There are a number of benefits to having kids play organized sports – which is probably why so many parents encourage their kids to do it.
How many? About 45 million American children participate in sports programs, including countless kids right here in Florida.
Unfortunately, along with the benefits comes a big potential drawback: injuries. Sports injuries are the second leading cause of children’s visits to the emergency room. As a parent, you need to know which injuries are most common for child athletes and how to protect your child from them.
In this post, were going to cover common sports injuries and accidents that kids suffer and what to do. If your child has a sports injury, it may fall into one of these categories.
If you believe that someone else’s negligence led to your child’s sports injury, don’t hesitate to speak with an experienced Florida personal injury attorney.
Sprains and Strains
When ligaments are stretched too far, they can tear and cause a painful sprain. Sprains commonly occur in wrists and ankles. Your child may experience swelling, bruising, and temporary stiffness with a sprain.
When a muscle or tendon is torn, a strain occurs. When muscles are pulled too far, tiny tears can result. The hamstrings and back muscles are common areas for strains. Your child may have swelling or muscle spasms, as well as painful or blocked movement.
Shin Splints
If you have ever had pain along the front of your lower leg, you have had a shin splint. Not stretching before working out or running to excess can cause shin splints. Your child can also get shin splints from running on a hard surface.
Swollen Muscles
If a muscle is overworked, it can swell and cause great pain. Swollen muscles can result from single injuries or be due to long-term patterns of overuse.
Achilles Tendon Injuries
The Achilles tendon runs from the heel up the back of the calf muscle. It’s common among child athlete injuries that this tendon is stretched or torn. An Achilles tendon injury often results from overuse or unstretched muscles. This type of injury can put your child on the bench for an entire sports season.
Knee Injuries
Injuries to the knee are very common among child athletes. Too much running can cause tenderness near the knee cap, and children can also have pain on the sides of their knees due to overuse.
It’s also common that the knee ligaments can be torn or damaged due to physiological makeup or damage to the joint. Surgery and long recovery periods may be required if your child’s knee ligaments are torn.
Dislocations
High-impact sports and contact sports can cause your child’s shoulder (for example) to come out of joint. Emergency care is necessary for this condition. A doctor will ease the joint back into place and direct your child to wear a sling for several weeks while the nerves and muscles heal.
Fractures
In extreme cases, your child could break a bone during athletic activity. Bones can also experience stress fractures from overuse over a long period of time. If your child has pain when bearing weight on a certain bone, he or she may have a stress fracture.
If Your Child Is Injured in Organized Sports in Florida
No matter how small your child’s injury may seem, make sure that they receive medical treatment. Your child’s medical report can be the most helpful piece of evidence if you decide to file a personal injury claim in the future.
About the Author:
Andrew Winston is a partner at the personal injury law firm of Winston Law. For over 20 years, he has successfully represented countless people in all kinds of personal injury cases, with a particular focus on child injury, legal malpractice, and premises liability. He has been recognized for excellence in the representation of injured clients by admission to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, is AV Preeminent Rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, enjoys a 10.0 rating by AVVO as a Top Personal Injury Attorney, has been selected as a Florida “SuperLawyer” from 2011-2017 – an honor reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state – and was voted to Florida Trend’s ”Legal Elite” and as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Florida and one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Miami area for 2015, 2016, and 2017.
