We all know the benefits of having kids active and outside, and organised sport is a great way to keep them healthy, happy and occupied. Playing sport also teaches kids many qualities that will help them across all facets of life, including teamwork, relationship building, perseverance, and how to deal with winning and losing.
However every sport and exercise pursuit does carry some injury risk, so knowing how to best handle your kids injuries from day one means you give them the best chance of minimising the severity of the injury and keeping their joints and muscles healthy for a long sporting life.
So what should you do?
We can classify sporting pain and injury into 2 categories, either “acute” meaning a new injury that is often associated with a distinct moment in time where the pain came on, eg “during the game I stepped on my opponents foot and twisted my ankle”, or “gradual onset” where the pain or soreness develops more gradually over days, weeks or even months. e.g. “I remember it getting sore back in April, a few weeks after I started that new training”. The history of onset is very important for your Sports Physio to know as it helps establish the likely contributing factors to the injury and also the nature of the pain that is occurring.
Having your child’s injury assessed early allows you to establish what is actually the problem and how it can be best managed for the short and long term. The majority of kids sporting injuries are minor/moderate and won’t pose long term concerns when managed well. But there are exceptions to this and kids injuries do need a thorough assessment and monitoring after injury as there are a range of conditions specific to children that could become problematic if not picked up. These can include among other things, trauma to the joint surfaces, bones or growth plates in growing bodies and stress occurring where tendons attach onto bones.
The recommendations below generally apply to new (acute) injuries but would rarely be inappropriate to use even with gradual onset injuries until you are able to have your injury assessed by your sports practitioner.
From a management point of view, the best recommendation after discovering a new pain or injury is generally to apply the “CERI” principles, (you may have previously heard it referred to as “RICE”… the order of priority has changed a little based on what may be more effective).
Compression – a new injury is often associated with pain, swelling and possibly bruising. Applying compression can help manage soreness and reduce excessive fluid build up or bleeding, which in term may speed up the rehab process. Using a tubigrip compression sleeve, wearing “skins” type garments if they cover the affected part, or using an elastic compression bandage applied appropriately can all help.
Elevation – as with compression, elevating the injured part can reduce the amount of swelling and may also help with soreness associated with increased blood flow to the area. A good guide is aiming to have the injured body part resting higher than your heart. So if dealing with an ankle or knee injury, laying on the couch with some pillows under your leg works well.
Rest – this refers to relative rest and is really targeted at refraining from activities that are likely to further aggravate the injury. For some minor/moderate injuries, eg ankle sprains, there is actually good evidence to suggest that maintaining a level of mobility with short walks between rest periods, may help the speed and quality of recovery. But once again this may not be suitable for all injuries e.g if a bony fracture is involved, and your Sports Physio will be able to provide more specific guidance.
Ice – the old adage of using ice on a new injury has been challenged by some research, and it can be tricky to measure the benefit of using it or not. General advice still is that it is not likely to do any harm when applied correctly, and may provide some assistance with heat in the area and associated pain. It should always be applied with some material between the ice and the skin to avoid skin damage. We recommend not leaving the ice on for an extended time, and 10-15 mins every hour or 2 for the first day or 2 is a good guide.
This advice is often forgotten when parents feel otherwise a bit helpless when their kids are in pain, but it is advised to avoid anti inflammatory medications where possible, particular in the first 2-3 days, with a new injury. The inflammatory process in the body is the natural response to injury and is actually the first phase of the healing process. It is how the body responds to tissue trauma and sets about the process of establishing healthy and necessary scar tissue. There may be some less common occasions where these medications are indicated and this would be guided by your doctor or pharmacist.
After these early management tips are followed, the next stage of recovery is focussed on ensuring the timing of activity and exercise progressions are appropriate for the specific injury, and will be guided by a good sports practicitoner.
Parents and kids sometimes feel a pressure to get back quickly for that next important game or tournament, but these perceived pressures to return should always be put into perspective for the child’s overall well being, after all we want to keep them playing happily for many years to come. When dealing with significant injuries, it is wise to take a patient approach as rushing back into sport too early can increase the risk of reinjury – and prevention is better than cure. A quality rehab plan will include ensuring the child regains full movement, strength and tolerance to their chosen sport before they are progressed to full activity/training and then competition. Kid’s injuries may also need to be monitored for a longer time frame to ensure that full function and normal development and growth occurs after injury.
So keep your kids active, fit and firing, and if they do happen to sustain an injury, use these commonsense steps to look after them well for the best short AND long term results.
Play well and have fun!
Image courtesy of chrisroll at FreeDigitalPhotos.net