If your child has any kind of injury, you might be worried about them training. That’s normal. It’s your job to worry after all! But we’ve seen all types of injuries here (and especially when we were playing rugby) and our take on injuries in kids is the same as with adults:
In 99% of cases NOT training and letting your body heal on its own WON’T help in the long run.
Not All Injuries Were Created Equal
Of course it depends on the type of injury that your child has sustained. We’re not going to recommend that they come to the academy with a broken leg. Bone injuries are different from muscular injuries and you’ll need to follow the advice of your child’s GP.
That said, once they’ve been given the all-clear to exercise again, Steve and I strongly recommend that they do as soon as possible.
Why? Because bone injuries almost always come with underlying muscle injuries as well, and muscle injuries will always heal faster with the right rehabilitation and exercise.
The Voice of Experience
Take it from me. I learned the hard way playing rugby when I was younger. I fractured my sternoclavicular joint at 16 and never did any kind of rehabilitation. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. I guess the research just wasn’t really around at the time. But you can learn from me on this one:
I still have problems from my injury today that could have been avoided with the right rehabilitation and training.
My muscle imbalances have carried on into my adult life and it was too late for me to realise that I could have fixed it when I was younger.
The same goes really with any kind of injury, especially ankles, joints and knees, as these are the areas of the body that take the most battering as you go through life. If you don’t get a sprained ankle properly treated, then you could start walking badly. And that could lead to issues with your back later on.
So, our advice to you as a parent is this. If you’ve got the all clear from your doctor, then don’t be fooled into thinking that your child’s body will be able to heal by itself.
It’s very important to tackle the injury head on, not just to leave it and wait for it to recover.
Make Sure You See the Right People
This might sound obvious, but make sure that your child sees the right person who can rehabilitate their injury correctly. The best physios and osteos to see are people who deal with sport and are trained in getting athletes back into the game.
It doesn’t matter if your kid’s not a competitive athlete. If you go to a regular physiotherapist, they’ll probably say he or she needs 6-8 weeks of rest. But that simply isn’t the case with most injuries or people.
There’s a whole world of things your child can be doing in that time to help aid rehabilitation. That’s why it’s important to see someone who’s really invested in your child’s recovery. After all, that injury is still going to affect them as they age and the earlier you can get it treated the better.
