Facts About Youth Sports Injuries and How You Can Prevent Them

With the growing number of young people involved in sports today, injuries occur with alarming frequency. According to Safe Kids USA:

More than 3.5 million children ages 14 and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year.

Overuse injury, which occurs over time from repeated motion, is responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle-and high-school students. Immature bones, insufficient rest after an injury and poor training or conditioning contribute to overuse injuries among children.

Most organized sports related injuries (62 percent) occur during practices rather than games. Despite this fact, a third of parents often do not take the same safety precautions during their child's practices as they would for a game.

This begs the question of how these injuries can be prevented. If we look at the statistics provided by Safe Kids USA, we can see a few important facts.

1. With over 3.5 million children under the age of 14 playing sports, injuries are going to occur.

2. Overuse is responsible for the most injuries.

3. Practices bring on more injuries than games.

Let's look at overuse injuries first. As explained above, overuse injuries are simply that - injuries that occur from repeating the same motion (throwing, jumping, swinging, etc) over and over. Unfortunately, this type of injury is not as easy to avoid as simply not performing the necessary motion. A baseball pitcher can't pitch without repeatedly moving his arm in the same motion, nor can a basketball player rebound with out repeatedly jumping. The key to minimizing, and hopefully preventing, an overuse injury is to protect the muscles and structures involved with the motion as best as is possible.

First and foremost, stretching correctly prior to practicing or playing is the most beneficial activity a young athlete can participate in. A cold (unstretched) muscle is shorter and tighter than a properly stretched muscle. A quick mainpulation of a cold muscle will result in a muscle pull at best and a muscle tear at worst. All youth league practices should begin with stretching, every time.

One common misconception with stretching is that you only need to do it to warm up. While you certainly do need to stretch to warm up, you also need to stretch at the end of practice or a game, to cool down. The muscles have been working virtually non-stop for the duration of the practice or game and if they suddenly stop working (at the end) you are just as likely to suffer a muscular injury as if you didn't warm up beforehand.

Also, proper rest is required to prevent overuse injuries. Most youth baseball leagues have a limit on how many pitches a child can throw in a game. In our league, an 8 year old pitcher cannot throw more than 50 pitches and if he throws even one pitch, he is not allowed to pitch the next day. Kids today all want to be the next Michael Jordan, or Derek Jeter, but even professionals rest between games.

Athletes clearly take games more seriously than practice. As a result, game safety precautions are often not followed during practices. Youth baseball teams may have batting practice but the batters may not wear a helmet because the coach is pitching, or a baserunner may not wear a helmet because he is "just running". That helmet sure would come in handy if a ball gets hit at the runner while he's running, or if a throw goes wil and sails right at his head.

Take the same precautions in practice as you do in a game. If your basketball or football player tapes his ankles before a game, he or she should tape their ankles before a practice. If your bicyclist is just going for a quick ride around the block, he or she should still wear a helmet. A reporter wouldn't go through a dress rehearsal without a microphone, would they?

If you follow these simple tips, you will provide a much safer, and consequently, a more fun, experience for your young athlete.

Josh Regan, "Facts About Youth Injuries and How You Can Prevent Them", Associated Content