There is a fine line between being cautious and being an overbearing parent when it comes to sports safety for kids.
And since an estimated three million kids are injured each year while playing sports it’s hard to blame anyone for tip-toeing the line. There are three kinds of injuries you should be on the look out for when your kid starts a sport: growth-plate injury, sprains & strains and overuse injury.
Sprains & Strains
A sprain is caused by a ligament being stretched too far. A more severe tear in the ligament is a strain and is often caused the same way as a sprain. Symptoms include inflammation, localized pain, swelling and loss of normal function of the limb. There are simple ways to treat a minor sprain or strain:
- Rest: The sprain should be rested. No additional force should be applied on site of the sprain. If, for example, the sprain were an ankle sprain, then walking should be kept to a minimum.
- Ice: Ice should be applied immediately to the sprain to minimize swelling and ease pain. It can be applied for 20-30 minutes at a time, 3-4 times a day. Ice can be combined with a wrapping to minimize swelling and provide support.
- Compression: Dressings, bandages, or ace-wraps should be used to immobilize the sprain and provide support.
Growth-plate injury
Growth-plates are the areas of developing tissue on the ends of a child’s bones. As a child becomes an adult, the soft tissue hardens to become bones. If an adult injurers the same place as a child, it may just ache. If the growth-plate is damaged your child needs to see an orthopedist. Growth-plates are located in the fingers, feet, ankles, hips, forearms, collarbone, upper legs, and lower legs. Damaged growth plates can result in improper growth and can cause lasting pain.
Overuse injury
Some parents may believe that a kid should focus on one or two sports, but they would be wrong. Kids’ bodies are meant to go through the same kinds of motions and movements over and over. In fact, when a kid focuses on one sport that kid is more likely to have an overuse injury at least once. Overuse injuries can result in severe problems that can only be resolved through surgery. Overuse injuries include:
- Tennis Elbow
- Little League Elbow
- Shin Splints
- Knee injuries
- Constant pain in specific parts of the body including the back and shoulders.
Precautions should be taken to protect kids. The best precaution is to have a coach trained in sports safety and injury prevention. An affordable and comprehensive test can be found at NCSS (www.SportsSafety.org). The NCSS was founded by Dr. Lemak to improve safety training and injury prevention on all levels of youth sports.
Other precautions are constant adult supervision, a physical exam before and after a sport’s season, proper safety equipment, warm-ups before a game and cool-downs after a game.
Tell us if your coach is prepared for emergencies on the field.
