If you are the parent of a teenager who participates in sports, it is important that you are aware of the risk of sports injuries. Adolescents are more susceptible to injuries than adults due to their growing bodies and still-developing muscles and bones. In this article, we will discuss the most common adolescent sports injuries in Sydney and what you can do to prevent them.
The most common sports injury among adolescents is a lower limb fracture due to overuse or trauma. This can be caused by falling during play or landing improperly after jumping, such as a basketball player landing on another player’s foot. The lower limbs are also prone to sprains and strains. These are typically caused by twisting the ankle or by overstretching the ligaments in the knee.
Another common sports injury among adolescents is a concussion. This can happen when an individual receives a blow to the head or experiences whiplash from either direct contact with another player during sport, or by bumping into something on the field of play. Concussions occur very easily and are difficult to identify, as there are no physical signs of injury. As a result, concussions can go unnoticed if the individual does not seek medical attention right away.
Adolescent athletes are also prone to stress fractures and overuse injuries. Stress fractures occur when there is too much pressure placed on one small area of the bone through repetitive activity. Stress fractures can occur in the bones of the lower or upper extremities, as well as the spine. Overuse injuries occur when a part of the body is used too much and not given enough time to rest and rebuild. This type of injury usually occurs over time with repeated impacts on a certain area of the body.
In addition to common injuries, adolescents may face other risks during sports participation. For example, research has shown that female athletes are at a higher risk of knee injuries than male athletes from athletics such as soccer and basketball where jumping is common. This can be attributed to the wider pelvis in females which makes them more likely to suffer from patellar instability or “bowleg” syndrome. In addition, girls are at a higher risk of ACL tears due to the fact that their hips and pelvis are less stable than those of males.
Another potential risk is overuse injuries, which can occur when an athlete participates in a sport too much or too often without giving the body time to recover and rebuild itself. These overuse injuries can lead to chronic knee pain and arthritis. In order to prevent these types of injuries, it is important for athletes to take proper care of their bodies by stretching regularly, getting enough rest, and avoiding too much repetition during training.
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