Prevent Injuries by Preparing Kids to Get Back in the Game
September 11, 2009
(PhysOrg.com) -- With the beginning of school comes the beginning of school sports seasons. This fall, make sure children and teenagers are prepared to get back in the game with an awareness of the risks and the necessary training to exceed. And some sports may need a little extra vigilance.
“Soccer injuries are probably the most frequent for us here in Rochester, although hockey is a close second,” according to Anne Brayer, M.D., associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and director of Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Rochester, based out of URMC’s Golisano Children’s Hospital. “Soccer injuries account for the most emergency visits to Golisano Children’s Hospital of any sports injuries each year. While the high rate of soccer injuries probably correlates with higher participation rates, it is still important to keep prevention strategies in mind.” Head injuries, knee injuries, and Sever’s Disease (heel pain) are the most common soccer injuries. Brayer recommends teaching kids to:
Know their size
Player collisions lead to about half of all soccer injuries, including head injuries, falls and even human bites. Kids are constantly getting stronger and bigger; and they’re all doing it at different rates.
A regular exercise routine is one of the best ways young athletes can get to know their bodies and limitations. Muscle fatigue occurs more easily when children and teenagers come into a season without having trained regularly, which increases the risk of injury.
Know when to stop
Head injuries are very common in soccer, due mainly to collisions. “Removal from play is very important after a head injury to prevent Second Impact Syndrome,” emphasized Brayer. This happens when a player has a second head injury during the recovery period from the first concussion. Even if the second injury is minor, the consequences can be severe and even fatal. Some studies suggest that up to two-thirds of catastrophic head injuries in sports, including permanent brain injury or death, occur in athletes who have had a previous head injury in the same season.
If not completely restricted, adult supervisors should set a limit on how frequently kids head soccer balls. “Scientific data is somewhat conflicting in terms of the risks of heading the ball at young ages. But it certainly seems to me that it makes sense to restrict repetitive trauma to growing brains,” said Brayer.
Another serious overuse injury is called Sever’s disease, which is heel apophositis, from the chronic pull of the Achilles tendon on the calcaneous (heel). Players can consult their coach for suggestions on running posture, conditioning the ACL, decreasing pull on the Achilles tendon and strengthening hamstrings and gluts.
Know their surroundings
Players also need to make sure they are following the rules of the game. Sports players can significantly decrease the likelihood that they will get hurt by knowing and abiding by the rules of the sport. Make sure that adult supervision is adequate and that coaches or supervisors have a commitment to safety.
Young athletes should always wear appropriate protective gear and equipment. For example, make sure that kids playing soccer have comfortable cleats, the right-sized ball, and shin guards. Injuries to mouth and eyes can be reduced with mouth guards and safety glasses. All jewelry should also be removed.
For more information on how to prevent sports-related injuries in young athletes, consult a sports adult supervisor or your physician.
-
When the rules of the game are broken: Research studies sports injuries related to illegal activity
Feb 29, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
First of its kind study compares high school knee injuries by sport and gender
May 22, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study asks how safe is high school football?
Aug 15, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
High school football, wrestling athletes suffer highest rate of severe injuries
Sep 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Injuries to high school baseball players becoming more serious
Jun 02, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Study finds that anti-diabetic medication can prevent the long-term effects of maternal obesity
In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that short therapy with the anti-diabetic medication ...
23 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 09, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (53) |
21
|
Green tea found to reduce disability in the elderly
(Medical Xpress) -- A lot of research has been done over the past several years looking into the health benefits of green tea. As a result, scientists have found that regular consumption of the beverage leads ...
Teen school drop-outs three times as likely to be on benefits in later life
Teen school drop-outs are almost three times as likely to be on benefits in later life as their peers who complete their schooling, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Feb 06, 2012 |
not rated yet |
12
To perform with less effort, practice beyond perfection
Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice can make perfect, but more practice may make you more efficient, according to a surprising new University of Colorado Boulder study.
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 09, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (15) |
6
|
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
Latin America mining boom clashes with conservation
Latin America is experiencing a mining boom as prices rise fuelled by a hike in global demand, but the region is also being hit by a wave of violent protests, strikes and rallies by environmentalists.
Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...
Love a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic
He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.
GPS court ruling leaves US phone tracking unclear
A US Supreme Court decision requiring a warrant to place a GPS device on the car of a criminal suspect leaves unresolved the bigger issue of police tracking using mobile phones, legal experts say.
Europeans protest controversial Internet pact
Tens of thousands of people marched in protests in more than a dozen European cities Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.