Preventing Injuries in Youth Sports
Written by: Dr. David Bloom
Following up on my March 2011 blog, Kids and Exercise, What’s the Risk, I was asked to talk a bit more on the topic of preventing injury in specific sports, including football. As youth football season is about to kickoff, it is important for us to better understand the types of injuries that can occur and what you can do as a parent, coach, or supporter to help prevent them.
Although the majority of young athletes do well, there are many circumstances that can lead to injury. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year there are over 3.5 million sports-related injuries in kids under 15 which require hospital or outpatient treatment. And of those, nearly 1 million are due to football or basketball participation.
The key to preventing problems is reducing the risk of something going wrong. With youth sports there are many hazards to avoid beginning with having a pre-participation plan and a screening sports physical.
In addition to a thorough sports physical prior to starting the sport, it is vital that you ensure that particular sport is an appropriate choice for your child. Although it may be common sense to estimate a potential aptitude for a sport, it is wisest to discuss items such as the athlete’s age, skill, maturation, and interest with the coach or leader. A poor fit can be a setup for disaster, both physically and emotionally.
Proper equipment is essential (such as mouth guards to prevent dental injuries, helmets for head protection, pads), as well as a satisfactory setting (open field without obstructions, well-marked boundaries, padded goal posts). Plus, correct playing technique is needed to avoid trauma. Technique needs to be improved by knowledgeable coaches, and rules need to be in place (usually by the league) to promote safety (illegal spearing, age limits).
There also needs to be some attention to overall physical fitness “balance.” In most sports, youth athletes should be well trained in the key components of fitness. These include flexibility, balance, strength, range of motion, cardiovascular conditioning, and emotional stability. One’s physician, coach, and parent should provide some expertise and support here; however a personal trainer can also be very helpful as a resource.
It is often surprising for parents or athletes to find out that many of the “sports medicine injuries” are not orthopedic (bone & joint injuries). These involve nearly every organ system, such as the eyes, skin lacerations, nerve damage, overtraining, spleen ruptures, heatstroke, asthma (especially exercise induced asthma), concussions, stress/emotional problems. Even the flu or other infections can be devastating to a player, or at times half of the team.
The more expected orthopedic problems are often single trauma accidents (fractures, acute sprains, ligament ruptures, contusions). But also there are many orthopedic diagnoses which may creep up gradually as “overuse injuries.” These may be more difficult to identify, but may be just as devastating (stress fractures, chronic sprains, degenerative tears).
With each of these injuries, one will need adequate time to heal plus further time to get back into proper shape and conditioning. Your doctor should review the expected time frame for the return to practice and then to competition. And during the healing phase, most knowledgeable sports physicians will recommend cross-training or modified participation to encourage better healing of the injury as well as maintenance of overall fitness.
Ultimately, some type of exercise or sports participation is extremely important for children and young adults as they develop healthy habits. By making educated and appropriate choices, you may reduce the chance of sports injuries.
