Sports offer great benefits for children by developing healthy bodies and self-esteem, but sports can also involve injury. Many sports related injuries are preventable. The following are helpful tips about how you can prevent sports injuries this spring.
·Choose sports carefully. The chance of injury is greater if the degree of contact is greater. For example, football has greater risk of injury than tennis.
·Watch out for knees! Knee injuries are the most common serious injury in major sports.
·Avoid boxing since it involves high risk of brain injury.
·Avoid the most common sports injuries, sprains and strains, by wearing protective equipment.
·Make sure your child does not play during storms with lightening. An open field can be very hazardous during an electrical storm.
·Make sure your child wears a helmet approved by ANSI or Snell while riding bikes, skateboards, and in-line skates. In-line skaters should also wear elbow pads, knee pads, and wrist guards.
·See that your little league baseball or softball player does not throw curve balls. This can strain a growing bone in the elbow and can cause permanent damage.
·Ask your child's coach to limit the number of pitches thrown and innings pitched.
·The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until your child is 6 years old before beginning team sports, since children do not understand the concept of teamwork until then.
·Enroll late developing teens in contact sports only after their body size catches up with their peers.
·Be aware of important sports injuries your child may not communicate, such as injuries to self-esteem, self-confidence, and attitudes toward physical activity.
Parents can help prevent these "injuries" by:
*exposing children to a range of sports opportunities. Do not develop a pejudice for one sport.
*looking for coaches who focus on developing skill and personality, not just on winning a game.
*choosing situations where the priority is to have fun and where each child gets equal attention.
*Use the acronym RICE to help prevent an injury from getting worse. This stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. If an injury is so painful a child is unable to move his arm or leg, the limb may be broken. In this case, the best course of action is to splint the limb and take the child to a physician for an examination and x-ray.
For more information about sports injury prevention or any other area of child safety, call my office or Gainesville/Hall County Safe Kids Coalition at 770-533-8095.
Debbie Wilburn is County Agent/Family and Consumer Science Agent with the Hall (770)535-8290 and the Forsyth (770)887-2418 County Extension Service.
Monday
August 4th, 2025
5:43AM
