The topic of sport and fitness for our youth is an important one, and as the rate of technology use in our youth’s free time sky rockets, more parents are turning to team sports and activities in order to keep them fit and healthy, as well as reduce the rate of childhood obesity. Not to mention that in the competitive world we live in, children are being pushed to play at elite levels much sooner, and often engage in more than one sport.
We know that as we get older, our rate of recovery slows, and we all remember the days where we were younger when we’d bounce back from an injury that might sideline us for weeks or months more as adults. However, it’s important that as our strategies around what activities we involve our children in change and evolve, the way that we look at their ability to stay injury free and recover from injuries does too.
Children can be at risk for long term injury if they’re pushed beyond their limits while they’re still growing. As their growth plates, tendons, and bones mature, their bodies are susceptible to injury in ways that adult bodies are not. While their boundless energy and their seemingly faster recovery times may trick us into thinking otherwise, it’s doubly important to protect and prevent childhood injury as much as possible.
In a study on injury in junior Australian Rules Footballers (AFL) (Grimmer & Williams, 2003), injuries to the lower body including hamstring, thigh, groin, and calf accounted for 37.2% of all injuries suffered by players under the age of 18. They found that injury rates are highest amongst the 13-15 year old age groups, with a 14.5% rate of injury per season. This is a worrying trend where in 2009, the of the 19 players intake of 30 young elite into the Australian Institute of Sport’s AFL Academy has a history lower back, hip, or groin injuries (The Age, 2009).
AFL isn’t alone in these types of statistics. Another study on youth sport participation indicated that a significant number of youths who were involved in sports like soccer, hockey, and baseball were also experiencing a high rate of injury (Spinks & McClure 2007).
These statistics indicate that additional preventative measures are incredibly important when sending our children out to participate in the sports they love. Making sure that they have access to sports medicine professionals, ensuring that they have performance based compression clothing for injury prevention and recovery, and implementing a regimen of proper warm up and cool down routines, stretching, and proper nutrition on training days and rest days should be implemented as soon as they begin playing – regardless of the level.
Supacore’s range is designed to fit youths from as young as 14.
Grimmer, K. & Williams, J., 2003. Injury in Junior Australian Rules Footballers. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 6(3), pp. 328-338.
The Age 2009, "AFL probes teen injuries", p. Sports: p8.
Spinks, A & McClure, R 2007, "Quantifying the risk of sports injury: a systematic review of activity-specific rates for children under 16 years of age", British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 41, no. 9, pp. 548-557.