(Scottsdale, AZ)….With the rising popularity of video sites and the free exchange of videos worldwide, an ever-increasing number of teens are engaging in dangerous daredevil activities. Although some of these videos can be entertaining, the fleeting glory of “outdoing” one’s peers does not compare to the pain of ill-advised injury.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “fails” (i.e., daredevil acts gone wrong) are the leading cause of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and result in the greatest number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations each year. Not surprisingly, spinal injuries are also a leading concern
“Unfortunately, teenage daredevil tricks can result in serious spinal cord injuries,” says Dr. Sham Vengurlekar (Dr. Vengurlekar), founder and primary physician at Premier Pain Institute. “Driven by a desire for peer acceptance, and a rush of adrenaline, it is not surprising that adolescents and young adults bear the highest risk for injuries of any group.”
In fact, The American Spinal Cord Association reports that approximately 20 percent of spinal cord injuries occur in children and adolescents. Although most of these injuries are vehicle-related (e.g., reckless acts on all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles), general “fails” are the next cause. Fails would be defined as any reckless act gone awry (i.e., a skateboard accident, failed flip or dive, etc.).
Dr. Vengurlekar says that he is all too familiar with the negative repercussions of risky behavior. “I have seen first-hand the impact of debilitating injuries through the children of family members and friends. Many of those who survived the initial accident were confined to a bed-ridden existence for the rest of their lives, with tremendous adverse economic and emotional hardships on families. And, of course, this says nothing of the life-long pain experienced by these injured youth.”
No matter what precautions parents take, some youth will be prone to daredevil acts. And, if that act does lead to injury, it is imperative that any efforts to treat these injuries avoid the use of addictive painkillers. Again, because teenagers lack experience, they are even more likely than adults to abuse opiates and develop a perilous habit.
“If your teenager sustains a daredevil-related injury, Premier Pain Institute offers many non-addictive treatment options,” says Dr. Vengurlekar “It is far better to treat any injury – be it neck, spine, shoulder or knee — with minimally invasive procedures than to prescribe a painkiller that could prove habit-forming.”
This month, Premier Pain Institute is running an ad campaign featuring a video of a well-known teenage daredevil doing a backflip and landing on his neck. The teenager himself titled this video “How I broke my neck (actually)!” Adult logic would dictate that the teenager would have stopped doing daredevil tricks. He did not.
So, until teenagers stop being daredevils – which is highly unlikely – Premier Pain Institute pledges its commitment to help. To learn more, visit azpaidmd.com.
