Sports Injury Prevention Tips to Share with Your Kids – The top reason why young athletes experience sports injuries are due to overuse! However, knowing how to prevent as many injuries from happening should be at the top of every parent’s list this school year. Find out how you can get involved in preventing injuries for your child this year at Newsymom!
This is Public Health is brought to you in partnership with the Tuscarawas County Health Department.
The school year is quickly approaching, and your kids have likely already started getting ready for their school sports programs! It’s so important to encourage safety while playing sports, as injuries don’t only pertain to their body… Your kids can damage their brains, too!
Have the conversation with your kids to practice these sports injury prevention tips:
- Wear the appropriate gear – Depending on the sport, your child could be wearing pads, helmets, mouthpieces, faceguards or eye protection. Check with your child’s coach to ensure they’re staying as safe as possible!
- Play safely and enforce rules – If you notice your child (or someone else’s) playing dangerously, call it out! Some examples include: hitting other children in the head, playing unfairly, or sliding headfirst to base.
- Rest (and take breaks)! – The most injuries within young athletes are due to overuse. Remind your kids to take breaks, time off from training, drink LOTS of water, and stretch to reduce their risk of sports injury!
- When it happens: don’t play through pain – If (or when) your child becomes injured, they shouldn’t play through it! They’ll only do more damage that could become a much larger problem.
Injury Goes Beyond Broken Bones and Sprains…It Can Damage the Brain!
A common injury that’s hard to decipher within contact sports: concussions. Especially within sports such as football, brain injury is something only a healthcare provider can clear. Remember: there’s no such thing as a concussion-proof helmet.
Form a Concussion Action Plan
When a child has a head injury while playing, these are the steps that should be taken to ensure they’re safe:
- Take the athlete out of the game until they are cleared by their healthcare provider. (Don’t have a healthcare provider? Call the Tuscarawas County Health Department at (330) 343-5555 to get a referral!) Don’t try to assess it yourself. Clear it with a doc! Some silent symptoms of concussions could be: headaches, difficulty remembering or sleeping, and irritability.
- Record the information about the injury in as much detail as you can. Any new symptoms? Write it down with time and date!
- If it’s not your child, let their parent or guardian know about it ASAP! (Have them check out the CDC’s guidelines on Brain Injury Safety.)
- Get written documentation from your child’s healthcare provider about the next steps to take until they can return to play with their teammates! You could’ve missed some key steps while in the appointment, so it’s best to have it in writing.
Young Athletes Try to Hide Concussion Symptoms
A lot of young athletes feel incredible pressure from their families, friends, coaches, and teammates! As many as 7 out of 10 athletes have hid their symptoms so they don’t seem weak or let their team down. (Brain Injury Safety Tips and Prevention, CDC.gov)
Create a culture of honesty and transparency. Even as their parent, you have the power to change the way their team operates. Get involved with your children and their favorite hobbies to keep them safe this season!
The Tuscarawas County Health Department encourages everyone to follow injury prevention tips so all families can have safe, and happy sports seasons.
Make sure to follow along on Facebook (@tchdnow) for the latest news and safety tips to keep your kids safe this sports season!
Melissa Klatt
Reporting
