Injuries to youth athletes are on the rise and a lower injury risk is so important to keeping athletes on the field, accomplishing their goals, and having fun. It’s not just high level high school or college athletes that are getting hurt, but athletes as young as 8 are entering our physical therapy program with overuse injuries. This is both mind-boggling and preventable: adults have created youth sports programs that are terrible for the kids playing them.
The great news is there is an answer to the constant sports schedules of 4-5 days of practice and endless weekend tournaments: sports performance training can lower injury risk.
(Now, disclaimer: not all injuries are preventable. Injuries definitely happen as a part of the sports we play. Collisions happen and some athletes’ bodies are just shaped in a way where injuries are less preventable. What we aim to do is lower the risk of non-contact and overuse injuries, as well as make the body stronger to withstand contact. This article is about everything we can do to lower the chances of getting hurt, but in no way does it guarantee injury prevention.)
Sports performance training, when done right, can address potential injury risks before they happen, strengthen problem areas, and lower the chances of your child being another injury statistic.
What is the process?
1.Performance Evaluation
The evaluation is the first step to assessing and understanding injury risk. During a performance evaluation, we can often pinpoint an athlete’s injury risk in the first 10 seconds. They squat down, their knee caves in, their foot turns out, their hips shift to one side. For the trained eye, it’s easy to see where a child might be weak and prone to injury.
We also evaluate their running and change of direction movements as well. With some tweaks to an athlete’s mechanics, non-contact injuries can decrease.
When I sit down with an athlete’s parent after an evaluation, I can typically tell them if their child is at a higher risk of injury and provide a plan of action to bring that risk down.
2. Strength Training
Strength training is often the first layer of building a lower injury risk. We look at weak muscles and muscular imbalances to assess injury risk. Common weaknesses are weak glutes (that can cause knee, hamstring, ankle, or back injuries), weak “core” muscles, and tight shoulders.
A properly planned out strength program can address these. We include many glute strengthening exercises in our classes. Not just squats, deadlifts, and lunges, but band exercises that address smaller, weaker muscles in the hips and glutes. The same goes for strengthening the core and keeping the shoulders healthy.
Strength training 2-3x/week can really change an athlete from an injury and performance perspective. If your child has a specific weakness, we will often give them homework to do, such as before a practice, and provide a band to perform the exercise.
3. Movement Mechanics
Tweaking the running mechanics or change of direction mechanics of an athlete is often easier once a proper layer of strength has been built. But getting an athlete into the proper positions to move efficiently can take pressure off of joints and muscles and lower injury risk.
Common issues can be overstriding when sprinting (which can cause hamstring injuries), getting caught flat-footed (which can cause a host of knee/ankle injuries), or moving with a higher center of gravity (also knee/ankle.)
4. Limit year round sports / Take an off-season
“Kids spend all their time playing their sport, and not enough time preparing their bodies to play that sport.”
The distinction is incredible to see: Youth athletes who specialize in a single sport for 8 or more months of the year are 2.25 (!) times more likely to experience injuries compared to those who participate in multiple sports. Source: RG.org Source: NIH.gov
The reasons are obvious. For example, young pitchers in baseball are prone to elbow and shoulder issues, while soccer and basketball players often face knee or ankle problems. Specializing early limits the variety of movements and motor skills a child develops, making their bodies less adaptable and more prone to breakdowns. Athletes should not even think about specializing until High School, and ideally, Junior year of High School if they think they are going to go on and play in college.
The benefits of limiting a specific sport and taking the time to develop an athlete’s body are endless. The mental break is extremely important and prevents burnout. The strength building is completely necessary. And the movement tweaks will not only lower injury risk, but make your child faster and a better overall athlete.
Spend less time in physical therapy and more time on the field. Take the time to develop the movement skills and strength required to play a sport and your chances of injury will decrease exponentially.
If you think we can help build your child’s injury resilience, contact us here and let’s set up an athletic evaluation to determine their strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan for success!
