According to the National Council of Youth Sports, roughly 60 million children are registered to play youth sports in the U.S. Of them, an estimated 3.5 million children, aged 14 and younger, get hurt annually participating sports and more than 775,000 go to the emergency rooms due to those injuries.
But before you reconsider signing your child up for whatever sport season is next, consider this:
50% of youth sports injuries are preventable.
To keep your athlete safe, follow these injury prevention tips:
- Get regular health check-ups: Regular check-ups—especially pre-season—are essential to monitoring overall health and spotting and address any potential concerns that might contribute to an injury.
- Use appropriate equipment: Properly fitted, sport-specific protective gear such as helmets, pads, and shoes are must-haves for every athlete. Don’t use equipment it if it has missing or broken buckles or compressed or worn padding as it likely won’t fit well and may not offer proper protection.
Injury insight
62% of organized sports-related injuries occur during practice rather than games.
- Warm up before playing: Stretching before exercise has proven to be even more important for preventing injury. Stretching helps loosen muscles and readies them for play. Athletes should stretch each of the major lower body muscle groups before and after sporting activity. See a series of stretches from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
- Practice proper training and technique: Using proper form and technique can significantly reduce the risk of both acute and overuse injuries for every sport. Make sure your child has qualified and age-appropriate instruction no matter their sport.
- Stress the importance of hydration and nutrition: Keeping a body properly hydrated and well-fueled through diet and nutrition is essential to both performance and recovery. Encourage athletes to drink water throughout the day, not just at games or practice. For intense workouts or games, provide electrolyte-rich drinks. Discourage eating sugary snacks, fast food, and sugary beverages that can lead to energy crashes. Strive for a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates. Get ideas for what to eat on competition days.
- Emphasize rest and recovery: As passionate as your young athlete might be about their chosen sport, it’s important to encourage adequate rest between practices and games.
- Play the field: Many kids like to play sports year-round, which makes overuse a common cause of injury. Doing the same motions year-round puts wear and tear on developing muscles, tendons, and bones. Playing a variety of sports works to develop different fundamental skills. In fact, studies of college-level and Olympic athletes found that the majority of them played multiple sports growing up and did not specialize early.
Youth sports and consequences
According to the National Health Statistics Reports (PDF), these are the activities responsible for the most emergency room visits for sports injuries among patients aged 5 to 29:
Ages 5 to 9
- Playground: 23.1%
- Cycling: 13.8%
- Gymnastics/cheerleading: 9.3%
- Running or jogging: 8.4%
Ages 10 to 14
- Football: 19.9%
- Basketball: 13.0%
- Cycling: 10.1%
- Soccer: 7.4%
Ages 15 to 19
- Basketball: 16.6%
- Football: 16.2%
- Soccer: 9.3%
- Cycling: 7.3%
Even with best practices and an abundance of caution, injuries can still happen. If your child is experiencing consistent pain during or after sports or swelling around a joint that doesn’t respond to rest or ice, reach out to their doctor for an appointment. Playing through with an injury can lead to more damage and longer recovery time.
Jennifer LaChance, PA-C, is an orthopedic associate at SVMC Orthopedics in Bennington, Vermont and Northern Berkshire Orthopedics in Williamstown, Massachusetts.