Feb 16, 2018 / Sports Medicine
Tips for Young Athletes from our Sports Medicine MVP
It’s a great day for our patient Alessandro. With proper time for healing and successful completion of his rehabilitation, he passed his return-to-sports protocol and couldn’t be more excited. He’s ready to play soccer again after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction by Philip L. Wilson, M.D., in 2017.
When we asked Alessandro what he has learned in the course of his rehabilitation with physical therapist Daniel Stokes, he didn’t hesitate to share these important tips for young athletes:
Warm up before training and competition
We think he has some great suggestions. In fact, his first tip, warming up to reduce the risk of injuries has recently been shown to be effective in a recent study looking at the FIFA 11+ for Kids. We’re excited to see this kind of work in injury prevention.
Stretch regularly, especially your hamstrings
In response to learning the importance of stretching regularly, Alessandro has taken up yoga in the past few months to help with his flexibility. Our team encourages young athletes to look for a variety of activities to incorporate body movements outside of a primary sport. Yoga is a great option for a serious soccer player like Alessandro.
Incorporate strength training for muscles including the quadriceps (thigh) and gluteal (buttocks) muscles in your workouts
Some consider strength training in young athletes to be a controversial topic because traditional programs designed for adults don’t translate well to growing athletes. With appropriate training, maintaining correct form and supervision by coaches familiar with growing bones, strength training can be a safe component of a young athlete’s training regimen. Focusing on control and form before adding resistance is very important. This will help produce results and, more importantly, reduce the risk of injuries during training.
We’re proud of Alessandro and his commitment to his recovery and rehabilitation. We wish him luck getting back into the game!
For information about injury prevention and pediatric sports medicine, please visit our website at scottishritehospital.org/sports.
When we asked Alessandro what he has learned in the course of his rehabilitation with physical therapist Daniel Stokes, he didn’t hesitate to share these important tips for young athletes:
Warm up before training and competition
We think he has some great suggestions. In fact, his first tip, warming up to reduce the risk of injuries has recently been shown to be effective in a recent study looking at the FIFA 11+ for Kids. We’re excited to see this kind of work in injury prevention.
Stretch regularly, especially your hamstrings
In response to learning the importance of stretching regularly, Alessandro has taken up yoga in the past few months to help with his flexibility. Our team encourages young athletes to look for a variety of activities to incorporate body movements outside of a primary sport. Yoga is a great option for a serious soccer player like Alessandro.
Incorporate strength training for muscles including the quadriceps (thigh) and gluteal (buttocks) muscles in your workouts
Some consider strength training in young athletes to be a controversial topic because traditional programs designed for adults don’t translate well to growing athletes. With appropriate training, maintaining correct form and supervision by coaches familiar with growing bones, strength training can be a safe component of a young athlete’s training regimen. Focusing on control and form before adding resistance is very important. This will help produce results and, more importantly, reduce the risk of injuries during training.
We’re proud of Alessandro and his commitment to his recovery and rehabilitation. We wish him luck getting back into the game!
For information about injury prevention and pediatric sports medicine, please visit our website at scottishritehospital.org/sports.
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