Would you run a marathon without training? I hope the answer is NO!
You would hopefully make a plan and over several months give your body time to adapt and get stronger. Why is it then that we throw sporty kids back to sports at the beginning of a new term, without any consideration for planning, training or recovery? Is it any wonder that young athletes get injured?
Do you ever sit down with your child and make a plan about what they are going to do each week, how hard each session should be, and how much fuel they will need each day to cope with that? Most parents don’t and so each year, we see young athletes getting injured across the UK and visiting health professionals with sore feet, shins, and knees after just a few weeks of the new season or term.
Traditionally, we have always thought of childhood overuse injuries as occurring because they do too much sport, but that thinking has changed. Athletes of all ages can cope with incredibly high volumes of activity such as marathons and endurance events … if their bodies are given time to gradually adapt.
The problems start when we do too much too soon. When we do more exercise than the body is used to, the body takes steps to make itself stronger by laying down extra new bone and new muscle to reinforce itself, ready for next time. However, it takes time for the new muscle or bone to become tough enough to withstand many of the activities children want to do.
Injuries occur when we exceed the capacity of the body at that time. This may occur by suddenly doing a new activity, training at a higher volume, or intensity, or when our capacity is reduced due to stress, lack of sleep, growth spurts, poor nutrition, or illness.
One of the most common times to develop an injury in sporty kids is the third week of the new school year after a prolonged holiday. The sudden spike in activity, new sports, trials, and all that goes with the start of a new term create an overload on the growing child that some can’t cope with.
Planning and being prepared for what is ahead is key to reducing injuries. By planning, you can often see congestion in the calendar or predict the potential for spikes in activity. Over the next few weeks, we will share some top tips for getting your child ready for the start of the season.
Make a list of when these spikes in activity might occur in your children or when you can see a bottleneck.
