Did you know a lot of youth sport injuries can be spotted before they happen?
Here are some facts about youth sports injuries in the United States
- Every year, more than 3.5 million children under the age of 14 require medical treatment for injuries incurred while participating in sports.
- Almost 50% of all sports injuries in youth stem from overuse.
- Most (if not all) overuse injuries can be prevented with proper equipment, correct training methods and mechanics, combined with adequate mobility and stability in the athlete’s movement.
Our goal is to change the way youth prepare for their sport participation.
With the current understanding of movement and overuse injuries in the field of sports medicine, it is a shame that so many kids are getting hurt from injuries which could have been prevented. Long before pain starts occurring with athletes, there are postural and movement impairments present in the athlete. The current system for clearing kids for sport participation does not usually include a movement assessment to see if the athlete has the mobility and stability required for their sport.
Here at Change Sports Physical Therapy Institute, we are performing injury predictions screens to flag players who are at risk for overuse injuries. This information is certainly useful for parents, but also for coaches. Now, coaches don’t need to go into their season with fingers crossed, hoping the team stays healthy. Now, we can be proactive about injuries and do something about it before it becomes an issue.
The Screening Process
At Change Sports PT we use a combination of movement and performance testing to get a picture of how ready the athletes are for their season.
- Functional Movement Screen: This is a nationally used movement screen which helps point out movement dysfunctions in the athletes. This screen is being regularly performed with most professional and national level athletes. In fact, we’ve performed this screen on the US National Volleyball Teams
- Other Functional Tests: This may involve a single leg squat assessment, Y-Balance Test, or other measures
- Clinical Tests and Measurements: Depending on your sport and position, we may perform some other measures. For example, a baseball pitcher should have their shoulder range of motion measured and the shoulder blade stability assessed.
- Performance Testing: Using some performance measures will allow the coach and player to get a better idea of their overall preparedness for their sport. For example, results of an endurance test will let you know if their overall physical fitness needs to improve.
We do these screenings on an individual basis, as well as with teams and organizations.
TEAM INJURY PREDICTION SCREENINGS
- Each athlete gets online access to an individualized exercise program with video demonstrations of their specific exercises
- Get a Team Injury Risk Score to see how healthy your team is going into the season
- We come to your place of practice
