Attention Parents and Sports Coaches!

A relevant and alarming topic in the news lately has been ACC’s reporting of an increase in children’s sports related injuries.

In the last 10 years there has been a massive 60% increase in sports related injuries among children aged between 10 + 14 years. This is double the increase of any other age group.

Isaac Carlson, ACC’s Head of Injury Prevention notes that it is not only an increase in injury rates but also an increase in injury severity.

Although many of these injuries are sprains and strains there is also an alarming number of ligament tears to important joints such as knees and shoulders. These used to be more in the realm of people participating in professional elite level sports. Now we are seeing an increasing number of them in our young athletes.

These injuries often require surgery and the long road to recovery can prevent the achievement of sporting goals. If serious enough the injury could signify the end of a promising sports career before it has even begun.

WHY is this happening?

More structured sports training and competition can mean kids are being exposed to higher-intensity, higher-volume training from an earlier age, which can increase the risk of repetitive overuse and fatigue-related injuries.

Specialisation too early …

The Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) have noted a global trend towards young people specialising at an earlier age in a single sport, Dr Dan Exeter, Sport and Exercise Physician and Medical Director for Athletics New Zealand, says one of the drivers behind this is the belief that early specialisation in one sport, leads to an increased chance of sporting success later in life.

However available evidence and research does not suggest specialising earlier necessarily leads to greater success.

Overintense training …

A child may be playing a team sport for their school, their club and a rep team as well. They could be playing competitive games and doing structured training 15 – 20 hours a week not including PE or other activities.

Too much high intensity training reduces the energy necessary for growth and development. It can affect peak bone mass and even the onset of puberty. Children can become burnt out and lose the enthusiasm and love they initially had for a sport.

WHAT can we do?

Don’t Specialise too soon…

Coaches and parents need to be aware of both the lack of benefits and the increased risk of harm associated with early specialisation. Allow children the time to physically mature.

ACESP recommends encouraging our young athletes to partake in a wide range of physical activities BOTH organised and informal (free play) to maximise their health outcomes.

Their position statement advises delaying specialisation until at least 12 years of age or even until late adolescence.

After the age of 15 injury statistics halve as children become stronger and more physically resilient.

Remember they are not high performance athletes yet, they are adolescents with immature musculoskeletal systems.

Children should cross train and try a wide range of sports.

They need a balance between training and just playing naturally /having fun, as they will develop physically from this too.

Nat Hardaker, Sports Injury Prevention specialist at ACC suggests that “children specialising in one sport are missing out on developing a wide range of physical skills that can potentially help build a more resilient body. A more diverse approach can mean fewer overuse injuries, less chance of burnout, and a higher chance of staying in that sport for life."

Be balanced in sport as in life …

The ACSEP guidelines recommend parents and coaches use the one hour for every year guideline, where the amount of organised sport per week – both training and competition – should not exceed their child’s age. Therefore a 10 year old should not train or play more than a total of 10 hours per week.

They also recommend that the ratio of hours spent in organised sport (training and competition) to those spent in “free play” should not exceed 2:1.

If a child is doing formal sport and training more than this they are at risk of overuse injury.

In Summary…

We want our children to grow up as well balanced complete individuals who enjoy their sport and physical expressions of energy.

With the goal of changing these statistics regarding children 10 – 14 years of age and increased injuries with sporting activity ACC is promoting BALANCE and VARIETY.

They support the ACSEP position statement of a weekly training guideline of ‘one hour for every year’ as the best way for young athletes to avoid being sidelined by injury.

Playing a range of sports from an early age and not overtraining are likely to be bigger determinants of sporting success, and lead to a lifelong love of being active.

It is better to do a broad range of activities and not push too hard too soon. They will then go on to have a greater level of sporting prestige and gain a love for sports and activities rather than running the risk of burning out before they reach their potential.

Children and teens are still developing. They are more vulnerable to the stresses caused by too much sport and training, which means they are more at risk of injury and long-term damage.

ACC’s panel of professional sporting experts recommend we not only love and support our young athletes but we also let them be kids and have fun without pressure. We encourage them to experience a wide variety of sports and playing positions. We embrace their mistakes and are proud of their successes.

As a physiotherapist who sees all ages of patients including children I want to advise and reassure parents of promising young athletes. The way forward is still positive if we remain as balanced in our attitude towards our children’s sport as we need to in other areas of their lives. There is a reason my practice is called Balance & Motion!