Pediatric Sports PT; Just What the Coach Ordered
Sprinting Away from Pediatric Sports Injuries
Sports and athletics can be one of the most fun and rewarding aspects of a young child or teenager’s life. Through sports, children and adolescents learn how to set goals, how to manage their time, how to work as a team, and strategies for improving their performance. They also develop their fitness, coordination, balance and agility. One aspect of sports and athletics for kids and teenagers that cannot be ignored, however, is the risk of injury. According to sports injury statistics through Stanford University, more than 3.5 million children ages 14 and younger get hurt annually while participating in sports or recreational activities.
While avoiding all injuries might not be possible, having the right rehab professionals in your corner makes all the difference. Is your athlete injured? Schedule an appointment with a local physical therapist right away to jumpstart the recovery process. Looking to dodge those injuries before they happen? You should also schedule an appointment with a physical therapist because PTs don’t just treat injuries after they happen but they treat athletes before they are injured!
IS MY CHILD AT RISK FOR INJURY?
While anyone participating in sports and athletics is susceptible to an injury, certain things about young athletes' bodies may make them more prone to injury than their adult counterparts. First, their bodies are growing and maturing. Bones, tendons, and ligaments are still developing and when combined with still-evolving coordination, stamina, and strength, are more susceptible to injury. Additionally, while severe injury is less common in young children, individual teenage athletes may be at differing phases of growth and development and are capable of moving at much faster speeds and generating high levels of contact force which may increase their risk for injuries.
In recent years, guidelines and limitations on length, duration, intensity and frequency of practices and competitions have changed as professionals recognize that the bodies of young athletes cannot withstand the stresses of intense, frequent practices in the same way that an adult can. There is a lot that can be done, however, to make their bodies as resilient and prepared as possible for the demands of their favorite sports and activities.
WHAT PEDIATRIC SPORTS INJURIES DO PHYSICAL THERAPISTS TREAT?
Sports injuries in young athletes fall into two main categories. Acute injuries occur suddenly in response to a force, stretch, or strain that is too great for the body’s tissues to handle. A fall while diving for home base results in a fractured wrist. A poorly aimed kick to the thigh instead of the soccer ball causes a hematoma. A rolled ankle after a jump shot leads to a sprained ankle. In each of these cases pain, inflammation, bruising, and difficulty moving or using the injured body part sets in immediately or shortly after the injury. Protecting the joint, helping the injured tissues begin to heal, preventing loss of flexibility and strength to the greatest degree possible, and eventually restoring normal strength, coordination, flexibility, power, and neuromuscular control are the primary goals of physical therapy in this case.
Outside of acute injuries, young athletes may be dealing with chronic conditions or overuse injuries. In this case an area of the body experiences minor injury or irritation but does not fully recover between bouts of use or exercise which causes symptoms to recur and persist. Chronic and overuse injuries often happen when athletes are performing repetitive activities like pitching in baseball or running in track but their tissues are not strong or resilient enough to handle the load that the high volume demands. They can also occur when poor movement patterns or biomechanical errors repeatedly overload parts of the body incorrectly. Tendinopathies such as achilles tendinopathy, patellar tendinopathy, or tendinopathies in the elbow are examples of overuse injuries. Stress fractures and plantar fasciitis are other examples.
INJURY REHAB STARTS ON DAY ONE
Whether the young athlete is trying to recover from an acute injury or has been dealing with these symptoms for some time, pain, inflammation, weakness, and difficulty or inability to participate in their sport can occur. While reduction or modification to training is often important to allow injuries to heal, stopping activity altogether and resting completely is often not the best course of action. It is important, however, to seek the guidance of a trained professional like a pediatric sports physical therapist who understands the process of tissue healing and how to maximize the rate of healing and return to sport while minimizing the time you are sitting on the sidelines.
If you are being treated for an acute injury such as a sprain or strain, fracture or muscle contusion,your physical therapist will educate you on how to protect these newly healing tissues. Treatment may include compression or bracing, offloading the injured area through crutches, modalities such as ice, ultrasound, or electrical stimulation to reduce pain and swelling, and activity modification.
In well-healed tissues or in chronic or overuse injuries, your physical therapy program will focus not only on continuing to reduce pain, irritation, or instability but also on addressing areas of weakness, tightness, and impaired neuromotor control both at the site of injury and in surrounding areas. Because physical therapists are movement experts, they will individualize the rehabilitation plan to match the demands that the young athlete’s sport or activity places on the body to prepare for return to full sport and decrease the likelihood of injury recurrence.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
Because of the dynamic nature of sports, we can expect that bones, ligaments, muscles, and tendons that aren’t prepared for the dynamic forces of athletics are more likely to be injured. There is no reason to wait for an injury to occur, however, before implementing a plan to fix muscular imbalances, improve coordination, and enhance technique. Areas of weakness, areas that lack flexibility, and errors in movement control can be identified by a physical therapist through careful assessment. By evaluating a young athlete before they are injured, there is an opportunity to address individual risk factors through exercise and training and educate the athlete, their parents, and their coaches on how to properly warm up and to avoid playing when very tired or already in pain.
Staying injury-free is one way to promote lifelong participation in sports and recreational activities. Work with a pediatric physical therapist at the first sign of injury to help get the young athlete back on the field. But also take advantage of their expertise to individualize a training program for aerobic, resistance, and mobility training that will keep young athletes healthy and happy in their favorite sports for years to come. A physical therapist at Evolve is ready to get your young athlete optimized for injury prevention and sports performance.
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About EvolveNY-
Brooklyn's Premier Holistic Physical Therapy Clinics- There’s physical therapy, there’s training, and then there’s EVOLVE. We use the science of biomechanics merged with fitness to help our patients get better and stay better!
First we evaluate, then we heal, then we strengthen our clients so they can reach their goals, feel better, and live happier lives. We do so by utilizing a range of core techniques and specialized treatments to reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance physical strength and deal with the underlying issues, not just the pain itself.
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