Young ranch injuries lead to problems later in life - KOTA Territory News

Young ranch injuries lead to problems later in life

Many kids start working on family farms and ranches at an early age and don't think twice about it.

But the physical toll hard work takes on developing bodies.

Sheridan's Kiel Shelden is one of hundreds of thousands of youth who grew up on a ranch.
 
"I did cowboying all my life," he said. "Fencing, whatever I needed to do on the ranch."
 
But last year, he noticed something a little peculiar.
 
"One morning I woke up, couldn't get out of bed," said Shelden.

Doctors said he was in so much pain because he had lost blood circulation to the head of his femur. They couldn't tell him why, but one theory is a teenage ranching injury.
 
"You're packing hay bales, you're packing fence posts, you're packing calves or whatever, you know," he said. "It's just, there's a lot of physical labor on a ranch."
 
And younger workers don't always know how not to hurt themselves.
 
"I think when you're talking about people that are ranchers, farmers, you're probably going to see injuries that have an impact on their joint health long-term more so than you might see in other occupations," said Jeremy Zebroski, an orthopedia surgeon in Sheridan.
 
One of those impacts is osteoarthritis.

A recent article in a University of Wyoming publication urges young ranch workers to avoid the risks and take the time to stay healthy.

Zebroski is doing the same.
 
"If you're looking at young folks who are in agriculture," he said, "I think importantly, avoid injury first and foremost."
 
And if that fails, "don't ignore it," said Zebroski. "I think sometimes there's a culture trying to tough it out, you know. A lot of people don't want to be heard complaining."
 
Zebroski said that cowboy sentiment will only end up hurting more in the long run.

But Shelden said sometimes, that's just life.
 
"I wouldn't change it for nothing," Shelden said. "Not at all."
 
Not even a chance to keep his original hip.

Shelden also noted a lot of injuries can be prevented if kids learn how to work properly. Lifting with your knees instead of your back, for instance, can save a lot of pain down the road.