Young Athletes: Injuries And Prevention01
High profile events like the Olympics bring the hope that witnessing and celebrating dedicated athletes at the top of their game, will inspire young people to take up sport and physical activities that help them develop confidence, lead more satisfying lives, and not least, secure long-term health by reducing their risk for developing chronic illness like diabetes, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
But unfortunately, if they don’t take appropriate measures, young athletes can instead, end up
in pain, on a different path to poor health, due to avoidable sport injury.
James R. Andrews, a former president of the American Society for Sports Medicine(AOSSM), said in May this year, the US has experienced a tremendous rise in the number of young
people taking up sport. Estimates show 3.5 million children aged 14 and under receive medical treatment for sport related injuries, while high school athletes account for another 2 million a
year.
“This makes sports the leading cause of adolescent injury. Along with time away from school
and work, these injuries can have far-reaching effects,” said Andrews.
This article looks at some of the common and less common injuries in young athletes. It then
reviews a new project that is tracking injuries in Olympic athletes, introduces some ideas about avoiding and minimizing injury, and finishes with a list of tips for preventing sport injury inchildren.
Common Sport Injuries
According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health in the US, the most common sport injuries are due to accidents, poor training practices or using the wrong gear or equipment. People can also hurt themselves because they are not in shape, or because they don’t warm up or stretch enough.
Some injury experts in the US have said they are also seeing more and more young athletes injured because of overuse and doing too much, and this may partially explain the growing numbers that drop out of sport by the eighth grade. The most common sports injuries are:
Knee injuries
Sprains and strains,
Swollen muscles
Achilles tendon injuries,
Pain along the shin bone, and
Fractures and dislocations.
While injuries in young athletes are similar to the ones that affect adults, they can’t always be treated in the same way because their bodies are not fully developed.
Take for example knee injury.
One type of knee injury is damage to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). This is asevere
injury that occurs most often in athletes who play football and other contact sports.
Twenty years ago, doctors were seeing few children or adolescents with ACL injuries. Today, these injuries are more common because youngsters are taking up sports earlier, and pushing themselves more competitively.
Another reason for the rise in young people with ACL injury, say researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, is that more and more young athletes are specializing in one sport, putting them at risk of injuries normallyonly seen in professional athletes.
But this type of knee injury in young people is a particular concern because it is noteasy to repair in growing bodies, for instance ACL reconstructive surgery that works well in adults can potentially cause uneven limb length or other deformities in growing bodies. That is why often the best course has been “benign neglect”. However, clinicians are beginning to realize that not operating can also lead to problems, such as early arthritis.
There are alternatives to conventional ACL reconstructive surgery, that have lower risk of
damage in growing bodies, such as the All-Inside, All-Epiphyseal ACL Reconstruction (AE),but this is not commonly available.
Clinicians are calling for more research to be done into sports injuries in younger people.
Back and Neck Injuries
Back and neck injuries are much less common in young athletes, but when they occur, they
can cause enormous frustration. The athlete must complete a comprehensive and demanding
rehabilitation program before returning to competitive sport: in some cases, they may never
return to their given sport.
Most back and neck injuries in athletes are sprains of ligaments or strains of muscles. Aside
from trauma, these are usually due to athletic overuse, improper body mechanics and
technique, being out of condition, or not stretching enough. The athlete will complain of back
pain when active and performing, and will feel relief when resting.
But, occasionally, a more serious condition can have similar symptoms. Because of this,
propertreatment of back and neck injuries in young athletes should always include a good evaluation by a doctor, using imaging studies when necessary.
According to the North American Spine Society, the more serious back and neck injuries
include:
Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis: a particular type of defect in the vertebra of the
spine (spondylolysis), and where one vertebra slips relative to another (spondylolisthesis). A common cause of back pain in young athletes, particularly gymnasts because they have to twist and hyperextend their spines.
Stinger (also called “burner” or “nerve pinch”): where forcing the head back and to
the side compresses a nerve of the spinal cord in the neck, or where forcing the head
side ways away from the shoulder over-stretches the nerves in the neck and shoulder.
Most common in football and wrestling, the injury often goes unreported because
symptoms can resolve suddenly and quickly. Can recur and lead to persistent pain or
arm weakness if not treated.
Disc injury: a common cause of back pain in adult athletes, much less so among young athletes, it may or may not be associated with sciatica (shooting pain down the leg).
Careful diagnosis, including can mimic disc injury in young bodies that are still growing.
Scheuermann’s Disease or juvenile kyphosis: another common cause of back pain inyoung athletes during puberty that occurs in the mid- as opposedto the lower back,and
leads to a roundness of the back that worsens to a dome shape on bending forwards.
Exercises are often not enough to correct this disease, and if wearing a brace does not
relieve the pain, surgery may be required, after which it is unlikely the athlete will be ableto resume their given sport.
Prehab to Avoid Rehab
Prehab, short for prehabilitation, is a relatively new idea in sports medicine and therapy.It is a personalized exercise program that is individually designed for athletes to help them prevent
injury in their given sport.
(There is also another use of the term prehab that refers to improving patients’ fitness before
undergoing surgery so they make a quicker recovery and can withst and the inactivity that oftenfollows the procedure).
A prehab programme is becoming a regular part of an athlete’s training routine The aim of
prehab is to avoid injury by compensating for the repetitive movements and stresses of regular,often daily, training. In some respects, you can view athletic training for peak performance in a
sport as a form of repetitive strain, with the potential to result in injury in much the same way
as computer operators can get occupational injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome and
shoulder problems.
With repetitive use, muscles become tight, the body develops imbalances in strength and
muscle coordination. These happen naturally during activity, but because training is repetitive,
they become repeatedly reinforced with each work out, unless that workout also incorporates
some compensating activity, such as in a prehab routine.
A common problem in athlete training is that many athletes and coaches follow the traditional
methods of upper and lower body lifting, or basic sprinting and lifting exercises, as a way to
develop strength outside of the specific sport drills. But this can leave the core weak in
comparison. A prehab program in this case would start with core stability, perhaps focusing on hips, stomach and back core.
Once the basic core program is in place and working, the prehab is updated to include more
subtle and focused movements that increase dynamic stability and improve skills in the given
sport.
To ensure the best chance of success with prehab, the athlete should start practising it before
injury occurs. But unfortunately the usual route to prehab is via injury. A typical scenario is the
athlete injures him or herself, goes to a sport therapist or specialist trainer for rehabilitation
(rehab), and the therapist then persuades them to sign up for prehab to stop it happening again
Another way to keep prehab useful and working for the athlete, is to ensure it continually
evolves with the needs and changing fitness and ability of the individual.The exercises should
be progressive and reevaluated regularly. There is also the important need to challenge and
motivate the athlete, and stop them becoming bored, or habituated to the program.
A successful prehab program is one that forms a regular part of an athlete’s training routine.
The therapist needs to have a detailed knowledge of the athlete’s sport,their strengths and
weaknesses, and be able to have frank, open conversations with the individual.
Tips for Injury Prevention in
Young Athletes
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following:
Time off : take at least 1 day off a week to give your body time to recover.
Take breaks: during practice sessions and games to reduce risk of injury and prevent heat illness.
Use the correct gear : this should be right for the sport and fit properly, for instance
pads for neck, shoulders, elbows, chest, knees, and shins, as well as helmets, mouthpieces, face guards, protective cups, and/or eyewear. And don’t assume because you are wearing protective gear you can perform more dangerous and risky things.
Drink plenty of fluids: before, during and after exercise or play to avoid heat illness; wearing light clothing also helps. Coaches and trainers should reduce or stop
practices or competitions when heat or humidity is high.
Build muscle strength: do your conditioning exercises before games and during
practice to strengthen the muscles you use during play.
Increase flexibility: by stretching before and after games and practice.
Use the proper technique: coaches and trainers should reinforce this during the
playing season.
Play safe: coaches and leaders should enforce strict rules against headfirst sliding
(egin baseball), spearing (football), and body checking (ice hockey), and stop the
activity
They also advise coaches and parents to consider the emotional stress that the pressure to
win can cause for a young athlete, and recommend they adopt these principles:
“Young athletes should be judged on effort, sportsmanship and hard work. They should be
rewarded for trying hard and for improving their skills rather than punished or criticized for
losing a game or competition. The main goal should be to have fun and learn life long physical activity skills.”