Injury Resilience….One Good Choice At A Time

 

Happy, Injury Free Youth Athletes Every Parents Goal ( Photo courtesy of Kevin Rohr)

For a youth athlete to stay healthy and injury free in any given season is very important for athlete,parent, coach and team. There are many things you and your youth athlete can do to help stay happy and running all season long. The idea that your child will never get injured is a great idea but, the reality is that most athletes suffer some form of injury large or small over the course of their sports career.

As parents we have to do the best we can to help our kids become more injury resilent and healthy. So how do we do this you ask. Well the following 10 tips could help you your athlete stay in the game and not on the side lines.

• Warm-up properly before ever practice and competiton. A warm core helps muscles do what they are suppose to do with ease not a strain. Don’t let the kids skip over this while the coach isn’t there yet, watch them do a good warm up.
• Cool down, just as important to cool down after a work out.The muscle need time to get back to a normal and the cool down will help pump needed nutrients to the worked muscles to aid in recovery.
• Proper healthy eating ,food is at the top of the injury resilience list. The right healthy food choices can help fortify a young body to build strong bones and muscles to help with stand the demand placed on the young body.It also will give a good energy source to stay properly fueled during the demanding practices,which in turn can help the athlete maintain proper form throughout the entire training session.
• Proper hydration,as with food, water helps the body and nervous system coordinate muscular activity and cools internal organs while training. If this is inadequate sever consequences can arise such has heat stroke and in extreme case death.
• Rest and recovery.A young body that can be allowed to rest and recover is more likely to train at a higher level,with more focus and stamina.A tired body can more quickly fall into poor motion patterns and over training of the very muscles tendons and ligaments you to perform at a high level in an actual meet. Overuse is a big problem in long hard training seasons. Rest will pay you youth athletes dividends when it counts most.The end of the Championship season
• Muscle work via massage or self massage either approach will help in the recovery of a body that has worked hard and dilligently. The current popular ”stick roller as well as the foam rollers are easy to use ,effective and very cost friendly on mom’s and dad’s pocket book. Of course if you can afford a therapist to give an ocassional massage that works well also. Lauren looks at it as a treat,better than any candy or snack.
• Proper stretching helps in the cool down phase of a training session as well as provides mucles with a balanced abilty to  improve daily performance through more flexible muscles, range of motion helps circulation and it acts as a sedator tot he muscles which is a nice ending to a tough work out.
• Awarness of  your body.Aches and pains  are part of an athletes body experience.Knowing when to stop,when to rest,when to get massage and proper body care is of th utmost importance as your athlete matures in the sport.knowing a tight muscle verses hurt one can really decrese a serious injury tally over the years of competion. I remember in  the 2009 National Championship which also determined the Word Team Carmelita Jeter was running the final of the 100m and at the line slightly pulled up.when questioned about it she simply said “it’s just a cramp,nothing serious”.It appeared she knew her body well enough to do what she needed to do then shut down .
• Choose the right shoes for the work to be done. Make sure they are not overly worn have a good arch for the type of running yhou are doing.All training and running shoes are for all types of running activity. A good running store can help with th details of your athletes needs.
•  Chose the best team of coaches  you can to help your athlete run with the best form possible .Teaching our youth athletes to land on the forefoot with good posture results in better performance and less wear and tear. Their muscle tuning abilities are enhanced and they are better able to cope with higher volumes of running. A good coach can go along way to decreasing the wear and tear on hyou athletes young body.More is not always better when it comes to training .Smart is best.Knowing when to increase and decrese work loads is very important. There are many great resources in people and books that can help you understand what your child needs at different levels of his training.

I interviewed Joanna Hayes this week for an up coming post and in closing I would like to share the 2004 100mh Olympic Champions words that ring so true “Treat your body like it is injured, interms of care you can never go wrong with babying it just a little extra”  

**TrackMom**

Related posts:

1. Injury Prevention, It’s A Parents Responsibilty Too
2. Cutting Edge Injury Treatment and Prevention Aids
3. Don’t Forget To Cool Down
4. Cool Down Is An Important Part Of The Workout
5. Outdoor Track Season, Time To Get Started….. What Will You Do Different? (part1)