How to Prepare Your Child for Fall Sports and Help Prevent Injuries

Fall school sports are just around the corner. We all want to support our kids' athletic interests, and most of all, we want to make sure they're safe and having fun. And there's nothing less fun than an injury that impacts the season.

So, we asked EvergreenHealth Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Surgeon Dr. Ronald Gregush for tips on what kids can do over the summer to help make sure they start the season strong.

"Summer Conditioning is Key"

Dr. Gregush said the most important thing kids can do over the summertime to prepare for Fall sports is to keep up a conditioning regimen over the summer. "Especially for sports like cross country and football when you do a lot of mileage right off the bat," Dr. Gregush said, "continuing to train and exercise during the summer helps kids avoid things like stress fractures and ACL tears." He says that conditioning can't fully prevent sports injuries, but "it can bring the risk down quite a bit."

ACL Injuries: "A Modifiable Risk Factor" More Common in Females

Studies show that women experience two to eight times more ACL injuries than men due to anatomical, biomechanical and hormonal differences. "Females tend to have less muscle support compared to young men," Dr. Gregush said. "It has a lot to do with how females develop and how they run and land when they're jumping. ACL tears among young women are almost an epidemic."

Dr. Gregush recommends parents talk to their child's primary care physician, coach or trainer about ACL prevention programs. These roughly 30-minute exercise sets can bring females' risk of an ACL injury to the same level as for males.

Pre-Participation Physicals

Regardless of your child's school's requirements, Dr. Gregush recommends parents have their child undergo a pre-participation physical every year they're planning to play sports. "Physicals are important because the focused heart and lung exam isn't something a child would typically have done," Dr. Gregush said. "That matters for sports and their day-to-day lives."

A physical can benefit your child's mental health. "So many adolescents suffer from things like depression and anxiety," Dr. Gregush said, "and a sports physical is an opportunity to get those conditions diagnosed and treated." He mentioned other benefits too, including that undergoing a physical gets your child into the medical system and connected with a provider so they have medical support for anything that comes up.

Which Sports Cause the Most Injuries?

Dr. Gregush said that sports that involve "cutting" and "pivoting' movements like soccer, basketball and football tend to cause the most injuries. That's not a reason to prohibit your child from playing them, he added, but it's important to know the risks and help make sure your child is in the best shape possible to help avoid injuries.

"The most common sports injuries we see in the fall are fractures and knee injuries," he said. "Things like shoulder injuries in football are hard to prevent, but being in the best shape possible will help at least make them less severe."

When Should You Seek Care?

Dr. Gregush said many sports injuries can improve with rest, but that some conditions require an evaluation. "Most sprained ankles don't require a doctor visit," he said. "For a lot of injuries, just giving it a few days to see what happens is very reasonable. Most ankle sprains are going to get better regardless of what you do. But if you really can't put weight on the injured body part at all, you're going to want to see a doctor for an evaluation."

"The majority of injuries we see in clinic don't require surgery," he added. "A lot of things can be fixed with rest and physical therapy over about six weeks, depending on the injury, to both help the healing and keep their strength up while they recover."

Remember to Have Fun

"When it comes down to it, school sports should be about the kids and how much fun they're having," Dr. Gregush said.

So as the fall school sports season approaches, follow this advice to help make sure your child is ready to play at their best level, and that they're having fun doing it.

To learn more from Dr. Gregush, you can listen to the full Check-Up Chat podcast episode or click to watch the vodcast.

You can also learn more about EvergreenHealth Orthopedics & Sports Care by visiting our website.