Children Who Play Only One Sport May Have More Injuries

To avoid problems in their development, it is better for children to practice different sports and not focus on just one. This is how different muscle groups will work

Sports in children is one of the best forms of leisure that they can do.

The problem is that with a single sport they run the risk of suffering different injuries.

Luckily, there are a series of guidelines for the little ones in the house to play sports safely.

Injury risks with a single sport

As they are still in full growth, children may have  some different specific injuries than adults.

For example, the growth plate can suffer fractures that affect bone development, causing unwanted shortening or angulation.

Children’s growth zones can suffer microtrauma or overuse injuries. However, the most typical injury is pain in the anterior aspect of the upper tibia, near the knee.

With these risks, injuries to the knee ligaments are becoming more frequent, similar to those seen in adults.

This means that they have to be operated on at a very early age to restore stability to the knee area.

Sport, little by little

Adults sometimes think that children are like us and that they do not have their own biology.

Although we see them all day in permanent activity, their body tolerates poorly the fact of making the same gestures all the time.

The most appropriate thing is for children to initially learn basic skills, such as running or jumping, so that later, little by little, they can focus on a sport.

• It is important that they do not do a single activity, that they are carried out of different types, at least, until they are 14 years old.
• Another element of risk is the tendency that the elderly have towards specific equipment.

For example, football boots: the elongated, deep cleats used by professionals in the boots allow them to turn and brake more quickly, but increase the risk of knee injury.

We must not forget that, in general, adults have more strength in our stabilizing muscles, which compensate for the situation.

However, the little ones in the house are still not strong enough.

Injury prevention

For children to play a sport regularly (and not just one sport), it is important to put children in the hands of trained coaches and that they know the preventive measures that can be used.

A proper warm-up program can reduce the risk of knee and ankle injuries in children by up to 60%.

Parents should keep in mind that they should not pressure, neither the children nor their coaches.

At an early age it is necessary to impregnate children with the right spirit and promote a true “physical education”.

Thus, you must leave in them the habits of correct warm-up, of listening to your body to avoid overloading, of maintaining muscle shape throughout life, etc.

Snow season

If we like snow sports, the combination that children grow and change their size so fast and the snow season is short means that many times the team is bought large, so that it lasts at least two seasons.

This looseness of equipment can be harmful to children.

In addition, we must bear in mind that ski or snowboard programs are concentrated in one week, with many hours of activity each day and a lot of accumulated fatigue.

Parents and monitors should set limits and also monitor that children get the proper night’s rest.

 Psychological problems

In the case of children who are engaged in competitive sports, be it a single sport or several, it may be the case that psychological disorders appear derived from the stress to which they are subjected, as well as the consequences of a diet rigid.

How many hours a day or a week are appropriate? It is not possible to quantify. It will depend on factors such as the type of activity, the age of the children, the intensity with which they play sports, etc.

Before school age, the best way for a child to stay healthy and physically active is through unstructured, “spontaneous play.”

It is about combining fun with sport without the intention of competing.