Practice for fall sports starts next week!
I can almost guarantee that athletes are beyond excited to be able to play again after being forced to take time off during 2020.
Since it has been a while since sports happened as they normally would, there are a few things that I want athletes and their parents to be aware of:
- Injury rates in high school sports are extremely high. Up to 90% of athletes have reported an injury during a season. The severity of these injuries varies from mild, such as sprains/strains, to severe, such as fractures and concussions.
- A high number of athletes, more than 50%, report playing through injuries.
- Overuse injuries outnumber acute injuries and can be drastically reduced if not prevented entirely.
- What happens outside of practice/games matters just as much, if not more than what happens during practice/games.
- Prioritizing recovery is key. The athlete needs to be getting enough sleep, proper nutrition, enough water, managing stress and moving in a variety of ways.
- "Wait and see" and "take a few weeks off" rarely address the underlying issues. Active problems require active solutions.
Stats from:
https://www.atyourownrisk.org/studentathletes/
https://www.nata.org/practice-patient-care/health-issues/chronic-injuries
