Your child says
"it hurts."
Now what?

The moment this book is about

It usually happens in a car after practice.

Your kid mentions their knee. Or their shoulder. Or their back. It's been bothering them for a while, they say, like it's nothing.

And now you have to decide something with almost no information. Do they play this weekend? Do you call someone? Are you the parent who overreacts, or the one who let it go too long?

Most parents get advice at this moment that is either too cautious — rest it, sit out, wait and see — or too casual — they're fine, kids bounce back. Very little of it helps you actually think.

That gap is why this guide exists.

What this is

Understanding Pain in the Youth Athlete is not a diagnosis manual, and it is not a list of injuries. It is a framework for thinking, built on three ideas used with every athlete at ATLAS:

Once you can read pain as information instead of a verdict, the decisions get clearer. You stop guessing. You know which signs mean stop today, which ones mean modify, and which ones mean it's time to call someone — and who to call.

What's inside

Plus a Quick Start page at the front for the middle of a worrying moment, a Who to Call table, and 46 cited studies at the back if you want to go deeper.

What you'll be able to do

• Tell the difference between pain that needs attention today and pain that needs a plan.
• Recognize the five categories where your athlete should stop and be evaluated.
• Ask better questions — the six that turn "my knee hurts" into a picture someone can act on.
• Understand why rest alone rarely fixes the problem, and what to do instead of just stopping.
• Spot the quieter signs kids don't report: the limp they hide, the sport they've stopped enjoying.
• Know who does what — physician, physical therapist, athletic trainer, performance coach — and who to call first.
• Talk to your child's coaches and providers with language everyone understands.

Who it's for

This is for you if your athlete is 8 to 18, plays a sport they care about, and has had something nagging that nobody has fully explained. It's for parents who want to be neither the panicked one nor the dismissive one.

This is not a replacement for medical care, a diagnosis tool, or a rehab program. If something is wrong, the book will help you see it sooner and describe it better — then send you to a person, not a page.

Included with your copy

The Printable Parent Checklists — a separate letter-size PDF with the decision tree and nine checklists: red flags, the information-gathering questions, return-to-play, growth-spurt watch points, sleep and fuel, and questions to bring to an appointment.

Print them, put one on the fridge, keep one in the sports bag.

Get the Guide — $39

About the author

Blaire Zikratch, DPT, MSAT, is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a Master of Science in Athletic Training, and the Owner and Co-Founder of ATLAS Performance Complex.

She works with young athletes and the parents who love them at the exact moment this book is about: when something hurts and nobody is sure what to do next. Over years of rehabilitation, return-to-sport decisions, and performance training, she kept seeing the same pattern — families getting advice that was either too cautious or too casual, and very little that helped them think. This guide is her answer.

Questions

This guide is educational and does not replace individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from qualified healthcare professionals, and does not create a provider-patient relationship. In an emergency, call 911.