In an era of specialization in sports involving athletes of all ages, medical experts largely agree that the incidence of overuse injuries in youth athletics has risen to epidemic levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle and high school-aged athletes.
Having seen enough, our founder and lead physical therapist here at Impact PT, Kent Bond, unveiled a free education and triage program for young athletes aimed at identifying and preventing overuse injuries before they become debilitating and chronic. Through the program titled Keeping Kids in the Game, Kent and our Impact Physical Therapy staff work with Hillboro-area youth sports players, coaches and parents with the goal of reducing injuries, optimizing performance and teaching early intervention to ensure the lifelong enjoyment of sports.
Connecting with area youth sports leagues such as Glencoe Youth Baseball and Hillsboro Thunder Softball, our “Keeping Kids in the Game” serves as an education resource for players, parents and coaches while also offering free assessments for all area youth athletes who experience pain or sports injury.
“We want to be able to help mom and dad out. We want to help the coach out,” Kent said. “They’re not equipped to assess bumps, bruises and injuries, and they don’t want to just tell the kid to suck it up and keep playing. That’s why we stepped up – to educate kids, parents and coaches and preparation, performance and prevention while ensuring them that, if something happens, we’re there for them, too.”
According to Kent, many overuse injuries can be traced back to the lack of a solid structure for intervention and assessment. Through “Keeping Kids in the Game,” Kent and our physical therapy staff created such a structure and streamlined it to be most accessible for those who need it.
“If a young athlete in the area experiences pain or an injury associated with their sport, they can call us at Impact to schedule a free consultation, and we’ll have them in within 24 hours,” said Kent. “From the injury and pain assessment, we can tell the kid, the parents and the coach whether it’s an injury and should seek treatment or if it’s just a boo-boo.” Parents, coaches and athletes can also contact Impact Physical Therapy or visit our website for youth- and sports-specific educational resources for proper training, warmup, stretching and injury prevention. Sports-specific programs include “Keeping Kids on the Court” for volleyball, basketball and tennis; “Keeping Kids on the Field” for soccer, football, field hockey and lacrosse, “Keeping Kids on the Diamond” for baseball and softball; and “Keeping Kids on the Track” for running sports.
“We pride ourselves in being able to customize and tailor our programs to meet the specific needs of specific athletes, teams and programs,” Bond said. “By offering our support, we help alleviate fears and anxiety and provide peace of mind for coaches, parents, and ultimately the kids.”
If you’re a parent, coach or even a player who has concerns about overuse and other sports-related injuries, or wish to learn more about Impact Physical Therapy’s free injury and pain assessments for young athletes in the Hillsboro area, contact us at 503-615-5969.