How to prevent youth soccer injuries 2007

Ten Ways = to Prevent=20 Soccer Injuries=20

By: Tad Stormont

According to a = study=20 reported in the February 2007 issue of the American = Journal=20 of Sports Medicine, youth soccer players (ages 2 = to 18)=20 suffer around 120,000 injuries each year sufficiently = serious=20 to require a trip to a hospital emergency room. The = total=20 number of soccer-related injuries, including those = treated=20 outside of a hospital ER, is estimated to be nearly = 500,000=20 per year.=20

A significant = number of=20 these injuries could be prevented if parents, athletes = and=20 soccer organizations employed the following safety = measures:=20

Reduce = injuries through=20 proper conditioning. Conditioning-related = injuries, such=20 as strains=20 and sprains=20 occur most often at the beginning of a season when = kids are=20 most likely to be out of shape. Such injuries are=20 preventable if, before the start of a season, a = child=20 follows a conditioning program designed specifically = for=20 soccer. Proper conditioning is particularly = important for=20 girls. Not only are girls predisposed to instability = or=20 dislocation of the kneecap (patella), pain and = problems=20 under the kneecap, but the twisting and cutting in = soccer=20 make them particularly vulnerable to non-contact=20 injuries of the anterior cruciate ligament = (ACL), which=20 they suffer at a rate two to ten times higher than = boys.=20 Proper conditioning (especially building up = hamstrings and=20 inner quadriceps muscles) and teaching girls to = pivot, jump,=20 and land with flexed knees and employ a three-step = with the=20 knee flexed instead of a one-step stop with the knee = extended have been shown to prevent some of these=20 injuries.
Reduce = injuries through=20 proper stretching, warm-ups and cooldowns. = Research=20 shows that cold muscles are more injury prone and = athletes=20 with poor=20 muscle flexibility experience more soreness, = tenderness=20 and pain after exercise. Unlike sports like = gymnastics or=20 swimming, soccer does not develop natural = flexibility. As a=20 result, stretching,=20 particularly of the groin, hip, hamstrings, Achilles = tendon,=20 and quadriceps, during warm-ups before practices and = games=20 and during the cool-down after playing, is = particularly=20 vital in reducing the risk of strains=20 and sprains.=20 Stretching is particularly critical for soccer = players=20 between the ages of 10 and 13 who have less natural=20 flexibility because their bones are growing faster = than=20 their muscles. It is also critically important for = girls,=20 who need to strengthen and stretch leg muscles to = reduce the=20 risk of ACL=20 injuries.
Reduce = injuries by=20 properly maintaining the field. By some = estimates, fully=20 25% of all soccer injuries result from poor=20 field conditions. Don't leave it to the referee = to check=20 the field for holes, puddles, broken glass, or = stones or=20 other debris. Be proactive by setting up a field=20 detail.
Reduce = injuries by wearing=20 proper shin guards. One recent study revealed = that among=20 one league of youth soccer players, the shins were = the third=20 most likely area to be injured. Of the seventeen = fractures,=20 four were to the tibia (shinbone). The study = confirmed that=20 shin guards significantly decreased the force to the = tibia=20 compared to impacts without shin guards. Make sure = the shin=20 guards meet appropriate safety (i.e. ASTM) = standards.
Reduce = injuries from goal=20 post collisions. Soccer goalies suffer a=20 disproportionate number of injuries, many from = absorbing the=20 impact of colliding with the post of a heavy, = stationary, unpadded=20 goal post. A study by the Consumer Product = Safety=20 Commission (CPSC) concluded that padded goal posts=20 significantly reduced the number and severity of = such=20 injuries, and were especially effective in reducing = head=20 injuries. In another study of 471 soccer games using = a goal=20 post padding system developed by Dr. = David Janda, an orthopedic surgeon and director = of the=20 Institute = for=20 Preventive Sports Medicine in Ann Arbor, = Michigan, there=20 were seven major collisions between a goalie and the = post,=20 but no injuries.
Anchor the = goal posts.=20 According to the CPSC, at least 29 fatalities and 49 = major=20 injuries during the period 1979 to 2004 have been = linked to=20 unanchored=20 or portable soccer goals. The CPSC recommends = that=20 all movable soccer goals be anchored firmly = in place=20 at all times. For more information on anchoring goal = posts,=20 click here=20
Reduce = orofacial injuries=20 by using mouth guards. As many as 30% of all = soccer=20 injuries are to the orofacial region, including tooth=20 avulsions, tooth fractures, concussions,=20 and oral lacerations. Many of such injuries could = have been=20 prevented had the player worn a mouth=20 guard. Yet only about 7% of youth soccer players = wear=20 mouth guards all or most of the time, and few state=20 interscholastic athletic associations mandate their = use.=20 Both the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and = American Dental Association recommend a sports mouth = guard=20 for soccer.
Take steps to = reduce the=20 risk of concussions and other traumatic brain = injuries.=20 Two=20 recent studies suggest that years of heading a = soccer=20 ball may result in the short term in weaker mental=20 performance, including a decline in cognitive = function,=20 difficulty in verbal learning, planning, and = maintaining=20 attention; and reduced information processing speed. = The=20 long-term effects of heading, however, are less = clear. The=20 studies have led some groups, including the National = Soccer=20 Coaches Association of America to recommend that its = members=20 not stress heading drills among children 10 or = younger.=20 Players, coaches, parents, referees, and health=20 professionals need to be educated about the injury = potential=20 from heading a soccer ball; rules on the distance of = players=20 from the ball on restarts (such as free and corner = kicks)=20 need to be strictly enforced; and balls should be of = the=20 size and weight appropriate for the players' age and = be made=20 of synthetic, nonabsorbent materials when games are = played=20 on wet fields (because leather balls, when wet, = become heavy=20 and water-logged, increasing the risk of injury). =
Reducing = overuse injuries=20 by setting participation limits. Nearly half of = all of=20 the sports injuries children suffer each year are overuse=20 injuries. There are a number of commonsense = steps=20 parents can take to reduce the risk of overuse = injuries.=20 First, before letting a child play on two or three = soccer=20 teams at the same time, consider that all the extra = wear and=20 tear on her body may lead to overuse injuries years = later.=20 Second, set limits. A child is far less likely to = suffer an=20 overuse injury if he takes off at least three months = a year=20 from sports, and practices and plays soccer no more = than=20 twelve hours per week.
Be prepared = for medical=20 emergencies. A properly stocked first-aid=20 kit should be available at all soccer practices = and=20 games, youth sports coaches should receive training=20 in first-aid and an emergency=20 medical plan should be in place.

By: Tad = Stormont,=20 MomsTeam.com=20

?2007 = MomsTeam.com=20

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