This spring, more and more children are heading outside to play spring sports. As a result, physicians often see a seasonal rise in sports-related injuries. While some injuries may be inescapable, others can be avoided with a few precautions.
We spoke with Charles A. Popkin, M.D., Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center, to learn more about what sort of injuries are preventable and how we can best safeguard our kids on the field.
Why do kids get injured when they haven’t done anything to hurt themselves?
There are usually two types of injuries that kids get: acute ones, which happen in the moment, and injuries due to overuse. It’s with injuries stemming from overuse where prevention can go a long way. These injuries are the result of repetitive micro-trauma to the bones and joints. The biggest thing that we see with overuse is when young athletes haven’t participated in a sport for some time, for example at the beginning of baseball season, and they jump right into the game That’s when we see a fair amount of overuse because there is a rapid acceleration in the intensity, duration and frequency of the activity. They’re pushing their body more than it’s really ready to do.
What are some of the preventable sports-related injuries that a child can face?
We see Osgood-Schlatter, which is a repetitive micro-trauma to your patella tendon where it inserts into the tibial growth plate. Other common injuries stemming from overuse include swimmer’s shoulder (essentially an irritation around the rotator cuff), little leaguer’s elbow (also known as medial apophysitis and which involves inflammation of the growth plate of the elbow), Sever’s disease (inflammation of the growth plate in the heel) and shin splints.
What can children do to better prepare their bodies to participate in sports?
Incorporating a good, dynamic workout before kids start participating in a sport is important. The days of just doing a couple of static stretches then running out there and playing soccer is a thing of the past. There are specific prevention programs for specific sports. For example, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has a great warm-up program, FIFA 11+, available on their website (f-marc.com/11plus/home) that has been shown to be very effective in preventing ACL injuries.
A more sport-generic warm-up is a motion exercise called the carioca. You’re running sideways as you cross your right leg over the left leg and then right leg behind the left leg and repeat. It is sometimes called a side shuffle. It’s a good way to just get loose. As far as working on core strength, my favorite is the single leg squat.
I also like to advocate the 10 percent rule. If you’re a runner, you shouldn’t increase your mileage by more than 10 percent each week. That’s a good way to avoid injuries from overuse while running.
What about at the end of the game or activity?
If they’ve just played for a bit, athletes can get lactic acid buildup in their muscles so it’s good to do a cool down. Some light jogging is useful, and the end of an activity is also a good time for some static stretching.
What are some warning signs that a child may be developing an injury based on overuse?
Kids usually have this tremendous ability to adapt and stretch as they do more and more things. Yet sometimes when that is more than the body can handle there will be some pain, and sometimes there might be swelling. Any kid that’s limping on the field should be pulled out and examined. If a child has been having repetitive pain for more than a week, they should be evaluated by a sports medicine specialist.
Are kids who play more than one sport, more or less, likely to become injured?
Less likely. I’m a big believer that young athletes, up until they are a junior in high school, should be cross-training. I would really like to push kids away from specializing in just one sport. That’s a trend these days, but there’s a tremendous benefit in cross-training. It can help prevent some of that repetitive overuse which happens when youngsters only participate in one sport.
Any other advice for parents?
From a coaching point of view, make sure children are displaying the proper technique. For example, in baseball make sure they know how to properly throw the ball. Also, make sure kids are wearing the right equipment for the activity in which they’re engaged. A great website to check out is http://stopsportsinjuries.org, created by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. It has a lot of helpful information for parents and tips on how to prevent injuries. Finally, make sure that the kids are having fun. As simple as it is, sometimes parents need to be reminded that the kids should be having fun.
Charles A. Popkin, M.D., is Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center.
David Neilsen writes frequently for Westchester Family.
