National Youth Sports Safety Month is held each April. While youth sports offer a great way to get exercise while learning about teamwork and discipline (and having fun!), they can also come with sports injuries. While some injuries such as broken bones are typically obvious, overuse injuries like tendinitis might be less apparent.
In this article, we’ll explain what you should know about overuse injuries and how to help keep youth sports safe and fun for everyone.
Overuse Injuries
There are two main types of sports injuries: acute and overuse. Acute injuries usually happen because of a single traumatic event such as falling or getting a hit to the leg or arm. Common examples are wrist fractures, ankle sprains, and dislocated shoulders. Overuse injuries are more difficult to diagnose and treat because they usually occur over time. These include injuries like tennis elbow, shin splits, youth pitching shoulder/elbow, and Achilles tendinitis.
Signs of Overuse Injuries
The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine offers the following signs for a youth to talk to a parent, athletic trainer, or medical professional:
- Can’t put weight on a particular body part, such as the ankle
- Can’t sleep
- Favoring one side of the body over the other
- Begin limping
- Have pain when using a body part
- Shortness of breath or trouble breathing during activity
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Can’t sit and/or climb stairs
- Can’t feel fingers or toes
- Experience unusual weakness
- Headaches during or after activity
- Severe joint or muscle stiffness
- Irritated skin and/or blisters
Never encourage youths to play through pain. This increases the risk of making the injury worse. Stop playing immediately if you’re experiencing sharp stabbing pain. Seek immediate medical attention for bleeding, swelling joints, dizziness, or inability to put weight on an affected limb. The sooner injuries are diagnosed and treated, the faster you can get back to the sport you love.
Preventing Overuse Injuries in Youth Sports
Get a pre-season health check to identify any possible health concerns that might lead to overuse injuries. Warm up before activity to prepare your body and cool down after to help recover. Make sure to include strength training and stretching in the training program. Stay hydrated, wear properly fitted protective equipment, and play different positions or sports throughout the year to minimize the risk of overuse injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured, contact the Schuerman Law office today. Schuerman Law has been working with personal injury claims for over 40 years. John Schuerman will compassionately advocate for injured individuals as well as their families while fighting for full compensation of their claims. Schuerman Law offers evening and weekend appointments in addition to home and hospital visits. Schedule a free consultation today by calling 1-800-274-0045.
