If you have a child who loves playing hockey, chances are
that you want to do everything within your power to keep that child safe. And,
while there’s no surefire way to 100% prevent a hockey-related injury from occurring,
there are plenty of things you can do to reduce the risk and to have a safe
season all-around.
Take Steps to Avoid Overuse
The most common types of hockey injuries that occur are
injuries related to overuse.
To avoid these types of injuries, avoid letting your child
play hockey year-round. Kids need some time off from sports, and hurdling them
from the hockey season into a hockey camp without any downtime is not healthy.
Allow your child to take reasonable breaks from the sport to avoid repetitive
stress and related injuries.
If your child just can’t get enough sports, then let him or
her try a sport other than hockey. This can actually build strength in new and
helpful ways and can reduce the risk of overuse injuries.
Live a Healthy Lifestyle
Something else that can really be helpful for young athletes
is just living a healthy lifestyle in general.
This means, to begin with, eating nutritious foods in proper
amounts. It also means drinking plenty of water and getting adequate sleep.
These three simple lifestyle changes can make a huge
difference in how a player fares through the season. Those who don’t take care
of themselves are not only more likely to get injured, but they’re also more
likely to have longer, harder recoveries.
How to live a healthy lifestyle is an important thing to
learn anyway. And, since it has the added benefit of aiding in an injury-free
hockey season, it’s definitely worthwhile.
Always Engage in a Warm Up
One final tip that is often overlooked is to remember to always
have your child engage in a warm up, one that’s appropriate to the activity
he’s about to participate in.
Good warm ups stretch and prepare the muscles for what
they’re about to endure. Not only can they reduce aches and pains, but they can
also make it less likely that your child will get injured on the ice.
If you can follow these simple tips, your little one will
have a much better chance of making it through the hockey season injury-free.
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