2012, Boston Public Schools partnered with Boston Children's Hospital and the University of Massachusetts-Boston to launch a Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model to improve its school-based mental health services. Starting in 10 schools, the hospital and university supplied experienced mental health specialists who integrated full-time into the schools, providing screenings, counseling and other supports.

Today, 76 Boston schools are in the program, and the number of clinicians in the district has tripled. Hospital partners are still central and each school puts together a detailed agreement between partner providers, school psychologists, teachers and administrators to serve children in need. But it still isn't enough.

"Now, post-COVID, we can't keep up," Amador says, "even with that tripled work force."

To help meet the demand, the Boston school district is also partnering with six psychology graduate programs in the state, to support the field placement of 50 graduate-level trainees and provide school psychology training for two or three doctoral candidates every year.

"We are able to fill vacant positions with the recent graduates we were able to train," says Amador. "This is by far our most important workforce development strategy."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Benefits of Mental Health Programs in Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Community partnerships can help K-12 schools provide more robust mental health support for students.

# data[].attributes.body
In the article "Is the Internet hurting children?" We learn how technology has become a regular, normalized part of children's lives, as young as just 2 years old. Through the information and research provided, we understand the effect screen time has on children and teens. CNN states "Too much hypertext and multimedia content has been linked in some kids to limited attention span, lower comprehension, poor focus, greater risk for depression and diminished long-term memory." In continuation, tjis article shares how becoming involved in social media at a young age, we tend to post online things we may later in life have regret ever posting. At a young age, we don't understand social media fully and are unaware of how everything we publicize online can be traced back.

This topic is one that should be talked about within schools. As technology becomes more common within school settings as well, I would discuss with students the expectations for the use of technology, and the importance of thinking before acting when using social media outlets. Compare social media to real life scenarios; if we wouldn't like someone saying those things to or about us face to face, then we shouldn't post or say those things digitally.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Chelsea Clinton and James P. Steyer say the explosion in online access for children and teenagers has created privacy concerns and cognitive development issues.

# data[].attributes.body
UCLA has released an article in relation to Safety and preventing unintentional injuries, and shares how youth athletes are facing more injuries both physical and emotional. The reading first discussed how sports have transitioned from seasonal to year round sports. With this change, young sports players aren't giving their bodies proper rest from the use of certain muscles. Recently, sports have shifted into training at high intensity levels to master a skill in one sport, whereas the focus used to be well rounded skills in multiple seasonal sports with the target of strengthening and supporting our entire body. Because of this, young athletes are facing more injuries on overuse of muscles. Dr. Jones states in the article "we can ultimately help all stakeholders find an appropriate balance for training that continues to help develop athletic skills but maintains a safe and enjoyable environment.”

At the Prek-4 level, many children are getting their first glimpse into sports, and discovering what they enjoy most. Explaining this to students, I would share that our bodies can get weaker when we put too much pressure on them. In gym class, I would suggest for the teacher to show students and encourage them to participate in a wide variety of sports. Although they may only play and enjoy one, remind the children that we need to exercise our whole body to prevent injuries.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Sports specialization" may be an unknown term to many, but for doctors treating young athletes, it has become all too familiar, a reference to specialization in a single sport that can lead to serious injury.

Recent data shows that youth sports specialization can be detrimental both physically and emotionally. This trend has led to increased injuries among athletes under age 18, according to Kristofer Jones, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and head team physician for the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Now, we have the studies to show that the chance of serious musculoskeleltal injury from repetitive microtrauma is increased at a time when, due to normal adolescent growth, the body may be particularly vulnerable (due to sports specialization)," Dr. Jones said. "The literature shows a clear correlation between training volume and intensity and injury risk."

Dr. Jones defines sports specialization as intensive, year-round training in a single sport at the expense of participation in other sports. The problem with this trend is that developing children are focusing on the improvement of specific athletic skills, such as pitching, as opposed to training to improve core physical principles such as flexibility and balance.

"A lot of the focus on injuries and their relationship to sports specialization has occurred in Little League and high school baseball, just because the number of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstructions that we were performing was starting to trend upward in kids who are under 18," Dr. Jones stated.

"The first ulnar collateral ligament construction surgery, or 'Tommy John' procedure, was done decades ago by Frank Jobe on the (then Dodgers) pitcher Tommy John, when he was well into his 30s. It was almost unheard of to see UCL injuries in children at that time because kids weren't playing baseball on a year-round basis."

Times were different then, with more middle school and high school athletes participating in seasonal sports such as football or soccer in the fall, basketball or wrestling in the winter, and then in the spring kids were playing baseball.

Now, when young athletes throw consistently throughout the year without giving their arm a break by playing other sports, they become more susceptible to injury.

"When you're throwing year-round, because of the significant force imparted to the inside of the elbow, the ligaments gradually begin to fail," explained Dr. Jones. "Not only will that ligament fail, but when that primary elbow stabilizer is not functional, secondary stabilizers in the elbow begin to experience abnormal loads, leading to bone and cartilage injuries."

Dr. Jones added that general guidelines to avoid overuse injuries are limiting overall weekly and yearly sports participation time, staying away from repetitive movement, and providing scheduled rest periods. Major League Baseball is trying to do its part to curb these injuries by providing a pitch count guide on its website to help coaches and parents track how many pitches their athletes can throw daily.

High contact sports result in frequent sports specialization injuries

Repetitive stress injuries also are common in other high-velocity sports. In basketball, many players get "jumper's knee," or tendinopathy. Common football-related injuries include shoulder and knee ailments and runners are not exempt either. Plenty of cross-country and track and field athletes end up with bone stress injuries from the constant heel strike on the pavement or from jumping.

Dr. Jones also cited gymnastics as a sport in which just about every athlete experiences some kind of sports specialization injury.

"I see it all the time with our women's gymnastics team," he said. "So many of them enter the collegiate level with complex injury histories because it is such a physically demanding sport and the culture is one in which they focus on developing an elite skill set when they are almost 5 or 6 years old."

The exact cause of sports specialization injuries may vary, but the underlying theme is the relentless drive and desire for the athlete to be great - whether that's generated by the athlete, a parent or a coach.

"From a cultural view, we have created an environment in youth sports where the definition of success is focused on the development of elite skills and winning as opposed to focusing on the development of basic physical health," Dr. Jones said. "From the kid's side, they see the heightened sense of fame and celebrity that comes with being a famous athlete. From the parent and coaches' side, they are often focused on developing the athletic potential they see through their selective lens, and the attainment of success is often measured by winning, or obtaining a college scholarship or professional contract."

With the improvement of training programs, a better understanding of nutrition, and advancements of training technology, younger athletes are generally bigger, faster and stronger in today's sports world. However, Dr. Jones worries there may be a detrimental long-term effect attached to that reality.

"We're seeing kids with bigger and more developed athletic bodies and better skill sets, but we have to find that balance so that we can allow them to train in a way that makes them better without placing them at such a high risk for overuse injury. Additionally, we have to take into account the mental toll that comes along with specializing, as data shows it can lead to burn out as well," he said.

"From a sports medicine standpoint, we need to look at the data we've been able to collect and look at the risk for overuse injury for different age groups based on their individual sports and physical demands," Dr. Jones said. "With proper education and use of a multidisciplinary approach, we can ultimately help all stakeholders find an appropriate balance for training that continues to help develop athletic skills but maintains a safe and enjoyable environment."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Injuries among youth athletes are on the rise - but why?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
UCLA Health's Dr. Kristofer Jones explains the trend and its link to 'sports specialization.'