Jessica Renshaw is like a lot of high school athletes. She gives it her all. But her all landed her in the doctor's office.

"I got a stress fracture. I had it on my lower ankle on the outside and there was a shooting pain all up to my leg."

She knew it was time to rethink how she was playing her game.

"During basketball, my legs weren't conditioned enough for training, and we went right into the season, started practice right away full force and I just don't think my bones were ready for it," said Renshaw.

They weren't. Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Brian Conroy says athletes who don't ease into their sports can find themselves sidelined. Their injuries may start out as minor aches and pain and can turn into something major.

Find out more about Dr. Conroy.

"It could end up being something more serious such as a stress fracture and it is important to know that because, we can get the athlete out of sports and reduce the amount of time they are going to be out of the sport, if you take care of it early. If they continue to train on it, they can go on and have some more serious problems, and possibly injure the bone."

To avoid this, Dr. Conroy recommends getting into a training routine or program 1-2 months before a child starts organized sports. That can be anything from a walk around the block to weight lifting, depending on how active the child is. The program should be gradually kicked up a notch each week until the athlete is up to speed. Dr. Conroy says a little effort now will go a long way.

"If they think ahead of time and try to get the training program advanced early on, then they'll be able to stay and participate in the sports season," said Dr. Conroy.

Jessica knows that now with basketball season right around the corner. She's working hard to stay ahead of the game.