Injury Prevention

How to prevent sports injuries in youth athletics

Dr. Kirk Johnson B.S., D.C., F.A.S.A.913-825-2550

About Dr. Johnson

Dr. Johnson played youth athletics at Blue Valley Recreation and continued his athletic journey through college. Dr. Johnson played football at Texas Christian University and Kansas State University

Dr. Johnson received his B.S. in Kinesiology from Kansas State University

Dr. Johnson graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic in December 2005.

While at Logan, he attained his certification in Applied Kinesiology.

In his private practice he has treated professional athletes.

Injury Prevention 101

Youth athletics are a great way for your child get exercise, have social interaction, and learn about sportsmanship.

Athletics inherently pose a certain risk for injury.

You and your child should prepare for athletic participation to prevent these unfortunate injuries.

Injury Prevention 101

You will learn the following during this presentation:Proper stretching techniquesWarm-Up, why it is so importantNutrition, you are what you eat!How to practice effectively Common youth athletic injuriesWhat to do if your child is injured

Stretching

Stretches should be held for 30 seconds to attain maximum physiological release. Common mistakes are bouncing while stretching and

not holding the stretch for a full 30 seconds. Major muscle groups should be stretched prior to

exercise. This includes the Hamstrings, Quads, Gastrocnemius,

Biceps, Triceps, Pectoralis and Psoas. Overstretching can predispose the athlete to injury.

Warm Up

Warming up is even more important than stretching. The warm up should be longer than your stretching

period. Warming up primes the pump, meaning that it engorges

the muscle with blood flow which allows the muscle to function correctly.

This blood flow brings oxygen into the muscles, while it removes waste products from muscle contraction.

Start by light jogging, and progress into your sport specific movement to get your muscles ready for the game!!

Practice...

Your child should practice sport specifically for at least 6 weeks prior to the beginning of game situations.

Overtraining can occur, but is more likely to start in high school athletics. Practices lasting more than 2 hours are not advised. Injury rates increase when practices last longer than 2 hours.

Stretch and warm up before practice, just as you would a game.

A visit to the chiropractor will help to analyze any biomechanical or structural fault that will pre-dispose the young athlete to injury.

Cool Down

The cool down period at the end of practice should be used to return the muscles and connective tissue to a resting state.

The cool down period will help the muscles to get rid of the waste products that have been made during the athletic event.

You should be less sore if you properly cool down.

Take 5-10 minutes at the end of the event for light jogging and light stretching.

Nutrition

You are what you eat, right? Proper nutrition will help the body to remain

injury free. If your diet is high in fat and processed foods

you predispose yourself to injury by being in an inflammatory state.

Eat meats, veggies, fruit, nuts and berries to keep your muscles healthy.

Avoid refined sugars and you may eat carbohydrates 48 hours before your event.

Hydration

Water is the drink of choice Water does not need to be digested like sports drinks

and soda If your event lasts more than 2 hours a sports drink

could be beneficial. Hydration is key to priming the pump, you have to be

hydrated to have proper muscle contraction. You should be drinking ½ your body weight in ounces

of water per day, this is recommended for everyone! If you weigh 140lbs, you should be drinking 70

ounces of water per day.

Common Youth Athletic Injuries

Osgood Schlatter’s Sprain / Strains Specific Ankle Eversion Sprains Radial Head Displacement (Nursemaid’s

Elbow) Rotator Cuff Injuries

Osgood Schlatter’s

This injury is a repetitive stress problem.

The tibial tuberosity is the attachment site for the patellar ligament.

This ligament exerts force on the bone when the quad muscle contracts.

Ice will help with the inflammation

Rest will help with the pain

Sprain/Strains

A sprain refers to a ligament being overstretched. A strain is a muscle being overstretched. If your athlete has either ice will help with the inflammation. Rest will allow the injury to heal properly. Cold laser therapy and chiropractic manipulation will help the injury

heal faster. An acute sprain requires the RICE protocol

R- Rest I – Ice C–Compress E – Elevate

Fear of a Broken Bone

If you think your athlete may have a broken bone you should:Seek medical attention immediatelyDo not remove shoes or clothing to try and

see the area, let the doctor do that. Ice the area, this will help with swelling and

give some pain relief.Don’t ignore the problem.

Ankle Eversion Sprains

An ankle eversion sprain occurs when an athletes foot will roll inward while the ankle rolls out.

This injury occurs in all sports, but I have witnessed it more in soccer and basketball.

If your athlete has the unfortunate injury it will swell a lot.

This injury can sometimes be worse than a fracture.

Soft tissues heal, but they never heal to full strength.

This injury is important to treat effectively with cold laser, interferential, and chiropractic manipulation.

Nursemaid’s Elbow This injury is seen in a younger child. The radial head (a bone in your forearm) can be

displaced from the soft tissue it is held in. This can happen if the child is picked up by one

arm. This bone moves out of its connective tissue

surrounding and is painful instantly. Your child will not want to straighten their arm. It seems as though the injury is very bad,

however it is easily correctible. A small and easy manipulation will guide the

radial head back into place and about 1-2 hours later your child will act completely normal.

Rotator Cuff Injuries

We all know that these injuries are more likely to occur in throwing sports.

If you child is playing baseball and he or she is a pitcher, do not let them throw curve balls until they have matured.

This motion puts even more stress on the intricate rotator cuff muscles.

Abide by the BVRC rules for pitches allowed and days off, they are sound and should be followed.

A rotator cuff injury usually occurs because of repetitive stress.

In Summary

Participation in youth athletes is a great character building experience for kids

I hope this lecture will help you to prepare your child for their next athletic season.

Included in this folder is an informational packet published by the National Institutes of Health about childhood sports injuries.

Chiropractic Conservative Care for Sports Injuries Chiropractic philosophy believes in the

ability of our bodies to heal from within. Chiropractors use manipulation along with

therapy to bring the body back to health. If your athlete is injured and the injury

does not require surgery, chiropractic care will help them to get back on the field faster!!