Participating in athletics can be a great way for children to get exercise and learn about teamwork and discipline. However, sports can also come with injuries, both the obvious, like broken bones, and the less obvious, like tendonitis.

In hopes of achieving their dreams, children may push themselves or feel pressured to play sports at competitive levels at a young age, typically choosing multiple sports to participate in. As one sports’ season ends, another one begins, and for some children, their sports season never ends as camps, leagues, and competitions continue year-round. This does not allow time for a child's growing body to rest and recuperate, resulting in more chronic overuse injuries among children.

“Twenty years ago, children were not playing sports at such intense levels,” explains Dr. Rod S. Kraft, sports medicine doctor at Sierra Pacific Orthopedics. “As a result, their bones, joints, and muscles rarely had to endure the kinds of repeated twists and hard hits that young players regularly experience today.”

Rest is always best between sports, but if one of your athletes suffers an injury, it's important to treat it appropriately from the beginning to help them return to play safely. If an injury is keeping one of your athletes off the playing field or court, please call (559) 257-4107 today to schedule an appointment with one of the sports medicine doctors at Sierra Pacific Orthopedics. For additional sports medicine and injury prevention tips, “like” Sierra Pacific Orthopedics on Facebook and follow @spoc_ortho on Twitter.

1630 East Herndon Avenue, Fresno, CA 93720