Tips for Preventing Sports Injuries in Kids and Teens.
According to KidsHealth.org, these are the 5 best ways to avoid sports injuries in children:
- Wear protective gear, such as helmets, protective pads, and other gear – Talk with your parents or your coach to know what gear you need.
- Warm up and cool down – Do some warm-up exercises or take a light jog to get loosened up and ready to play.
- Know the rules of the game – When players know the rules of the game, fewer injuries happen.
- Watch out for others – Not everything in sports is about winning. It’s also about protecting other people and being nice.
- Don’t play when you’re injured – Be honest with parents and coaches if you’ve been hurt.
Playing sports is a lot of fun. Getting hurt is not.
Let’s list the five most common summer orthopedic injuries for children and how to prevent them:
- Bicycle Injuries
- Playground Injuries
- Swimming Pool Injuries
- Trampoline Injuries
- Overuse Injuries
Bicycle injuries are very common among children. Children between the ages of 5 and 14 years are at the highest risk for bicycle injury. Sprains and fractures are most common and can happen if your child loses their balance and falls off the bike. To reduce the risk of bicycle injuries, make sure your child knows how to properly ride a bike and is wearing a helmet and knee/elbow pads to reduce the risk of injury. Serious injuries and fatalities can also occurred by collisions with motor vehicles.
There is no equipment designed to protect against playground injuries. Choose playgrounds on softer grounds. Some tips to avoid injuries are: always swing sitting down, wait your turn on the slide, sit on the slide, and slide on your bottom only, use monkey bars for climbing only — not acrobatics, among others.
Orthopedic injuries that can occur in the water are usually from diving in the shallow end of the pool, which can lead to neck and spine injuries. Slipping and sliding can also occur along the sides of the pool. There is no swimming gear that protects against these injuries, so supervision and teaching your child about safety in and around the pool is the best way to prevent injuries. Also, keep in mind that from 2017-2019, Florida was ranked the highest in the nation for unintentional drowning for kids ages 1-4, according to the CDC.
Trampoline jumping poses a high risk of injury for children. The activity can result in sprains and fractures in the arms or legs — as well as head and neck injuries. The best prevention is to supervise your child, and keep in mind that the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly discourages the use of trampolines at home.
Children can develop overuse injuries, the most common overuse injuries involve the knee and foot. To prevent overuse injuries, proper conditioning and training, wearing the appropriate protective gear, and using sports-appropriate equipment while playing are recommended. Keep in mind that bones grow faster than muscles in children.
Pediatric Orthopedics Can Be Described As the Study and Treatment of Growing Bones, Joints and Muscles.
A Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist is dedicated to the care of musculoskeletal problems in children and adolescents. Pediatric Orthopedic conditions are relatively common.
At OrthoNOW, we don’t treat teen bones like adult bones, because physically, they’re not. Where your children are treated really matters. Our team of Pediatric Orthopedic specialists at OrthoNOW delivers care to hundreds of kids and teens each year.
OrthoNOW accepts walk-ins…NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY!
Leave Fully-Treated In Less Than One Hour (including on-site X-Ray).
Why Should I See a Pediatric Orthopedist?
Pediatric orthopedic specialists have the best training and experience to communicate with your child, getting to the bottom of their injury or condition, while also explaining to them in kid-friendly terms what is going on with their body.
Pediatric orthopedics is a specialization within the orthopedic branch of medicine. An orthopedic physician can choose to focus his or her practice in a subcategory such as pediatric orthopedics for children, sports orthopedics for athletes, or even hip and knee surgery.
OrthoNOW proudly offers you this revolutionary healthcare app designed to enhance your orthopedic experience when you need it – and at no cost to you. There’s something in this industry-leading mobile app for everyone!
👉 Because Injuries Don’t Happen by Appointment®
Be prepared and connected when you need it!