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How to Prevent Injuries in Your Student Athlete this School Year

Posted on September 16th, 2021

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If you’re a parent of a student athlete, you likely know how grueling and time consuming school sports can be. Between practices and weekly games, your athlete is pushing their body to the limit to succeed in their sport. But even with the best conditioning, injuries to your athlete can still happen if they’re not careful.

At Orthopaedic and Spine Specialists, one of our main goals is to help keep your student athlete healthy so they can continue enjoying their sport for the whole season. Our expert team of orthopedic specialists and team trainers helps you and your athlete prevent injuries, and get the proper treatment if they do get hurt.

Common sports injuries

If your student plays sports, you know how much fun it is for them, as well as the fact it keeps them in good shape. While sports are a great way for your student to get exercise and make friends, they’re also a way for injuries to happen.

While some injuries are preventable, accidents do happen and your athlete could end up hurt and sitting out most of their season. But what injuries are they at risk for? There are both chronic and acute sports injuries, and they include the following:

  • Sprains
  • Strains
  • Broken bones
  • Tennis elbow
  • Rotator cuff tears
  • Runner’s knee
  • Dislocations

Other injuries such as achilles tendonitis and meniscal injuries of the knee are also common in student athletes.

Training and conditioning does help to prevent some of the above conditions, but not always. While there are steps your student athlete can take, sometimes injuries happen and it’s unfortunate. However, there are ways to prevent further injury down the road and decrease their chances of getting hurt again.

Keeping your student athlete healthy

Injuries early on can potentially end your student athlete’s season before it really begins. At OSS Health, we want to teach you and your child how to prevent injuries, so they can enjoy playing their sport the whole season.

Our team offers sports physicals to make sure your child is in tip-top shape for the sports season. Physicals are an important part of organized school sports, as they evaluate your athlete’s health to make sure they’re fit to play.

However, there are other steps you can take to prevent injuries in your child, which include:

Make sure they have the proper gear

Protective equipment is extremely important when it comes to student sports. The proper gear has the ability to stop a severe injury from happening. Proper equipment varies from sport to sport, but may include items like helmets, protective pads, or a mouth guard.

Stress the importance of warming up

When your muscles are warmed up, it’s less likely that they’ll become injured. This is very true when it comes to your child and sports. Warming up is sport-specific, and may include light cardio and stretching.

Encourage rest

Your young athlete may think that the more they play and train, the better they’ll be. However, rest is an extremely important component of organized sports. It helps prevent injuries due to overuse and fatigue. You should also allow time for your athlete to get adequate rest between seasons.

Know the rules of the game

If your athlete knows the proper ins and outs of their sport, it prevents unnecessary mishaps from occurring. Knowing what’s legal and what isn’t not only protects your student, but the other athletes as well.

One of the biggest things our doctors and trainers stress to your young athlete is to never play through pain. Pain is indicative of a problem, and playing through an injury can lead to more damage and the loss of a sports season.

Conditioning is another way for your athlete to stay healthy throughout the sports season. This includes strength training and increasing flexibility to keep their body in the best shape possible. Cross training in other sports is included in conditioning, to keep constant pressure off the same joints.


If your student athlete is injured, or they are in need of a pre-sports physical, call OSS Health today at 717-848-4800 to set up an appointment, or you can book a consultation online using our convenient booking tool.

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