Marion attended a 2 day course with Angela Jackson who is a specialist youth athlete physiotherapist. Here are her takeaway thoughts and considerations when rehabilitating children back to sport post injury.
- Child and adult athletes differ in their physiology and anatomy. It is essential that your healthcare provider has a knowledge of skeletal and soft tissue pathology specifically related to children when making a diagnosis and planning their management.
- Most sports injuries in children and teenagers occur because they overload their muscles, tendons and bones beyond their capacity. It may be that that they are doing too much activity and haven’t allowed their body to adapt to the new level of load. Examples of this are trying out a new sport, getting back to sport after a break or increasing frequency/intensity of sport sessions in a week.
- Children often present with injuries when their capacity to exercise is reduced. A recent growth spurt, a bout of illness, poor sleep, anxiety, dehydration and not eating enough can all reduce the amount of exercise they can cope with.
- Planning a return to sport begins from Day 1. Getting to know the child and understanding why the injury has occurred improves the outcome and helps prevents re-injury.
- Rehabilitation may involve modification of muscle strength, footwear , training load, fitness levels, sports technique, nutrition, hydration, sleep and recovery.
- It is important to adopt a child cantered approach, involving the child in decision making, giving them confidence and competence to self manage their rehabilitation and address fears and beliefs about their injury.
If your child needs help and advice regarding injury and return to activity, Clifton Physiotherapy would love to support you – you can contact our team on 01179706390 or book online to see Marion Averill. If spaces are limited on the booking portal, please give us a call and we will do our best to find you a convenient time.
I would highly recommend kidsback2sport educational resources and guidance for parents, coaches and teachers to help get injured kids back to sport.
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