How can my child avoid injury when returning to sport/training?
If your child has returned to sports/training in recent weeks, please see some top tips on how your child can avoid injury..
- If your child has an old injury or is carrying an injury from last season, it would be best to get this assessed by a chartered physio prior to the new season commencing.
- If the weather remains cold make sure your child is wearing the correct protective clothing to keep warm. Tracksuit bottoms, leggings, hats, under armor, and gloves can all keep your child warm and better prepared for training/games.
- If your child has had a large growth spurt since the end of last season, they may be at a higher risk of getting injured. It is very important that they build up their level of training slowly and periodically so that their muscles, joints, and tendons can adapt to the extra load that is placed on them.
- Very often there is little time to do a thorough warm-up prior to training commencing. To counteract this you can encourage your child to do 10 minutes of leg stretching at home prior to going to training. Walking or cycling to training will also warm up the muscles and ready them for activity.
- Ensure your child is well hydrated with water prior to training. This will help prevent dehydration and muscle cramp. Try to have their last big meal 2 hours before commencing training.
- LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! Encourage your child to speak to one of their mentors if they experience any muscle or joint pain when training. This is extremely common in children when returning to sport after a long break and can be a warning sign of imminent injury.
- Advise your child to slowly work themselves back into training and not to go “too hard too soon.” The slow and steady approach will be helpful in preventing injury, particularly if your child has not been very active over the past 6-8 weeks.
- Your child may have lost some fitness over the Christmas break. If they are getting tired or out of breath during training, advise them to take a 1-minute break and then return when they feel ready. Pacing themselves will help prevent injury.
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