Sports Injuries in Kids: Prevention and Treatment

Sports and Injuries in Sacramento, CA are all too common. Your kids participate in sports of all kinds and none of them is injury-free. Whether it is tennis, football, soccer, or gymnastics, sports put stress on young bodies. At Timberlake Pediatrics, our pediatricians have the experience your kids need to help them to prevent injuries and if they are injured, to treat them.

Preventing Sports Injuries

Before beginning any sports, your children should get a sports physical. This allows your pediatrician to make sure there is no physical reason why your children should not participate. It should be done every year and this way the pediatrician can determine if any previous injuries have healed. Adding the potential for further injury to an injury that has not totally healed could lead to permanent damage. 

Safety equipment should always be used. It is created to help protect your children and not using it is just asking for trouble. No safety equipment can totally protect your child but not using what is available is foolhardy. 

Warming up before exercising helps to reduce the number of injuries. 

Wearing the correct shoes for the particular activity and making sure that they fit correctly. 

Treating Sports Injuries in Sacramento, CA

When it comes to the end goal of treatment the desired results are pain control, healing, preventing complications, and restoring normal use of the injured area. With injuries that result from overuse, the treatment protocol is R.I.C.E.  rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Beginning treatment as quickly as possible after the injury is vital to getting the right results.

Pain medication may be necessary over the short haul if the pain is disrupting your child's life. Topical pain medication can also help to target very specific areas that have been injured. Using a brace can be beneficial depending on where the injury occurred on the body. Your pediatrician may recommend physical therapy to get the injured area back to total usage.

If any bones have been broken, this usually involves getting a cast placed on and some injuries may require surgery to correct. Your child will be anxious to get back to playing, which is understandable but, make sure you get the okay from their doctor before allowing them to play again. Going back to full activity too soon can result in more serious injuries.

At Timberlake Pediatrics we treat sports Injuries in Sacramento, CA. Our pediatricians will offer suggestions, information, and treatment for the injuries your child will have to deal with. For an appointment give our office a call at (916) 688-5040.