Three types of injuries youth athletes face

As the years go by more doctors are treating more kids for overuse injuries, instead of the normal trama injuries that occur on the field. The increase in overuse injuries has been attributed to youth playing only one sport and training year round for it.

An article on KidsHealth.org gives more details on children sports related injuries and how to prevent them. For the full article click here.

Common Types of Sports Injuries
Three common types of sports injuries in children are acute injuries, overuse injuries, and reinjuries:

Acute Injuries
Acute injuries occur suddenly and are usually associated with some form of trauma. In younger children, acute injuries typically include minor bruises, sprains, and strains. Teen athletes are more likely to sustain more severe injuries, including broken bones and torn ligaments.

More severe acute injuries that can occur, regardless of age, include: eye injuries, including scratched corneas, detached retinas, and blood in the eye; broken bones or ligament injuries; brain injuries, including concussions, skull fractures, brain hemorrhages; and spinal cord injuries.

Acute injuries often occur because of a lack of proper equipment or the use of improper equipment. For example, without protective eyewear, eye injuries are extremely common in basketball and racquet sports. In addition, many kids playing baseball and softball have suffered broken legs or ankles from sliding into immobile bases.

Overuse Injuries
Overuse injuries occur from repetitive actions that put too much stress on the bones and muscles. Although these injuries can occur in adults as well as kids, they're more problematic in a child athlete because of the effect they may have on bone growth.

All kids who play sports can develop an overuse injury, but the likelihood increases with the amount of time a child spends on the sport.

Overuse injuries can be caused or aggravated by:
•growth spurts or an imbalance between strength and flexibility
•inadequate warm-up
•excessive activity (for example, increased intensity, duration, or frequency of playing and/or training)
•playing the same sport year-round or multiple sports during the same season
•improper technique (for example, overextending on a pitch)
•unsuitable equipment (for example, nonsupportive athletic shoes)

Reinjuries
Reinjury occurs when an athlete returns to the sport before a previous injury has sufficiently healed. Athletes are at a much greater risk for reinjury when they return to the game before recovering fully. Doing so places stress upon the injury and forces the body to compensate for the weakness, which can put the athlete at greater risk for injuring another body part.

Reinjury can be avoided by allowing an injury to completely heal. Once the doctor has approved a return to the sport, make sure that your child properly warms up and cools down before and after exercise.

Sudden exertion can also cause reinjury, so your child should re-enter the sport gradually. Explain that easing back into the game at a sensible pace is better than returning to the hospital!