Whether your teen is a born runner or it happens later in life, there’s no denying that interest in running sports like cross country and track has increased. With increased involvement comes additional injuries, and parents naturally wonder why they happen and how they can prevent them.
Certain factors put teens at greater risk for running injuries than adults. As a physical therapistI would like to share some of these so that families are aware of them and know what to do when they are in pain.
3 factors that put teens at higher risk of running injuries
1. Having active growth plates
Since most teenagers still have active growth plates, they are prone to injury. Runners can damage their growth plates due to falls or overtraining. Growth plates are soft cartilage at the end of bones that lengthen to allow children to reach their full height. In adolescents, many tendons around the hip, knee, and ankle coalesce onto these growth plates.
During periods of vigorous running activity, the stress of repetitive muscle contractions places pressure on these growth plates. This can lead to overuse injuries in these areas.
To reduce the risk of injury, teens should:
- Gradually increase their training.
- Take 1-2 days off from running per week.
- Get 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
- Engage in cross training activities like supervised weight lifting.
- Make sure their nutritional needs are met.
2. improper training
There is a simple principle of training: avoid running too much, too fast, too early. The rule of “twos” is that we need to give our body enough time to adapt to the rigors of running. This is especially true for teenagers. Unlike adults, most teenagers are growing. This requires tremendous energy. Running long distances also requires energy to adequately fuel the body. Teens who start running too hard, too fast, or too early are at risk for injury from overuse because their bodies do not have enough time or energy to fully adapt to the stress of running.
To reduce the risk of injury, teens should gradually increase their training over a longer period:
- For runners whose training volume is low (less than 10 miles/week), it is usually OK to increase their training by 15-20% per week.
- For runners who have high training volume (more than 30 miles/week), it is usually OK to increase their training by no more than 10% per week.
3. To keep struggling with pain
For teens, having pain and constantly running puts them at risk for injury. Severe pain while running (more than three or four out of 10 on a 0-10 scale) is not normal, and it often does not go away on its own.
Many teens do not tell their coaches or parents about the pain unless it interferes with their training. Typically, they are at the point where they either cannot run at all or have too much pain when they run.
It is important for teens to communicate with their coaches and parents so that together they can determine if rest or medical attention is necessary. Early support is important.
useful tip: : If we catch an injury early, we can treat it quickly and reduce its effects. Athletes may even be able to run while we work on their treatment plan.
What to do when your runner is in pain?
If you have determined that your runner needs medical care, I recommend care where both a medical doctor and physical therapist work together in the same location. a trip Runner’s ClinicRunners will receive a medical diagnosis, physical therapy diagnosis, and a combined plan of care, which may include guidance on training and home exercises. Having both providers in one place allows everyone to be on the same page and nothing is lost in translation.
something to think about: : When your runner is healthy, 3D running gait analysis software can help identify running gait defects. This information can also be used to recommend exercises, stretches, gait retraining tips, running shoes, and orthotics to help prevent and reduce the risk of future injuries.
A note about recovery
Overall health is essential to recovery from injury. When teens sleep, eat, and drink well, in addition to continuing to socialize with friends and family, they recover faster. Alternatively, when they burn the candle at both ends, don’t get enough sleep and don’t eat well, it is more difficult to recover from an injury.
At Cincinnati Children’s, we like to take a long-term approach, as one injury increases the risk of another injury later in life. We do everything we can to help teens keep running throughout life.
To see if our Runner’s Clinic appropriate for your teen, please email running@cchmc.org or call 513-636-7333.
