The competition is fierce and if you don’t get ahead of the game, you likely won’t play at all. Over the past 10 to 20 years the mentality around sports competition has shifted. If a child isn’t enrolled in a sport by the time they hit kindergarten, forget it—they will always be behind their peers. Parents and kids are now honing in on one sport at an even earlier age and playing it year around. The ramifications of this can be detrimental to the mind and body.
According to David Jewison, M.D., a sports medicine physician who works with the University of Minnesota football and hockey teams and Maple Grove High School teams, recent studies have shown that a child shouldn’t specialize in a single sport prior to puberty. “It won’t change the ability to achieve an elite status,” he says.
The only exception to this rule, Jewison states, is gymnastics and dance. Once maturity or puberty is attained, (in girls ages 12-13 and above and boys 14-15 and above) the growth plates start to close and more strength is gained. At this time, the body can withstand some of the repetitive stress it undergoes with sports competition, although overuse injuries are still seen.
Jewison encounters overuse injuries in athletes from baseball players to ice skaters. Youth pitchers nowadays are throwing as many pitches as major league baseball players, and are doing so year-round. Track and cross country runners suffer from diseases related to the tendon and growth plate issues. Stress fractures are common as well. Gymnasts, dancers and ice skaters commonly have vertebral (spine) fractures because of their constant back hyperextension. And the list goes on…
Ava LeNeau, a Maple Grove middle schooler, suffered such an injury last summer. Participating in cross country, followed by numerous days of dry land training for Nordic skiing and then the eventual transition to track and soccer, didn’t allow her the rest her body needed. While pivoting during a soccer game, she suffered a growth plate fracture in her ankle. Her summer consisted of wearing a boot, followed by weeks of physical therapy, before she was able to return to the sport she loves. “The coaches do their best to provide them with the correct equipment and adhere to a ‘healthy’ amount of practice hours,” says LeNeau’s mother. But certain kids, such as her own, are internally driven and very competitive and will practice on their own in addition to the hours they put in with their team. Not allowing needed rest can ultimately lead to painful consequences.
In order to avoid these debilitating injuries, Jewison suggests a good rule of thumb: practice hours per week shouldn’t exceed a child’s age. For example, an 8-year-old gymnast’s practice schedule shouldn’t exceed more than 8 hours of gymnastics per week. Another suggestion is limiting practice and sports competition to 5 days per week instead of the more common 7 days per week.
“In the off-season, it is important to work on core strength, flexibility and stability, which can help support the body and protect it against injury,” Jewison adds.
