Keeping young female athletes healthy, on and off the field

Experts warn to watch out for the triad of amenorrhea, anorexia and osteoporosis, as well as for parents who push to play through the pain.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Nov. 15, 2004.

When a young female athlete, injured, came to see Michelle L. Look, MD, the physician was aggressive in her treatment. It seemed important to the patient to be well enough to take part in an upcoming competition.

But the injury still didn't get better. It was only when Dr. Look, a family physician in San Diego, spoke to the patient directly, without a parent in the room, that she learned that the athlete wasn't that interested in continuing to compete.

"Sometimes they don't have the power to say that they're hurting and they don't want to do it," said Dr. Look, speaking at an interactive session on caring for the young female athlete during the American Academy of Family Physicians annual scientific sessions in Orlando, Fla., last month. "By being the bad guy, you can give the patient an out."

In addition to making a higher priority of patient wellness than of athletic ambitions, Dr. Look suggested that doctors keep an eye out for other trouble signs when caring for young female athletes. These include symptoms of steroid use and eating disorders that can lead to osteoporosis, amenorrhea and various ill-health effects.

She pointed out, however, that physicians' line of questioning has to acknowledge that what is considered normal for the average teenager may not be so for the athlete.