8 Ways to Keep Your Young Sports Star Safe From Overuse Injuries
We all want our kids to succeed, and we take great steps to support their efforts. When it comes to sports, shuttling them to and from early morning practices, buying the required gear, and cheering at their competitions are all important measures, but they are not enough. Parents must also be on the frontlines to make sure their children are properly training for these activities.
Nearly half of all sports injuries that occur—more than 5 million annually—are due to overuse. April is National Youth Sports Safety Month, and a good time to educate kids, parents and coaches on staying safe while playing sports.
According to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), acute injuries usually result from a single, traumatic event and may include wrist fracture, ankle sprain or shoulder dislocation; however, overuse injuries are more difficult to diagnose and treat because they are usually subtle and occur over time. When repetitive trauma affects the tendons, bones and joints, an overuse injury develops. Common examples include tennis elbow, swimmer’s shoulder, Achilles tendinitis and stress fractures.
The AOSSM also explains there are various reasons why an injury might occur, including improper training, improper technique, equipment failure, and/or anatomic or biomechanical issues of the athlete.
Dr. Kirk Reynolds, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist with Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics, also attributes the increase in overuse injuries to a number of causes. However, he says the biggest issue is year-round play.
“As a sports medicine specialist, I am seeing more and more young athletes who are ‘specializing’ in a sport,” he says. “This means that they play that sport year-round, including travel teams and weekend tournaments. This does not allow them to ‘cross train’ in other sports. Continuing to stress the growing body with one repetitive activity predisposes a kid to injury.”
He says the other linked issue is the general health of our population. “Too many kids spend most of their free time inside playing video games or surfing the Internet,” he explains. “Then they go to practice for a sport and do not properly warm up or train for their activities.
“There is always a risk of overuse injury if the athlete is not training properly,” he says.
Baseball seems to produce the most overuse injuries. The growth plates in the shoulder and elbow take a lot of stress with repetitive throwing. Another sport with a high rate is swimming. Like baseball, competitive swimming places a lot of stress on the growing shoulder and elbow.
While it may seem counterintuitive on the surface, Dr. Reynolds says it is actually a good thing for kids to go from one sport to the next, season to season.
“The good thing about different sports is that they require our bodies to move and function differently,” he explains. “This means that muscles and joints are ‘stressed’ in unique ways. This helps keep the body fit, but decreases the risk of repetitive use injuries. However, if the athlete has not fully recovered from an injury in one sport, he/she should not begin another sport until they have healed.”
If you’re concerned that your child is suffering from an overuse injury, Dr. Reynolds offers advice. “Kids are good at hiding things from their parents, but injury is not one of them,” he says. “Frequent requests for over-the-counter medications can be a red flag. Complaints of shoulder, elbow, ankle or knee pain are common with overuse injuries.”
Coaches should also be on the lookout for warning signs. Early fatigue is the biggest red flag a coach can, and should, be aware of. “If a player is ‘dragging’ during practice, they are at an increased risk for injury,” he says. “When our bodies are fatigued, we ‘cheat’ with poor movements, posture, etc. This is a set-up for injury.”
Dr. Reynolds says pre-season physicals are critical to the health of young athletes because they can reveal various health problems. Although any physician can complete these exams, he suggests a multidisciplinary approach. Each year, for example, Arkansas Specialty Orthopedics hosts a physical day that includes orthopaedic surgeons, primary care physicians and cardiologists. “It is the best way to make sure that you are getting a specialized physical,” he explains.
As much as experts such as Dr. Reynolds encourage parents to guard their children against the risk of overuse injuries, they also emphasize that the potential risks do not outweigh the value of youth sports.
The fact is—from the discipline of training and working in teams, to learning how to be coachable and how to behave when losing—youth sports provide lifelong lessons for kids.
Sport Smarts
April is Youth Sports Safety Month, so the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the STOP Sports Injuries campaign share some simple tips to help keep kids on the field and out of the operating room:
- Get a pre-season physical.
- Properly warm up and cool down before and after an activity.
- Obtain instruction on proper training and technique.
- Develop skills that are age appropriate.
- Increase training gradually.
- Don’t specialize in one sport.
- Don’t play year-round—rest at the end of each season.
- Don’t play through the pain—speak up if you are hurt.
April Fatula is the media relations manager for Eric Rob & Isaac. She lives in Searcy with her husband and three children and dreams alternately of being a travel writer and drinking her coffee while it’s still hot.
