Has your sporty child suddenly started to complain about muscle or joint pains? If so, did you know they are not alone?
In fact, last week (the 3rd week after returning to school) is one of the most common weeks of the year for non-contact injures to occur in the sporting child.
Injuries occur in children when their activity demand exceeds the body’s capacity, placing more stress on the muscles and bones that they can cope with.
During the summer holidays, often children do less activity, for example; they may drastically reduce their walking and their team sports may stop for a summer break.
It is great to let children have fun over the summer and take a step away from competitive sport however when they return to school in September their activity levels can drastically increase and their body is expected to cope. Children are suddenly increasing their steps, taking part in P.E lessons and then on top of that, some return to multiple sports clubs, with some starting new sports. There has been no training for this sudden increased volume and as a result they do too much too soon. Hence by week 3-4 of the return to school, some children start to struggle.
One of the most common types of injury we see in the clinic that I wanted to share with you is called Apophysitis.
Repetitive stress from activities like running, jumping, kicking and throwing, can cause pain and inflammation at the attachment point of the tendon to the bone (apophysis). This happens on bony prominences that are non-weight bearing especially at the heel, knee or hip, depending on the age of the child.
You may have heard of the following conditions:
Iselins - 5th metatarsal of the foot - common in ages 9-12
Severs - Heel of foot - common in ages 10-120 for boys (can be younger for girls)
Osgoods - front of shin, below the knee - common in ages 9-15
Sinding-Larsen Johansson - knee cap - common in ages 9-15
Here are some signs and symptoms to look out for in your child:
Limping after sport
Not being able to complete full training sessions pain free
Altered running pattern
Complaining of pain – on the side of the foot, back of heel, below the knee cap or on the bottom of the knee cap, and the front of the hip - see examples below:
Swelling on the front of the shin below the knee cap
If you notice any of these symptoms in your child, then you can use ice to reduce pain at the time and then rest your child from sport.
I'd then advise you seek advice from a qualified practitioner. I am proud to be a registered Kids Back 2 Sport Practitioner and would be happy to see you here at Physical Balance. You can then receive the correct advice regarding treatment and how to manage the injury. Most of the time a child does not need to be pulled completely from sport, it is often a case of managing their activity levels.
If you're not local to us here, you can use the Kids back to sport website - www.kidsbacktosport.co.uk - to give you full details of the person closest to you who has completed extensive training in paediatric injuries and returning a child to sport.
Of course Apophysitis is not the only type of injury in a child and if they are experiencing any pain in any part of their body then please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss.
If you have any questions, or you think your child could benefit from seeing me in clinic, please contact us on 01256 770022 or visit our website for more details and my full availability.
Bridget Daly - Sports Therapist
Read more about Bridget in Our Team section
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