Playing sport can be incredibly fun and is very important for the physical, mental and social development of children and teenagers. However, injuries are common in young athletes. Junior athletes commonly suffer from injuries including inflammation of bone growth plates at the heel (Sever’s disease) and knee (Osgood Schlatter disease), knee pain and injuries e.g. patella-femoral tracking problems, jumper’s knee and anterior cruciate ligament tears, ankle sprains or fractures1. Young, growing bodies have special needs that need to be considered to prevent injuries.
Rapid growth spurts in junior athletes result in sudden increases in height and body mass, which can result in a loss of relative strength, tight muscles, loss of coordination and an increased risk of injuries2. Therefore, young athletes often need time to develop the strength, mobility and coordination as they grow into their new body.
Junior athletes are susceptible to overuse injuries because they often play multiple sports, or train with multiple teams. Each coach tries to get their athletes fit, resulting in athletes completing excessive amounts of volume and intensity each week, and with inadequate recovery between sessions. Sports specialisation at a young age can also expose young athletes to high volumes of repetitive movements. Athletes who specialise at a young age often don’t develop all-round basic movement skills from playing different sports2.
The bones, muscles and joints of junior athletes are still growing and have not yet reached the strength of an adult; therefore, they are not able to cope with the training intensity and volume that a mature adult athlete can before they are overloaded and injuries occur. Also, the movement and coordination skills of young athletes are not fully developed, therefore making junior athletes more susceptible to injuries.
So, what strategies can we use to reduce the risks of injuries in junior athletes?
A strength and conditioning program is an essential part of the training program for athletes of any age or ability. A high-quality strength and conditioning program can significantly reduce the risks of injuries and enhance athletic performance. Programs should be individualised to meet the needs of the athlete and physical demands of their sport. They should include:
- Strength Training: to improve the strength of muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, joints, etc. Strength training is also important for generating explosive power e.g. sprinting, jumping, hitting and kicking movements, as well as the ability to absorb forces e.g. impacts of hitting the ground when running, rapid decelerations or changes of direction, and landing from a jump.
- Motor Coordination Exercises: to develop efficient movement skills, increase joint stability, coordination and balance. This includes core stability, balance, running technique, plyometrics, agility, jumping and landing technique, sports specific footwork and posture exercises.
- Cardiovascular fitness: to reduce fatigue, go harder for longer and repeat high intensity efforts.
- Stretching: to optimise muscle flexibility and joint mobility.
- Recovery and Load Management: to enhance recovery after long or intense training or competition, and management of training loads to avoid overtraining and optimise performance.
- Injury Rehabilitation: exercises to correct the underlying causes of your injury and modified training to maintain your fitness whilst you recover.
This blog is written by Simon Gellie, Exercise Physiologist/Strength and Conditioning Coach at Back In Motion Eltham. With over 20 years of experience working with junior, elite professional and recreational athletes, he can assess your body and design an individualized, evidence-based exercise program to reduce injuries and enhance your athletic performance.
If you would like further information or have any questions, please contact our practice on 9439 6776 to book in a consultation with Simon.
References
- Overview of injuries in the young athlete: Terry A Adirim and Tina L Cheng. (Pub. Med) Sports Med. 2003;33(1):75-81. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200333010-00006. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12477379/
- Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes: Cause and Prevention: Johnson, James H. Strength and Conditioning Journal: April 2008 - Volume 30 - Issue 2 - p 27-31 doi: 10.1519/SSC.0b013e31816a21cb https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fulltext/2008/04000/overuse_injuries_in_young_athletes__cause_and.3.aspx