Gymnastics is a type of sport that requires coordination, balance, flexibility, and lots of physical exercises and endurance. Among all sports, gymnastics has a high rate of injury, and if we talk about kids, then it is the highest.
Gymnasts must repeatedly practice the same challenging movements and techniques, stressing different body parts. Gymnasts who don’t get proper sleep and rest take a long time to recover from injury and get strong. Here, you will see how to prevent your kids from injury during gymnastics.
Some Of Common Gymnastics Injury In Kids
Gymnastics require the use of the upper body part as a weight-bearing joint. Injuries in the shoulder, wrist, elbow, and joint are very common.
Some of kids’ gymnast’s common injuries are:-
- Elbow Dislocation
- Shoulder Dislocation
- Wrist sprains
- Osteochondritis dissecans of the elbow
- Lower Back Injury
- Back Pain etc.
Significant Ways To Prevent Kids Gymnastics Injury
Gymnastics is high-intensity training and requires lots of repetitive activity and skill. Doing lots of physical movement welcomes lots of injuries as well, so it becomes the coaches’ and parents’ duty to protect little champs from damage and injury during gymnastics.
1] Proper Warm-Up
It has been proved that cold muscles are more prone to injuries compared to warm-up muscles. Make kids do thoughtful warm-up exercises before starting gymnastics practice; these warm-up exercises start with slow jogging, then go on with knee lifts, butt kicks, prancing, and power skips. Stretching exercises for gymnasts should target the neck, back, shoulders, forearms, wrists, hips, calf, ankle, and foot muscles.
A proper warm-up can increase blood flow and flexibility, prepare the body of kids for the demands of a gymnastics routine, and reduce the risk of injuries.
2] Appropriate Training
Kids should practice gymnastics according to their age-weight and capabilities; overambitious training can increase the risk of injury. Coaches and parents must discuss the proper plan for training their children, and you should never forget that all children are different, and so are their capacities.
So, Children should be placed in a gymnastics program that is suitable for them, and appropriate training can save your kids from injury.
3] Enough Resting Hours
The human body is not a machine, and it needs proper sleep and rest hours to recover from intense gymnastics training. Always encourage your kids to sleep appropriately and rest every day despite anything. This will definitely decrease the risk of burnout and injury to kids.
4] Adequate Hydration And Nutrition
Adequate hydration and nutrition are so important for young gymnasts. Kids are in their growing phase, and this phase requires proper nutrition, and gymnastics training requires a lot. Add more nutritious food to their diet and give them proper hydration as well. Adequate hydration and nutrition will decrease the risk of injury in young gymnastics
5] Qualified Coaches
You must ensure that your child gets training from a well-qualified gymnastic coach. Young gymnasts are prone to injury, and qualified coaches know the particular demands of them. Qualified and conscious coaches decrease the risk of damage to kids.
6] Right Education
Parents, coaches, and gymnasts should know the potential risks of gymnastics, the types of injury, how to deal with injury, and how to prevent it. Proper education and knowledge can reduce the risk of injury in gymnastics training.
Promote open communications between gymnasts, parents, and coaches. Ensure that young gymnasts report any pain, discomfort, or suspected injury to be treated.
7] Proper Technique And Safety
Before adding any new move, coaches should discuss it with parents, and gymnasts inspect all equipment before starting training every day. If the healthcare provider recommends using or doing anything during gymnastics training, they must do that. Proper technique and safety can reduce the risk of injury in young gymnasts.
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Do Gymnastics With Less Risk Of Injury?
Gymnastics is a challenging sport, and for kids, it becomes more demanding because their bones and muscles are soft compared to adults, but still, we can’t stop them from participating in it and winning medals for a country or team.
So, it becomes more critical for parents and kids to do all preventives to save them from injury.
