Youth sports injuries getting worse, but there are solutions
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Along with rising participation in youth sports is a rise in injuries, especially among kids who concentrate on a single sport. One of the issues is that they never get to rest.
“Even professionals get an offseason, but our kids do not,” says Stefany Shaibi, EdD, DPT, PT, (pictured above) associate professor of physical therapy on the Creighton Phoenix campus. “The kids sports stuff, it can be a little bit crazy.”
Parents need to watch out for their kids’ health, especially with ever-expanding options for kids to participate in sports including school leagues, rec leagues and travel teams, says Shaibi.
“We are seeing a rise in overuse injuries and chronic use issues in kids,” she says.
A push is coming for children to diversify their participation in different sports and not specialize in a single activity, especially at a young age. Repetitive motions can lead to injury, but taking a break from one sport to play another can be helpful. It’s also important to play different activities within those sports. A baseball pitcher might not want to be a football quarterback, two positions that involve lots of throwing, Shaibi says.
“This is a national issue,” she says.
And it goes beyond physical stress on the body. Kids get burnt out, too.
Even professionals get an offseason, but our kids do not.
— Stefany Shaibi, EdD, DPT, PT, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
Parents often put pressure on children to perform at a high level to advance to college and professional athletics, but the percentage of children who become collegiate or pro athletes is so incredibly low that it’s not very realistic, Shaibi says. She wrote an article for AZ Big Media titled “The Dangers of Overzealous Parents in Youth Sports,” where she encouraged parents to take a practical approach to sports.
Shaibi’s recommendations included looking for signs of burnout such as disinterest, moodiness and chronic fatigue; encouraging children to explore other sports; consulting medical professionals for preventive care during the offseason; and allowing plenty of time for rest and recovery during the season, especially after practices and games.
It’s also important to have tough conversations, she says. Kids may not want to hear they need to take time off to recover from an injury or to take downtime between seasons, and they may even resist that advice, but parents and healthcare providers need to be responsible in having those conversations.
It’s an important part of what she teaches students at Creighton.
“Having those conversations can be difficult,” she says. “I do think sports are important. It helps with not only physical development but teamwork.
“There are so many positives to playing sports. We just need to be a little bit smarter with our kids.”
