Kids Back 2 Sport
Children and adolescents are not mini adults and due to the type of injuries that they can develop should not be treated like adults.
It is important to be able to assess and understand why sporty kids get injured
To assess when a sporty kid is safe and ready to return to play
To educate young athletes and parents about how to avoid training overload and recurrent injuries
To help the next generation of athletes be the best they can be
Children and adolescents should not be considered as mini adults and therefore should not be treated like adults. They have different anatomy and types of injuries which need a different approach to treatment by a health professional who has experience in accurate diagnoses and appropriate rehabilitation as not all practitioners have this specialist knowledge.
Most child and teenage injuries occur not as a result of a collision or fall but when the capacity of their muscles, tendons and bones is exceeded, either by loads above those they have trained for, or as the body’s capacity for activity has been reduced due to illness, poor sleep or nutrition
Children are more vulnerable to injury during growth spurts. It takes time for them to adjust to having longer limbs and they can become less coordinated for a time - a period of time often referred to as adolescent awkwardness. Children need time to adapt to their body and learn how to move with longer, stronger limbs and patience is key in giving them time to do this.
Growth also creates greater tension and compression at the site where the muscle attaches via a tendon to the bone. A sudden increase or spike in activity can exceed the load capacity of the tendon attachment to the bone and cause irritation of the growth plate and soft tissues. This results in pain local to the point of attachment of the tendon, (unlike adults who are more likely to have issues within the tendon itself). The pain is aggravated when they run, jump and hop but settles with rest. These injuries are known as an apophysitis. Examples of this are Severs Disease in the heel or Osgood Schlatters disease in the knee.
Sporty children, more often those who participate in sports that involve repetitive movements involving arching the lower back such as bowling in cricket, gymnastics, high jump, serving in tennis and kicking a ball can suffer bone stress injuries (BSI) or stress fractures, affecting the tibia, femur/ hip and lumbar spine.
A bone stress injury is a common cause of intermittent lower back pain on activity that eases quickly when they stop, especially during a large growth spurt where the new bone is not as strong or able to tolerate big stresses or sudden changes in activity and the bone gets bruised. However the body is adaptable and if rested sufficiently the bruised bone will be able to adapt and become stronger, but this process can take 2-6 weeks.
If the pain is ignored and activity continued, the body does not have a chance to make the necessary bony adaptions and the bone bruise can develop into a (non serious) small hairline crack in the surface of the bone. At this stage the period of rest from sport and rehabilitation required is much longer often up to 4 months.
The sooner a bone stress injury is identified, the lesser the risk of developing a stress fracture with less time out from sport.
Any sporty child with lower back pain that returns after a period of rest from sport for 2 weeks should seek the advice of an experienced healthcare professional.
As a member of the The Kids Back 2 Sport register Helen is an appropriately skilled healthcare professional who will ensure that your sporty child is assessed, diagnosed and helped safely back to sport giving them their best chance to achieve their sporting potential.
