The news that David Beckham is out for 6 weeks may be a shock to his fans but is good, sound medicine. That is truly the amount of time it takes for sprains to heal. Sprains are actual small tears and those take 4-6 weeks to mend without risking further damage. Sprains can be of any soft tissues in our body - muscles, ligaments, tendons. The more of a soft tissue we tear, the worse the sprain. The more the deformity or inability to bear weight, the worse the sprain. From the sounds of it, Beckham knew right away he was destined to be out at least 4 weeks.
With school sports starting this month and next, this is a wake-up call to parents and young athletes that rest is not just important but mandatory after an injury. Kids, parents and coaches must listen to the bodies of young athletes even well before there are actual injuries. If a body says "I need to rest", it needs to rest. Signs to listen for are not subtle: pain. Signs parents and coaches can watch for: limps, inability to run and play as well as before, lack of motivation.
There is a reason pros get benched for injuries and those rules should be applied even more rigidly for kids because they are growing and at more risk for injury. Here is a guide to popular youth sports and the type of injuries to be on the look out for this year.
Sometimes conditioning and planning ahead is your best defense from injury and having information to refer to very valuable. Here is a list of resources I've collected that you may find useful as the year of youth sports progresses:
Pediatrics Now FitTips
Online resources
Youth Sports Reform Books
The Downside of Pushing Kids Too Hard In Sports
Youth Sports: Take Another Look At The Game Plan
I hope your kids have a blast playing the sports they love. And, if they have to be benched, just show them an article of their favorite pro having to sit out now and again. There will be more games - but not if our kids end up with a season ending, or career ending, injury because we didn't give them time to heal.
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2 comments:
In my work, I often suggest to parents not to over schedule their kids and to make sure they get enough r&r.
Great advice! I hope your R&R was fantastic.
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