Safety Gives Youths a Sporting Chance
Lowering Sports Injury Stats
Decrease the risk of sports-related injury by answering these questions before your child takes to the field, court or mat:
- Is my child physically suited to the sport?
- Has my child had a physical exam by a doctor?
- Does my child have appropriate safety gear?
- Does my child know how to use the equipment and safety gear?
- Does my child warm up before the activity?
- Does my child know not to continue playing if he experiences unusual tiredness or pain?
Updated April 2003 — About 6 million American teens participate in school team sports and another 20 million play recreational or competitive sports outside of school. Each year, about 3 million of them suffer a sports-related injury.
The only way to make sure your child won't sustain a sports-related injury is to not let the child play sports. But doing that can introduce a greater risk: a child who has no interest in exercise and physical fitness. So, what's a caring, responsible parent to do? Emphasize both the benefits of activity and the importance of safety.
"Parents should encourage children to be active because sports promote a healthy body and a healthy mind," says Randolph Cohen, MD, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon on the medical staff at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Memorial Hospital West and Memorial Hospital Pembroke. "Children who are involved with organized sports get into trouble less often than children who are not involved in organized sports. And an active childhood often leads to an active adulthood, which leads to a lifetime awareness of the need for exercise."
No sport is without risk of injury. Dr. Cohen has treated young athletes who have suffered sports-related injuries of every variety and severity. "It's not just football players and basketball players who get injured," he says. "It's gymnasts, runners and cheerleaders, too."
By being supportive and atten-tive to their child's activity, a parent can minimize those risks and still teach the importance of physical fitness.
Age-Appropriate Sports
The most common sports-related problems are sprains(a torn or stretched ligament), strains (injury to a muscle or tendon) and repetitive-use injuries such as tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon) and stress fractures.
"Something to consider is that puberty and skeletal development do not begin or progress at a uniform time and rate. It varies from person to person," Dr. Cohen says. "A late-developing teen may be at risk for injury when competing with a more physically mature opponent of the same age, especially in one-on-one sports such as wrestling."
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children younger than age 6 not become involved in team sports. In addition to their physical fragility, children that age may not understand the idea of teamwork, so they may do better with activities that are free and unstructured.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that children younger than age 8 should play non-contact sports, such as baseball and soccer, and that children younger than age 10 should not play collision sports, including football and hockey. By the early teen years, a child's body usually has developed enough to allow participation in any competitive or noncompetitive activity, if proper safety measures are followed.
Physically Appropriate Sports
Allowing your child to choose which sports to play is important. However, if he chooses a sport for which you don't feel he is physically ready for, arrange an appointment for both of you to meet with his doctor for an evaluation of the risks.
Following a physical exam to check the child's overall fitness, the doctor may recommend that the child be allowed to participate in the sport if certain safety precautions are followed. The doctor might also recommend the activity be supervised by adults who are trained in injury prevention and treatment.
If an injury does occur, have it treated immediately. Determine the reason for the injury — such as player error, faulty equipment or poor conditions, and make sure it doesn't happen again. Finally, encourage the child to resume activity as soon as possible.
"Children are not little adults," Dr. Cohen says. "They require different treatment strategies, and the injuries they sustain are very different from the injuries adults sustain. You want to make sure they are evaluated and treated by someone who understands children's bodies. Making sure that any injury is properly treated will help the child to continue to enjoy sports and exercise for a lifetime."
To schedule a physical for your child, call your family doctor. For referral to a physician,call the Memorial Healthcare System Physician Referral Service at (800) 944-DOCS.