Medical Info: Help Your Child Stay off the "DL"

Now that kids are back in school, there is sure to be an increase in participation in school-based sports. And with school-based sports come sports-based injuries. The number of injuries in young athletes rises every year and these injuries are a common reason for a visit to the pediatrician's office. There are, however, measures that can be taken to prevent many of these injuries. Two of those measures worth mentioning here are preseason conditioning and adequate stretching.

Athletes of all ages who are not in adequate shape when the season begins are at a higher risk for suffering an injury early in the season. This includes not only heat- and exhaustion-related injuries but also muscle, joint and bony injuries. Our bodies always react better to a gradual change (e.g. gradual increase in exertion, strength, etc.) than a sudden one. Failure to prepare at all before the season doesn't allow for this.

In regards to stretching, it is probably safe to say that no matter how much your young athlete currently stretches he or she should be stretching more. Pre-teen and teenage athletes are particularly prone to muscle and tendon injuries because of the rapid growth they are experiencing. During periods of rapid growth, the bones are growing faster than the muscles, and this results in an increased tension being placed on the muscles. Children tend to lose flexibility as they get older (a fact that we as parents know all too well) and this makes them more vulnerable to injury during times of sudden exertion (e.g. jumping, changing directions, colliding, etc.). Spending more time stretching both before and after athletic activity will increase your child's flexibility, thus lowering the risk for injury (as well increasing their performance).