Did you know that almost 40% of all children and teenager/adolescent injuries are sports-related? Injuries in the young athlete are often trivialised. They are usually asked or encouraged to “toughen up and play through the pain.” This approach is not in the young athlete’s best interest for the following reasons:
- It often leads to delayed healing and return to sports.
- It can turn an easily treatable injury into one that becomes difficult to treat.
- In some cases, it can result in a permanent injury that precludes sports participation.
Factors that will affect the likelihood of a child sustaining an injury are:
- Physical makeup of the child. The natural strength of our ligaments and soft tissues varies from person to person. Other factors such as body weight, posture and even hormonal factors can have an influence.
- In contact sports, the physical maturity of the child compared to their opponents.
- Degree of supervision.
- Use of protective equipment.
- The amount of adequate warm-up.
- The amount of sport played.
If your child has an injury then we will help you to overcome that injury. However, we acknowledge that it is far better to prevent an injury from occurring in the first place. Your Physiotherapist will work with you to achieve the following:
- To manage the acute injury by reducing pain and inflammation
- To advise you on exercises to do at home to encourage quicker recovery. You will also be advised on what to avoid during training and when is the best time for you to return to your sport.
- To give you a detailed postural assessment. This will include analysis of any muscle imbalances that you may be presenting with – i.e. tight / shortened muscles compared to stretched weak ones.
- To advise you of a training programme that you will need to take back to your club/coach/trainer. This will correct any imbalances of the muscles and will help you to achieve a better posture.
