Let’s face it, kids play sports these days almost 24/7/365. Usually, it’s the same sport, although some kids will “cross train” and play another sport for a season or so. Mainly we focus on being the best at one sport, not two or three.
That’s how sports are played in my home—one at a time. Well, really only one. We are runners, distance or speed, doesn’t matter, we just run. I run, my daughter runs and my son runs. And I will be brutally honest; We don’t cross train much, if at all. I am the worst offender; my kids are better because their coaches make them do core work.
So here’s my dilemma. Tt started last week and is still persistent this week. My son comes home from cross country practice, limping a little and complaining about his ankle, specifically his Achilles tendon area on the back of his heel. It’s a common runner’s injury, we all know running brutally beats up the body. I inquire of my son: Are you stretching? Of course, we all know that answer, he’s 12 … no! Did you ice your foot? And again, no. Hey, at least he’s consistent.
So how do I handle this situation? I think to myself, if he’s not going to take care of his body, then he’s going to run. Eventually he will either get better or he will hurt enough to take care of himself. That’s exactly what I tell him, “Taylor, you are allowed a few days of rest. I will even excuse you from PE for three day, but if I don’t see you taking care of yourself, then all bets are off and you will be right back on that cross country course.”
I mean, it seems like the logical thing to say and do. Well, logic backfired on my last year, at about the same time. After complaining of shin splints, and me pushing Taylor to run through them, he ended up being diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter Disease and was in physical therapy for a solid two months.
Mom’s Talk Question of the week: When do we push our kids to play through an injury or when do we sideline our kids?
It’s a tough call. Unfortunately, we cannot feel their level of pain, and all of us have a different pain tolerance. From my perspective, I will run through anything just to train harder and run farther. My daughter is pretty much the same way; she will run through anything, for anything.
And I know that my kids are not any different from other kids. Baseball players will pitch until their elbows lock up or their shoulders dislocate. Basketball players will pound a day’s worth of injuries into their legs, just take a look at all of the compression sleeve and K-tape worn on the court.
As parents of young athletes, when do we make the call? Where is the balance between playing through the pain versus playing so hurt that it is detrimental to any “sports career” they may have in the future.
Jeff Ward
7:11 pm on Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Karla,
As a 30 year inveterate runner, I can say with certainly, you never want to push through a running injury. Any pains that refuse to go away after a light warm up run will only get worse.
Too many times I've tried "pushing through" running pains and I've always, always, always regretted it. When in doubt, take time off or you'll be forced to take months off.
Also, though no one but Fox River Trail Runner president Tom Spadafora and I seem to teach it teach it, good running form is critical to prevent those injuries.
Jeff
Ray Schneider
9:44 am on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Morning Kyla,
My boys are VERY into sports. They live and breath Baseball, with Basketball and Football not far behind. Everyday as soon as homework is finished they both go outside and play up until dinner time, no-matter the weather.
Even with that said, if one gets hurt, HE IS HURT ! My belief, if it's something that the child truly enjoys, they will push themselves as far as pain will allow. I also believe that it is our duty as a parent to monitor that decision, and to insure they don't hurt themselves to the point of no return. If they enjoy the sport they are doing, we as parents shouldn't have to push them at all. To me, if it's something that I have to push them to do, they obviously don't enjoy it enough be motivated to do their best on their own.
Thanks....And have a great rest of the week.
Colin C.
11:31 am on Thursday, September 29, 2011
I find it interesting that we engage in hard physical activity in order to build health and competitive sports in order to build character or something, but then frequently end up with serious injuries and a "winning is everything" attitude.
Ask any orthopedic surgeon what they are treating and they will tell you that frequently it's sports injuries. I need a new hip, an new knee, and my back is not repairable; all due to sports injuries in my teens.
Today we have exercise equipment that will provide all the benefits of hard physical activity with a very low risk of injury but instead of schools building exercise rooms and teaching our children the proper way to obtain physical fitness for a lifetime without injury we spend tons of money on football, basketball, soccer, track, and other high risk sports.
Is this for the benefit of our children or our own entertainment? Ask the people that you see at the game on Friday night.
Brooke de Lench
2:02 pm on Thursday, September 29, 2011
great points by all. In my talks to youth sports parents I always tell them to think of the life-cycle of your child. They have 100 years to live. Do you want to break them down before they are even 18? Concussions, ACL, dehydration, etc., there is no gain to play through pain. We moms (and many dads) are the guardians of children at play and we need to think of how they will feel at 30, 40, 60, 80. In the coming years parents will be held accountable if they push there kids and as hard as this is to digest-many of us know that it is up to the parents to step in and stop the injuries from mounting--if not we will be charged with child abuse as now is the case in the UK. Please look at my article on child abuse in youth sports on MomsTeam.com to understand our roles as our kids guardians.