Keeping 'em Safe: What Parents Need to Know About Youth Sports Injuries
The number of youth-sports-related injuries is rising primarily because more children are playing sports.
“Pediatricians certainly are seeing overuse injuries more often,” Dr.
Douglas Gregory, a sports-medicine specialist, told USA Today (Oct.
18-20, 2002).
When younger children strive for adult-level goals in their sports, the
outcome can be an injury.
“Their bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments are still growing,”
cautions a 2007 report by The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
(AAOS).
The most common sports injuries in children, says the National Institute
of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease, include:
• Sprains or strains
• Growth plate injuries: damage to developing tissues at the end of long
bones
• Stress fractures or tendonitis from overuse
• Heat-related injuries.
• Broken Bones, torn ligaments and contusions.
“Play It Safe,” an AAOS study, says take these precautions: “Be in proper physical condition to play a sport; know
and abide by the rules of the sport; wear appropriate protective gear …; know how to use athletic equipment …; always warm up before playing; avoid playing when very tired or in pain.” For many simple injuries, says AAOS, follow the R.I.C.E. formula: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.
And parents need to remember: “Just about any recreational activity that involves repetitive motion has the potential to cause an overuse injury, especially if kids are pushed too hard," said Dr. Paul Stricker, a
pediatric sports medicine specialist, in USA Today.
Stricker added: “We want kids to exercise, just not to overdo it or be
pushed too hard.” SS
Photo: Karla Pound
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