Preventing Injury in Youth Sports
The number one ability in youth sports, regardless of skill, is availability. If your child is hurt, they can’t play.
Participating in one sport has become a year-round task for most young athletes in order to stay competitive and achieve collegiate aspirations. These individuals are participating in school and club based programs for most of the year.
With this increase in specialized youth sports participation we are seeing increases in risk for overuse injuries, especially in middle school–aged athletes.
Instead of single-sport participation year round, an athlete should ideally participate in multiple sports throughout the year. This cross training helps to not only reduce risk for overuse injuries, but also can assist in developing overall athleticism.
Common overuse injuries in youth sports include:
Sever’s disease
Medial epicondyle apophysitis (little league elbow)
Patellofemoral pain syndrome
Osgood-Schlatter disease
Stress fractures
Tendonitis
What should parents and coaches look for?
Changes in form
Decreased performance
Frequent complaints of joint pain following participation
Swelling
What if my child has to specialize in their training?
If you find there is no way around youth sports specialization for your child, emphasis should be placed on rest days and deload weeks throughout the calendar year to allow for sufficient recovery.
For example, following a major competition/tournament, it is ideal to participate in a deload week, where your child performs active rest activities (i.e., light exercises that require full ranges of motion, but which are not fatiguing). Rest days should be spaced out throughout a regular training week. It is generally recommended for an athlete to have 48 hours of rest between strength/endurance training of a specific body part.
There is no one system that can completely prevent injury in youth sports, but by being aware of the risks, you can take steps to minimize them – increasing the opportunity for your child to have a long, healthy sports career.