7 Healthcast: 'Silent epidemic' - Teen sports injuries

Sports injuries in teen athletes are getting more severe. In some cases, those injuries require surgery that can affect athletes for the rest of their lives.

More and more often, athletes are playing sports year-round, at school and in leagues.

But, the dedication could be doing more harm than good.

"They're pushing their bodies a lot farther than they used to and we're seeing the cost of that," said Michelle Vita, a physical therapist. "We also don't know what these surgeries are going to do to them in 20 years."

A recent study found emergency rooms treat more than 8,000 teenagers each day for sports-related injuries. High school athletes suffer more injuries than college athletes.

Experts said teen athletes should make sure to rest and take time off.

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