AUTUMN INJURIES
The 'ember-ending months are here. Hockey, soccer, skiing and such now top the list of activities sending our children and ourselves into Clinics.

Proper training and conditioning programs focus once on rehabilitation and prevention where a few simple steps lessen the probability of an injury occurring when we begin a new activity or return to an old one.

The old reality becomes clear that without proper rehabilitation and recovery from an injury, it's not if we will recover, but when an injury will go from nuisance to nightmare.

Attention turns to proper training since injury often results from a sudden increase in training - basically too much, too fast, too soon, too frequently. To avoid these "terrible too's", we need supplemental training to ensure that our muscle balance is maintained and injuries avoided. Gym work outs are the most popular way to achieve this end. Conditioning - including strength, flexibility, and coordination work - are all necessary to insure appropriate mobility, stability and strength to participate safely in a sport.

PRE-SEASON ASSESSMENT
Pre-season assessment pin points areas of imbalance and weakness, including functional movement patterns, not just brute strength, and highlights flexibility tests (sit ups, pushups and sit and reach tests). It examines the quality of movements, mobility, stability and strength. If a person has an imbalance, the body compensates by creating altered movement patterns to complete skills. Since the underlying imbalance persists, injury will result.

Suitable Equipment is a must. All sport specific equipment (shoes, skates, cleats) must fit properly. If orthotics adorn your shoes, they are likely be needed in your skates or cleats. Footwear needs to be changed when feet grow and when footwear wears and tears beyond repairs.

Appropriate conditions are essential. Ice, fields and all other playing surfaces should be scanned to ensure there are no hazards prior to use. Foreign bodies (glass shards, pieces of plastic) are particularly hazardous. Patches of ice and snow can be a jogger's downfall.

Correct technique helps promote injury free activity. A child's body can tolerate using poor technique more than an adult's, but even a youngster's ability to avoid overuse injuries stemming from poor technique is limited. Intervention is never too early (e.g., teaching hockey players to be aware of the play around them when checking is introduced, helps avoid blind side injuries.

PAY ATTENTION TO PAIN
Pain is an SOS signal that something is NOT right. Obviously you don't stop playing with every little ache or pain, but if pain persists, seek expert advice. As a guideline, if something non-traumatic hurts for more than 2 days, it probably needs attention. Traumatic injuries, however, depend on the amount of trauma involved and may require a trip to emergency, treatment by a physio, or simply ice for a day or two.

Almost every traumatic injury that keeps you out of play can benefit from physiotherapy. Physios use education, machines, massage, and other hands-on techniques to speed healing. Early intervention is often the key.

THE PRICE PRINCIPLE comes into play when injury occurs:

Protect the area from further injury
Rest
Ice for 10 minutes (or until the area feels cold to the touch) every hour
Compress to control swelling
Elevate area above the heart to control swelling

Physios specialize in injury prevention and management, teaching you how to manage your injury every step of the way, treating your injury to ensure that it heals as quickly as possible, enabling you to return to your sport ASAP. Finally, they will train you to prevent that injury, and many others, from happening in the future.

FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT
Parents concerned about a child's future injuries, should consider a functional assessment to identify the child's areas of imbalance or weakness. This is a common process in all higher level sports, including such teams as BC Teams for the Canada Summer and Winter Games. All athletes attending these events are functionally screened early in the season to allow time to apply what they learn and prevent injury.