Protect Your Young Athlete

In years past, children often participated in different sports as the seasons changed. Today, however, more kids are specializing in one sport year-round, making overtraining injuries more common.

Football in the fall, baseball in the spring — when children play different sports during the course of a year, as opposed to the same sport, they are more likely to have a balanced routine. However, as more children focus on excelling in a single sport, the repeated pressure on their young bones and muscles can make them more prone to injury.

“Numerous sports now practice year round,” said K. Brooke Pengel, MD, FAAP, Medical Director of the Sports Medicine for Young Athletes Program at The Children’s Hospital. “Overuse injuries occur when children perform the same activities or motions repeatedly. Couple that with the intensity of practice and the young ages at which many athletes are introduced to sports, and you end up with tired kids—mentally and physically.”

Training Healthy Kids

Because of the increasing number of injuries related to overuse, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines for children who participate in sports. The AAP recommends that kids:

• Limit training to no more than five days a week.
• Participate in sports that emphasize fun, safety, sportsmanship and learning.
• Take a break between seasons — preferably two to three months—  if they play multiple sports.

“The key with sports is moderation,” Dr. Pengel said. “Also, it is important to choose age-appropriate sports for children. Organized sports should not begin before age five, and parents should talk to their child’s physician or a sports medicine specialist to ensure he or she is ready for a particular sport.”

For more information about services available for young athletes, visit www.thechildrenshospital.org/sports.