Every 25 seconds...

Did you know that every 25 seconds a student athlete visits the emergency room? Twelve percent of those injuries are concussions, and 10% are knee injuries. The other 78% is made up of fractures, shoulder injuries, ankle sprains, and other injuries such as deep lacerations requiring stitches. Female athletes between 10-18 years old are at even a higher risk of knee injuries than their male counterparts.

Now that spring has arrived and baseball and soccer are beginning, be sure to keep your child safe. Not all injuries can be avoided, but taking some precautions and taking care of minor injuries early can help prevent season ending injuries later on. Also, proper nutrition for young athletes, especially girls, is highly recommended as it can effect an athlete's risk of injury and the recovery after injury. 

Your physical therapist can help your student athlete in many ways. One of these ways is through identification of muscle imbalances that lead to injury. A pre-sport/wellness assessment is a good way to identify these imbalances and receive training in specific exercises that can help the improve imbalances and therefore reduce chances of injury. This is especially true for athletes performing throwing type actions or overhead actions as the shoulder is commonly injured and frequently has muscle imbalances present. 

Another way your therapist can help your student athlete is through early intervention. Minor injuries like an ankle sprain can become worse without proper, early care. You now no longer need a referral from  your doctor to begin physical therapy. Call us today to see how we can help to heal minor injuries, prevent major injuries, and reduce the time your student is off of the field.

Unfortunately those emergency room visits often spell out the end of the season for the student athlete. During recovery from the injury your physical therapist can help you to cross train other parts of your body, as well as rehabilitate the injury, so when you are ready to get back in the game, you come back stronger than before. 

Get, and keep, your kids in the game and playing the sports they love! Contact us today to see how we can best serve you and your student athlete during this spring sports season.