2 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF INJURY AMONGST YOUTH ATHLETES

Some of the main concerns for parents when allowing their children to participate in sports are: Will my child get injured? How can I prevent it? While contact injuries are the nature of some sports and cannot be prevented; non contact injuries such as joint sprains and muscle strains are easily preventable. At Elite / STARRS we strongly use the applications of a through dynamic warm up paired with a through cool down with each training session. 

Some research suggests that  high-load dynamic warm-ups enhance power and strength performance in athletes [McMrary et al.]. While other studies have conveyed that certain types of warm-up protocols have shown a positive outcome in deterring injuries; resulting in the conclusion that warm-up and stretching protocols should be implemented prior to physical activity. [Shrier, I]. So what makes a warm-up protocol a sufficient one? Make sure it's dynamic! The goal of your warm up is to prep the muscles for movement  and increase blood flow throughout the body. As a coach I personally  like to implement yoga , mobility , unloaded movement patterns, self-myofascial release techniques and agility drills as a way to warm the young athletes up dynamically without overloading the nervous system. 

Alternative, after making sure the body is sufficiently warm to prevent injury during sport and training sessions; the cool down is a great tool to allow the muscle and nervous systems to fully recover thus preventing overuse injuries in young athletes. What makes a cool down protocol a sufficient one is making sure there is more of a static element in your movements! When implemented after a training session a cool down has been shown to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness, increase flexibility and allows the body to prepare for your next bout of a high intensity training session. As a coach I personally like to use static stretching , yoga , mobility, and breathing exercises as a way to sufficiently give my young athletes the time to recover from a beneficial training session. 

Keeping this in mind, we always dedicate at minimum 10 minutes to our warm up and cool down protocols to ensure that every athlete has the opportunity to play their sports without being plagued with a nagging sprain throughout their season. 

If you would like to learn more about this topic or have any questions please feel free to reach out!

Email: nnekadavis@eptsstrong.com

IG: zrecoveryy

Refrences

Shrier, I. (2008). Warm-up and stretching in the prevention of muscular injury. Sports Medicine, 38(10), 879. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838100-00006 

McCrary, J. M., Ackermann, B. J., & Halaki, M. (2015). A systematic review of the effects of upper body warm-up on performance and injury. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(14), 935–942. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094228