Sporting kids run injury risk

Young bodies can’t cope with training demands. By Marika Hill.

Teenage athletes are suffering permanent injuries as intense sports programmes push vulnerable bodies to breaking point.

A prominent sports doctor said he had treated teenagers with injuries to the spine, pelvis and feet, often due to a sudden increase in activity.

Dr Graham Paterson of Axis Sports Medicine said people who looked to the likes of golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Andre Agassi for inspiration believed constant practice in one sport produced success.

But repetitive movements were an injury risk to growing skeletons.

‘‘There are many kids who suffer injuries which means they can’t continue to pursue their – or their parents’ – dream of being a star,’’ he said.

Paterson, a former All Blacks team doctor, said high pressure placed on children at secondary school level meant training demands could suddenly triple or quadruple just as teens were experiencing their adolescent growth spurt.

Many parents of injured children ask why they weren’t told of the risks, he said.

Although exercise was beneficial, teenagers who competed in a variety of sporting activities had a better chance of success and of remaining injury-free.

AUT Millennium in the training ground country’s elite athletes, are encouraged to later.

‘‘We’re seeing more injuries coming about from kids not getting variety in their programme,’’ athlete development programme director Dr Craig Harrison said.

Youngsters were also under greater pressure to succeed in their chosen sport at even earlier ages – the BMX World Championships accepted children from the age of six.

‘‘It’s ridiculous. We see parents pushing for their kids to go to these events,’’ he said.

AUT Millennium discouraged any specialisation in sport until age 14 – an approach backed up by the research, Harrison said.

Older children who had been in structured sports from a young age missed out on creative play and lacked fundamental athleticism, he said.

‘‘They haven’t done their time in the backyard climbing trees or biking around their streets.’’

The warnings come as school sports academies become a common feature across the country.

AUT professor of public health Grant Schofield said children were in some cases being taken out of class for extra training at sports academies.

‘‘The whole secondary school sport thing is a little perverse.’’ The whole secondary school sport thing is a little perverse. Auckland is for the but children specialise