Youth sports can be a great outlet for your child to exercise, socialize, and create a fun, passionate activity. But it is always important to consider the risk of injury for your child.
Injuries are unexpected but likely to happen at some point during your child’s athletic events. Most injuries are preventable if student-athletes take some precautions during a game including stretching, proper hydration, good rest, and a healthy diet.
Sometimes though, an injury could happen after making contact with another player, falling, or another athletic-related accident during a sport. If your child does get an injury while playing sports, then make sure to take them to a nearby urgent care center to evaluate the severity of the injury. In addition, and urgent care center can help to treat the injury.
So what are some of the most common sports injuries for student-athletes and how can you help your child prevent these injuries?
Knee injuries
A knee injury is one of the most common injuries in youth sports. A fall or hit on the knee can lead to significant pain, bruising, or even dislocation. Treatment usually involves physical therapy, at-home rest and ice, and sometimes some minor surgical care.
Shoulder injuries
Shoulder injuries are very common in contact sports like football but are also likely to happen in other types of sports. Much like knee injuries, a shoulder injury can be anything from sore muscles to even a dislocated bone.
Hamstring injury and ACL tears
A hamstring pull or sprain can be very painful and occur during intense contact or physical exertion on the lower leg. Additionally, a ACL tear is extremely painful and requires significant physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Concussions
During a contact sport like football, the risk of a concussion is much higher than in other sports. However, concussions can happen during any athletic event when enough contact hits the athlete’s head. Any athlete that is hit in the head should evaluate their concussion with medical professionals and get plenty of rest.