Repetitive Strain Injury: A Risk of Playing the Same Sport All Year

Playing sports offers many rewards. Children in the St. Paul area and beyond learn to play well with others, exercise in a fun way and improve hand-eye coordination and physical skills. However, focusing on a single sport all year round puts your child at risk for experiencing a repetitive strain injury.

Why and How Athletes Experience Repetitive Strain Injury

While it was once common for children to play multiple sports during the year, that trend is changing. Today, many children focus on playing a single sport before they even turn 12, and many train all year long to maximize their athletic skills.

Year-round training for one sport can be a problem, since sports rely on specific motions. When children play the same sport month after month, they perform the same repetitive motions, which can strain muscles and joints. The result can be repetitive strain injuries, sometimes called repetitive stress or overuse injuries.

Most of the time, these injuries develop slowly over time. Children may report feeling:

• Post-workout pain. The child gets through practice or games without pain. Afterward, however, pain is felt at the injury site.
• Mild pain during activity. The child feels minor pain during their activity, but the pain isn’t severe enough to prevent participation in practice or games.
• Game-stopping pain. The child hurts too much to keep participating in practice and games.
• Constant pain. The child feels chronic pain that sticks around even when sitting still and resting.

Adults also experience repetitive strain injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. However, young athletes are at higher risk for injuries since their growing bones aren’t ready to handle the stress of overuse.

Overuse Injury Recovery

Treatment for repetitive strain injury varies, as does the amount of time needed to recover. A stress fracture can take two months to heal, while it can take even longer to heal from other injuries.

Based on the injury, your child may benefit from the following:

• Ice. Applying ice to an inflamed area helps reduce swelling.
• Over-the-counter medication. Consult with your child’s pediatrician regarding what medications are safe.
• Rest. Staying on the sidelines is often necessary for your child’s body to recover. Once the pain is gone, your child’s provider will say when it’s safe to return to the field.
• Stretching. Once inflammation, tenderness and swelling diminish, light stretching can help injured muscles recover.
• Support. Your child’s provider may recommend a brace or cast to protect an injured area from further harm.
• Surgery. In extreme cases, surgery may be necessary to repair an overuse injury and restore function.

Whatever your child’s provider recommends, closely following their orders leads to a smoother recovery from sports injuries.

Preventing Sports-Related Overuse Injuries

While you can’t keep your kids from all accidents, you can reduce their risk of repetitive strain injuries with these tips:

• Adopt a healthy lifestyle. Athletes are often on the go. To fuel their bodies, feed your young athlete plenty of healthy foods. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meat are good choices. Sleep is also vital. Create a regular sleep-wake schedule to help your child get restorative sleep.
• Call a time-out. No matter what sports your child plays, build one or two off days into your weekly schedule. Evaluate your priorities and create month-long, sports-free seasons. Use this time to encourage your child to participate in free play or investigate a non-athletic interest.
• Play sports—plural. When softball season ends, your child shouldn’t start off-season softball training. Instead, sign your child up for basketball. At the end of that season, try soccer, tennis or dance. Playing multiple sports throughout the year works your child’s body in different ways. This strengthens different muscles and reduces wear and tear any single sport has on your child’s body.
• Stick to one team. Your child may want to join multiple sports teams at the same time, but it’s best to have your child on one team, playing one sport at a time. Otherwise, your child’s body will have less time to recover between games and practice, increasing the risk of injury.