Shasta High School Wins State Snowboard Championship Dr. Schwartz congratulates his Shasta High School women’s snow board team with an impressive showing at their State Championship. The boys team delivered a...
Participation in sports activities can be wonderful for a child’s physical and emotional health. But where’s the line on your child’s exercise routine, and how much is too much?
The answer lies in each individual child. What might be too much for one child may be completely healthy for another. It’s important to know what your child can handle, and also to take steps to prevent exhaustion, injuries, mental “burn out,” and eating disorders.
While the risk of injury varies from sport to sport, the most common cause of injury, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is overuse:
Knowing the indicators that you should watch for to identify a problem is crucial.[/caption]
Children that play little league baseball are susceptible to orthopedic injuries in the elbow and shoulder. Throwing a baseball can put enormous strain and stress on the throwing arm, and in developing children and young adults, excessive stress can result in lasting injuries if left untreated.
In adults, the tendons and ligaments absorb the stress, but children and young adults will absorb the impact on the weakest part of the bone – the cartilage near the growth plate. The intensity and frequency of throwing a ball is directly related to how often these injuries occur, which is why pitchers are at the highest risk of a little league shoulder or elbow injury. Diagnosing these injuries promptly is the first step to proper treatment.
Have you ever considered running barefoot? While that may seem a little out of the ordinary, runners all over the world are adopting this new style of running. Although the majority of runners still wear shoes, the debate rages on as to whether barefoot running is more natural and beneficial than wearing running shoes.
Is Barefoot Running Beneficial?
Barefoot running is more than a trend; it has become an athletic movement over the last few years. Proponents of barefoot running cite several benefits to the practice-specifically that it results in a more natural stride and reduces the risk of injury. Certain running shoes, they contend, create an abnormal running pattern and encourage runners to land on the heel of their foot, which leads to a heavier impact on the knees, legs, and feet. According to those in favor of this technique, running barefoot is the way that the body was naturally intended to run and is therefore better for the body.