Sport Safety Helps Kids from Being Sidelined
We can’t package our kids in bubble wrap before sending them out the door, but there are several things we can do to make sure our kids are ready to safely participate in sports and that they don’t get sidelined with injuries. School and community athletic programs offer kids opportunities to be physically active. As parents and caregivers we can help them play to their fullest potentials by supporting them in 3 specific ways.
Baseline Concussion Tests
New advancements in medicine have made baseline concussion tests available to young athletes. These tests do not measure IQ, but instead use a short series of tests, administered with the use of a computer. The tests include assessing verbal and visual memory, reaction time, attention span, and brain processing capabilities. These tests are administered long before a concussion ever happens, giving physicians a baseline against which they can measure in the event of a suspected concussion.
I recently took my son for his first baseline test, a fast, painless way to ensure that if he gets hit too hard this year in football, doctors will be able to compare the baseline test results with post-injury test results. The test was in the form of a computer game, took 20 minutes, and can provide us with valuable information if he ever receives a blow to the head and his concussion status is questionable. We are fortunate to be in a school district that requires these tests for young athletes before they attend their first practices.
While football is among the leading sports for concussions for young athletes, other sports such as baseball, gymnastics, and soccer are all examples of sports where adolescent concussions have been seen. Because there is no medication that relieves a concussion, prevention and due diligence for suspected concussions is essential. Athletes who receive a blow to the head can be reevaluated and the tests results compared to the baseline test, giving physicians clear guidelines for whether or not particular individuals are ready to go back on the field or into the gym.
Sports Precision Clinics
I never thought I was going to be one of those parents – the ones who take their kids to specialty sport clinics in order to perform better in adolescent sports. My son’s injured pitching arm made me realize that these clinics can be valuable, proactive ways to help our kids participate in sports successfully, and safely.
Athlete training facilities such as The Sports Institute offer classes in everything from nutrition, to specific sport training, to video skills assessments. These courses and consultations can seem expensive, but if your child is even moderately obsessed with athletics they can be very instrumental in athletic development. For our child it came down to a matter of choices – he was 11 years old and suffering from severe pain in his elbow from pitching last summer. I decided that I could take him to the doctor who could diagnosis what we suspected – overuse – and prescribe ice and rest, or I could take him for a consultation at a sports clinic. This consultation provided him with help in finding a new pitching routine that would take away the pressure from the elbow – no more side arm slinging. While this might seem extreme for an 11 year old, the final costs for me to take him for private assessment and coaching were actually less than the costs for a visit with his pediatrician and an x-ray. The results of the two options were dramatically different as well – the proactive visit with the sports coach resulted in my son learning a new pitching strategy that will enable him to continue with an activity he loves. The visit to the doctor would have resulted in a respite from sports and the likelihood that when he returned and pitched the same way, he would have been forced to stop playing, perhaps for good.
Communication with Coaches and Kids
Parents often want to protect their kids from every possible pain, but what is sometimes a better approach is teaching our kids to listen to their own bodies and decide when enough is enough. Instead of being the parent who runs on the field every time his child is injured, it is important to help your kids form relationships with their coaches where they can speak up for themselves. Effective coaches will learn to look to the children, who are the only ones who really know how their bodies feel. Parents can do their parts to make sure that coaches aren’t abusing the dedication of kids and putting their physical health in jeopardy. If you see or hear something that just doesn’t sit well with you, don’t be afraid to ask a coach for clarification, but remember to do so in a calm manner, preferably away from the intensity of a competition. Establish an open forum of conversation between yourself, your child, and the coaches, but encourage your child to take a leading role in these relationships.
Athletics and sports are not for every child, but as parents we can take steps to make sure that when our kids choose to pursue sports that we give them every opportunity to succeed. While most young athletes will not become professional stars, providing our kids with safe tools to succeed in sports at young ages can have far reaching effects. Maybe your child will pursue a career in sports medicine, physical therapy, or sports psychology. Or maybe your child will simply learn to pursue positive tools for improving situations.
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