5 Tips to Help Your Child Prevent Injuries While Playing Sports

With so many different sports offered nowadays, young athletes, like your child, tend to push themselves extremely hard. Many children are playing sports around-the-clock, which increases their risk of injury. To help ensure your child isn't sitting on the sidelines during the sports seasons, here are five tips to help prevent sports injuries in young athletes:

1. Get Your Child a Physical Before the Season Starts

The best way to prevent injuries in your child is to ensure that he or she is ready to play. A preseason physical or a sports physical will assess areas of concerns prior to your child starting an athletic activity. If there is a problem present, the doctor will treat it ahead of time so that the activity does not aggravate it further and cause a significant injury that your child may not be able to recover from.

2. Emphasize the Importance of Hydration and a Healthy Diet

Children need to ensure that they always have water on-hand when they're playing, especially if they're out in the heat. Otherwise, they are putting themselves at risk of a heat-related illness, such as heatstroke. Even if they're not playing in the heat, they are still at risk of dehydration. Just as it is important to stay hydrated, young athletes need to eat a well-balanced diet, which should include plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as lean proteins.

3. Ensure Your Child Gets Plenty of Rest

Kids think that they're able to go full throttle and don't need to rest between practices and games. However, without rest, their bodies are unable to recuperate. Overuse – too much activity and not near enough rest – is among the most common reasons why athletes suffer injuries. Muscles need to rest in order to gain back strength and bodies and brains need sleep, so make sure that your young athlete is getting rest when they're actively playing.

4. Purchase (and Get Your Child to Wear) the Proper Equipment

The equipment that your child will need will depend upon the sport that he or she is playing. However, it is very important that you make sure to buy the right equipment and ensure that it fits your child properly. This protective equipment, such as shoes, pads, and helmets, can be what keeps your young athlete from getting severely injured while playing sports. Talk to the coaches prior to the season starting to find out exactly what is needed.

5. Tell Your Child to Speak Up When Something Isn't Right

Make certain that your child understands the importance of speaking up if they feel like they have been injured, if they're in any kind of pain, or if something just feels "off." Some children like to play it tough and don't want to show that they are in pain, but this can hurt them in the long run. Serious problems can be prevented if they're caught early enough. 

For more tips on preventing injury or if your child has a sports injury that needs to be treated, talk to a doctor like those at SpineCare Chiropractic Daniel S. Wright, D.C.

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