Keeping Your Young Hockey Players Safe: A Sports Chiropractor's Tips

Hockey is a fast-paced and thrilling sport that brings enjoyment to both the players and the fans watching. As the competition increases and the fight for a game-winning goal is on the line, we often forget that player safety is still a top priority. If you are a parent concerned about your youth hockey player, here are some practical tips that can help ensure your child’s safety on the ice this season from a sports chiropractor’s perspective at Kinach Chiropractic.  

Strength, Conditioning and Overuse Injuries

Hockey is a physically demanding sport. It requires a lot of speed, agility and power to be an asset on the ice, whether your child is a forward, defenseman or a goalie. To have these three attributes in their game, there is a lot of on-ice and off-ice training that needs to be completed that can turn hockey into a year-round sport. This is where overuse injuries can come into play. Overuse injuries are any type of muscle or joint injury that is caused by repetitive trauma, like tendonitis, muscle strain or stress fracture. Simply put, overtraining or doing too much of one thing over a period of time can lead to an unfortunate injury. How do you avoid this for your child? Encourage other sports or activities that complement hockey and hockey activities. For cardiovascular work, encourage short-burst running sports like soccer or football. For endurance, consider long activities like running or cycling. If you are looking to increase their power, weight training and plyometrics are the best way to go, but I recommend a coach or trainer to be involved if they are just starting out so proper form and safety are established right from the get-go. 

Concussion Awareness and Management

Concussions are definitely the most discussed injury in all of sports. Did you know there is a simple way to diagnose and monitor the progression of a concussion of your youth athlete? This is important because a concussion can often go unseen and cause your son or daughter discomfort during school, screen time and daily activities. Having your athlete take a baseline concussion test before their season begins is the easiest way to monitor and diagnose their cognitive health. If there is any head contact during their season, and they are complaining of headaches, nausea, eye strain, or neck soreness or you as the parent are noticing any behavioural changes, a simple comparison to their baseline test can determine if a concussion is present, whether mild, moderate or severe.  If a concussion is present, helpful tips for treating one is reducing screen time and cognitive load like homework or straining conversations, and increasing restful sleep and time in low-light environments. In any case, it is important to have your child checked by a professional to determine severity and have an established return to sport treatment plan in place to ensure your athlete's safety. Even if your child does not play hockey, it is a good idea to have a baseline concussion test on hand to aid in any head-contact injury scenarios. 

Whether your child is an avid multi-sport athlete, elite hockey player, or just loves to play their favourite sport, Kinach Chiropractic is here to help your child succeed and keep them safe while they play the game they love, give them a long-lasting career and a comfortable life after sport once their journey comes to an end!