The physical stress placed on a young body during rapid periods of growth combined with high levels of sport can be very high. It is not uncommon for children to participate in multiple sports at the same time with more than one training session per day, often back-to-back. This stress is then increased by adolescent rapid growth and hormonal changes that often coincide with a high sporting load. The result of this cumulative stress in- creases the vulnerability for young bodies. It is important dur- ing this time they remain protected from overload and non- contact traumatic injury but also from growth associated issues such as Osgood-Schlatters, Severs Disease, and Patello-femoral Joint overload.
The area of “athletic development” has undergone dramatic ex- pansion over the last few years with a much greater focus being put on guiding and nurturing adolescent athletes. The “Long Term Athletic Development” model suggests a time line for both timing and focus of athletic development and acts as a guide to when, during a child’s growth, that they develop different sport- ing characteristics (e.g Speed, Agility, Power, Sports Specific Skills and muscle development). This timeline can then be used to structure periods during which protection is the focus and periods where development is the focus, and even timeframes where adolescents should focus on specific sports and activities.
The development process that an adolescent goes through has the potential to dictate a large quantity of their physical charac- teristics and sports specific characteristics for the future, as an adult. From a sporting perspective, this can have a dramatic effect not only on their athletic careers but also on their injury prevention and long-term health. It is important to consider the future when deciding on sport participation and training to maintain the highest level of physical protection and promote proper development in adolescent athletes.
If you would like us to develop a personalised development timeline for your sporting son or daughter to protect them and allow them to flourish, call one of our friendly staff on 03 9716 2250 and book an appointment with Adam White, physiotherapist.