You’re at your kids soccer game and after a collision, you child comes to you with a limb, what do you do?  Maybe it’s a head injury or dehydration. 

You might have many other questions about what to do when it comes to you kids and any injuries that come about while playing.  

As a parent we want the best for our kids.  We want them to succeed and do well in life.  Putting them in sports is a wonderful activity that will teach them fine and gross motor skills along with social skills.  

When one of our kids gets hurt our biggest question is what is wrong and what do you do about it.  So I interviewed my kids pediatrician, Dr. Joseph Johnson MD and I wanted to share all this information with you. 

How do you get your kids to drink more water during the hot summer?

Don’t guess how much water they have drankin. Take a large water bottle everywhere they go.  Just because they have small bodies, doesn’t mean they should take a small water bottle either.  

We are always eager to get a new water bottle. Costco has got us on this one. Whenever they have a new water bottle, we feel like we have to buy it.  

A good rule of thumb is they should be drinking at least 1 – 8oz cup for how old they are in years.  5 years old = 5 – 8oz cups of water. On a hot summer day they should be drinking more than that.  

Also, they should be drinking straight water, none of this electrolyte, sugar filled drinks like gatorade. As Dr. Johnson said they won’t need the added stuff unless they are at practice or exercises for about 3 hours.  So you little 1 hour rec sporting events will only need water.  

When should you take your child into your Pediatrician?

Dr Johnson said that he wants to see a child who is not bearing weight on an injured leg, or significantly holding an injured arm close to them and not using it.  If there is significant swelling that hasn’t reduced in a day or two. They should be seen by their pediatrician. 

For anything chronic, if they are dealing with an injury that has lasted longer than a week or two, they should be evaluated to help with the healing process.  Back pain or neck pain is a common injury the kids will deal with for more than a week before they even say anything to their parents.  The moment you hear about it, it’s likely that they have been dealing with it for a few days already.  If that’s  that case then that is when I would recommend they see a chiropractor or a physical therapist. 

If your child is avoiding the use of an injured limb or body part in any way, do your child a favor and don’t wait for it to go away.

Did you know that your child is more likely to fracture a bone then sprain the ligament? 

At least compared to you.  So don’t risk waiting to get an x-ray of your child injury.  A fracture through the growth plate is not as scary as it may seem, but they should still be treated accordingly.   A fracture through that growth plate that can cause serious damage would be seen on an x-ray.  

When every child comes in with an injury that might be a fracture, I’ll take x-rays every time just to take that out of the equation. 

What should you look for as a parent when it comes to concussions?

Concussions can be tough. The majority of concussions are mild and will heal on their own in a short time frame as well. But Dr. Johnson shares some hints when your pediatian would want to see them the same day.  When a child is acting with the follow symptoms after a head injury:

• Acting confused
• Repeating themselves
• Memory loss
• Dizzy or loss of balance

Here are a few things to look for over the first few days if they aren’t experiencing any symptoms above. If your child finds it difficult to concentrate while at school.

For infinents under the age of 1 years old, if they hit their head and if they show some marking or bruising on their head, that is also when a pediatrician like Drl Johnson would like to see them. If they are older than the age of 1 and they have a bruise, then you can wait and watch them for a day or two.

Is specializing in sports early in life good for your child’s overall wellness?

I agree with Dr. Johnson, the way that sports is going with early specialization is not good in the long run, physically and mentally.  

When you play one sport year round, you are using the same muscle groups with no rest and this will lead to significant overuse injuries.  It will also lead to great development in some areas and limited development in other areas with your child’s physical development.  

When it comes to developing jr golfers, as a TPI certified provider we like to take the approval of developing athletes first, not golfers.  So there is a lot of running, jumping, throwing, climbing.  All of which may not seem like it has a correlation to golf, but the results say that it does.  

Did you know some of the great athletes in their sports were also great at other sports? Michael Jordan’s just love of sports was baseball, just as an example.  Don’t specialize early, continue to play 3-4 sports a year

Torticollis? How can you avoid it?
Torticollis is a common condition we see as chiropractors as well. Dr. Johnson shared that he sees this more with sleeping positions.  How does your child sleep? Do they sleep on their side, back or stomach? How large or small is their pillow?  

Here is a good rule of thumb.  Keep your neck inline with your spine.  If they lay on your side, making sure the pillow is not too small that their head is tilted toward the bed too much or that the pillow is too large and their head is tilted away from the head too much as well. 

If they lay on their back their pillow needs to be a relatively thin pillow.  You don’t want it too big so their head raised too high, like they are looking down to their feet. The younger they are, the more likely they won’t need any pillow.  

Stomach sleepers, this needs to be avoided to protect the neck as much as possible. 

These are the same guidelines I give adults.  Here is a review I didn I a different pillow like the Purple Pillow, Pillow Cube and more.   

If you child is dealing with these injuries or any other injuries not listed above, we would be happy to help get you on the right path to help them. Just call our office and schedule a time and we will evaluate them and help the best we can. Our office number is (801)235-9944.