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Common Sports Injuries to Children
There are various types of injuries which children involved in sports are exposed to. The most commonly occurring ones are fractures, sprains and strains, heat and dehydration. Injuries are also caused due to dislocated joints, tearing of tendon and ligaments and dislocated joints. On most occasions the nature of injury pertains to the type of sport played by children.
Some of the chief kinds of injuries suffered by children are:
Fractures
A fracture is a break in the bone that can occur from either a quick, one-time injury to the bone (acute fracture) or from repeated stress to the b one over time (stress fracture). They can be classified into
- Acute fractures: Acute fractures can be simple (a clean break with little damage to the surrounding tissue) or compound (a break in which the bone pierces the skin with little damage to the surrounding tissue). Most acute fractures are emergencies
- Stress fractures: Stress fractures occur largely in the feet and legs and are common in sports that require repetitive impact, primarily running/jumping sports such as gymnastics or track and field. Running creates forces two to three times a person's body weight on the lower limbs
Dislocations
This kind of an injury is caused when two bones that come together to form a joint become separated. Children playing sports such as football and basketball, as well as high-impact sports and sports that can result in excessive stretching or falling, cause the majority of dislocations.
Growth Plate Injuries
Children playing certain sports run the risk of getting their growth plate injured. The growth plate is the area of developing tissues at the end of the long bones in growing children and adolescents. When growth is complete, sometime during adolescence, the growth plate is replaced by solid bone. The long bones in the body are the long bones of the fingers, the outer bone of the forearm, the collarbone, the hip, the bone of the upper leg, the lower leg bones, the ankle and the foot.
Heat and Hydration
Children are vulnerable to injuries which are caused by heat and hydration. Often out of enthusiasm, children forget to take precautionary measures against heat. As they perspire more than adults this leads to heat-related illnesses such as dehydration, sweating, heat exhaustion (nausea, dizziness, weakness, headache, pale and moist skin, heavy perspiration, normal or low body temperature, weak pulse, dilated pupils, disorientation, fainting spells), and heat stroke.