Youth Sport Injury Prevention
Implementing proper injury prevention methods is the easiest way to ensure the most safety for our players. Let’s keep them playing!
Written by Grace Leidig, Edited by Emma Schneider
At this age, some children are still developing basic motor skills and gaining strength. It’s important to prepare them for competitive sports with a foundation of physical fitness.
Integrative Neuromuscular Training (INT), combined with sport-specific skills, will prepare a child for higher competition and an increased skill level, with the added benefit of a reduced chance of injury (LaBella et al., 2016).
Neuromuscular training injury prevention programs (NMT), similar to INT, aim to improve coordination, balance, strength, and cutting and landing techniques in athletes (Emery and Pasanen, 2019).
Studies have shown NMT programs can reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries in youth sports by at least 35%
Specifically, it’s been shown to be effective in reducing risk of injuries for youth soccer players (under the age of 13), by 48%
When used at least three times a week, NMT provides a proactive approach to injury prevention.
NMT is easily adaptable to any skill set or age group, depending on the team or specific child’s needs. This also leaves room for progression as a child acquires more skillsets. Using an injury prevention method such as NMT is free and requires no extra equipment.
Example of NMT Warmup
(Emery and Pasanen, 2019)
Hills Pumas FC is implementing the following age appropriate warmup programs inspired by the NMT approach:
References
Emery, C. A., & Pasanen, K. (2019). Current trends in sport injury prevention. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, 33(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2019.02.009
LaBella, C. R., & Myer, G. D. (2016). Youth sports injury prevention: keep calm and play on. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(3), 145–146.
