Below is an abstract about resistance training for adolescents and injury risks. This is a good resource if you train kids and have problems with parents who still think it is dangerous to lift weights yet let their kids play team sports all the time.
The full journal can be found here.
YOUTH RESISTANCE TRAINING: UPDATED POSITION STATEMENT PAPER FROM THE NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION.
Sports-Related Injuries.
The number of children and adolescents in school-sponsored and community-based sports programs continues to increase. However, along with this increase in sports participation has come numerous reports of injuries to the ill-prepared or improperly trained young athlete (1).
Sports-related injuries have become a significant cause of hospitalization and health care costs during childhood and adolescence (2), and it is possible that certain youth sports injuries can increase the risk of osteoarthritis later in life (3). Sports-related injuries are also one reason why some young athletes drop out of sports (4).
Although the total elimination of sports-related injuries is an unrealistic goal, appropriately designed and sensibly progressed fitness conditioning programs that include resistance training may help reduce the likelihood of sports-related injuries in young athletes (5).
In a growing number of cases, it seems that aspiring young athletes are ill-prepared for the demands of sports practice and competition (6). By addressing the risk factors associated with youth sports injuries (e.g., previous injury, poor conditioning, muscle imbalances, and errors in training), it has been suggested that both acute and overuse injuries could be reduced by 15–50% (7).
Although there are many mechanisms to potentially reduce sports-related injuries in young athletes (e.g., coaching education, safe equipment, proper nutrition), enhancing physical fitness as a preventative health measure should be considered a cornerstone of multicomponent treatment programs. Comprehensive conditioning programs that included resistance training, plyometric training, or both have proven to be an effective strategy for reducing sports-related injuries in adolescent athletes (8, 9), and it is possible that similar effects would be observed in children, although additional research is needed to support this contention.
Preseason conditioning programs that included resistance training decreased the number and severity of injuries in high school football players (10) and, similarly, decreased the incidence of injury in adolescent soccer players (11). Others observed that balance training (12) or balance training and strengthening exercises (13) were effective in reducing sports-related injuries in adolescent athletes. Because of the relatively high incidence of knee injuries in young female athletes as compared with males (14), researchers have investigated the effects of various training programs on injury rates in young female subjects. Of note, preseason conditioning programs that included plyometric exercises, resistance training, and education on jumping mechanics significantly reduced the number of serious knee injuries in adolescent female athletes (15). Conversely, no significant differences in injury rates were observed in adolescent female athletes who participated in an in-season plyometric training program or structured warm-up activities that included strength, balance, and agility exercises (16). Differences in the design of the training programs and time of implementation (i.e., preseason vs. in-season) could explain, at least in part, these conflicting results. Collectively, a majority of the evidence suggests that regular participation in a preseason conditioning program that includes plyometric exercises, resistance training, balance skills, and education may reduce the likelihood of sports-related injuries in young athletes.
Yet some data suggest that only a minority of young athletes participate in comprehensive conditioning programs before sports participation (17). Clearly, there is an ongoing need for school or coach-sponsored involvement to ensure that all young athletes participate in multi-component conditioning programs before sports training and competition. However, the addition of preseason conditioning to the total exercise dose, which includes free play as well as organized sports, should be carefully considered because this type of training adds to the chronic, repetitive stress placed on the developing musculoskeletal system. Some young athletes with relatively immature musculoskeletal systems may be intolerant of the same exercise dose that the majority of the athletes in the same program can tolerate.
This biologic uniqueness in growing athletes can result in stress fracture syndromes manifested by a variety of conditions such as traction apophysitis, injuries to the developing joint surfaces, or injuries to the immature spine (18). Because of the interindividual variability of stress tolerance, each child must be treated as an individual and observed for signs of incipient stress failure syndromes, which would require a modification of the frequency, volume, intensity, and progression of training. With the awareness of this variability in children and adolescents of the same age to accept and tolerate stress, many of these stress failure syndromes can be prevented. In some instances, it may be necessary for young athletes to reduce their sports involvement to allow time for preparatory strength and conditioning with adequate rest and recovery between training sessions. A reduction in performance and an increased risk of injury can result from frequent training sessions without adequate rest and recovery in-between.
References
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Intensive training and specialization in young athletes. Pediatrics 106: 154–157, 2000
- Micheli, L, Glassman, R, and Klein, M. The prevention of sports injuries in youth. Clin Sports Med 19: 821–834, 2000.
- Drawer, F and Fuller, C. Propensity for osteoarthritis and lower limb joint pain in retired professional soccer players. Br J Sports Med 35: 402–408, 2001.
- Grimmer, K, Jones, D, and Williams, J. Prevalence of adolescence injury from recreational exercise: An Australian perspective. J Adolesc Health 27: 266–272, 2000.
- Hewett, T, Myer, G, and Ford, K. Reducing knee and anterior cruciate ligament injuries among female athletes. J Knee Surg 18: 82–88, 2005.
- Emery, C, Meeuwisse, W, and McAllister, J. Survey of sport participation and sport injury risk in Calgary and area high schools. Clin J Sport Med 16: 20–26, 2006
- Micheli, L. Preventing injuries in sports: What the team physician needs to know. In: F.I.M.S. Team Physician Manual (2nd ed.). Chan, K, Micheli, L, Smith, A, Rolf, C, Bachl, N, Frontera, W, and Alenabi, T, eds. Hong Kong: CD Concept, 2006. pp. 555–572.
- Heidt, R, Swetterman, L, Carlonas, R, Traub, J, and Tekulve, F. Avoidance of soccer injuries with preseason conditioning. Am J Sports Med 28: 659–662, 2000.
- Mandelbaum, B, Silvers, H, Watanabe, D, Knarr, J, Thomas, S, Griffin, L, Kirkendall, D, and Garrett, W. Effectiveness of a neuromuscular and proprioceptive training program in preventing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes. Am J Sports Med 33: 1003–1010, 2005.
- Cahill, B and Griffith, E. Effect of preseason conditioning on the incidence and severity of high school football knee injuries. Am J Sports Med 6: 180–184, 1978.
- Heidt, R, Swetterman, L, Carlonas, R, Traub, J, and Tekulve, F. Avoidance of soccer injuries with preseason conditioning. Am J Sports Med 28: 659–662, 2000.
- Emery, C, Rose, M, McAllister, J, and Meeuwisse, W. A prevention strategy to reduce the incidence of injury in high school basketball: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Clin J Sports Med 17: 17–24.
- Wedderkopp, N, Kaltoft, B, Lundgaard, M, Rusendahl, M, and Froberg, K. Prevention of injuries in young female players in European team handball: A prospective intervention study. Scand J Med Sci Sports 9: 41–47, 1999.
- Prodromos, C, Han, Y, Rogowski, J, Joyce, B, and Shi, K. A metaanalysis of the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament tears as a function of gender, sport, and knee injury-reduction regimen. Arthroscopy 23: 1320–1325, 2007.
- Hewett, T, Riccobene, J, Lindenfeld, T, and Noyes, F. The effects of neuromuscular training on the incidence of knee injury in female athletes: A prospective study. Am J Sports Med 27: 699–706, 1999.
- Steffen, K, Bakka, H, Myklebust, G, and Bahr, R. Performance aspects of an injury prevention program: A ten-week intervention in adolescent female football players. Scand J Med Sci Sports 18: 596–604, 2008.
- Brooks, M, Schiff, M, Koepsell, T, and Rivara, F. Prevalence of preseason conditioning among high school athletes in two spring sports. Med Sci Sports Exerc 39: 241–247, 2007.
- Outerbridge, A and Micheli, L. Overuse injuries in the young athlete. Clin Sports Med 14: 503–516, 1995.
