Health and fitness is a hot topic at the moment, but have you thought how that translates for our kids?

More and more kids are involved in local sports which is great, and for most families it is almost a rite of passage to join the local netball, soccer of footy club. However, proper nutrition, body-conditioning and ways to help prevent injuries on and off the field are often over- looked.

I would say that any sport a child plays; is important for them to prepare properly. Without proper preparation kids are more likely to injure themselves. Kids have different physiological developmental issues that need to be taken into consideration.

The best advice for parents who have young athletes in the family is to help teach them from an early age good practice around sport.

Here are some tips:

• Adequate warm-up before sport such as slow jog them transition into more sport specific warm-up
• Proper cool down after sport including stretches
• Training on sport specific technique
• Teach them about properly hydrating before and after a game
• Teach them about good nutrition and how to properly fuel their bodies so that they can get long-lasting energy and replenishment. Eating a good meal 2 hours before practice or a game and then another within 1-2 hours after the game.
• Avoid trendy supplements- for kids under 18 years, avoid the use of performance-enhancing supplements like creatine. Instead get the coach to set up some weekly weight training and body- conditioning sessions.
• Chiropractic can be a great at assessing your child’s body compared to the biomechanical needs of a particular sport and we can definitely help re-enforce some good training habits and help prevent injuries.

Our expertise in the neuromusculoskeletal system means we can provide advice on the best ways to avoid injuries during play, as well as how to condition the body to prepare it for the rough-and-tumble of youth sports.

For further information about injury prevention with a particular sport and the best ways to manage any issues please all the practice on 02 9938 5456 to discuss.