October 30, 2024 • 23 mins
Have you ever thought about how a few simple strategies could keep your child safer and injury-free during playtime? In this episode of the Hercules Podcast, we’re diving into injury prevention for active kids outside of sports. We’re covering it all: practical ways to build strength, the importance of rest, and the power of teaching safe movement patterns as your child grows.
We’ll explore fun, creative exercises that make injury prevention engaging and effective—because keeping things fresh helps kids stay active and strong. From swimming to balance drills, variety isn’t just for fun; it’s a key part of preventing overuse injuries and supporting healthy development. And let’s not forget the basics: a good night’s sleep, which plays a huge role in their performance, recovery, and overall health.
By the end of this episode, you’ll have practical tips to help your child stay active and safe, ready to take on their next adventure. So let’s get into it and set up your young explorers for success, one step at a time.
Book a discovery call today with Hercules Performance and Physical Therapy in Vero Beach, FL
https://www.herculesppt.com/contact
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr Alec (00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Hercules podcast,
where we break down the latestin health, fitness and injury
prevention to help youthathletes, active adults and
their families.
I'm your host, dr Alec, andtoday we're diving into a topic
that's especially relevant forany of you, parents who have
kids who are always on the moveand I'm not talking just the
(00:22):
youth athletes who play football, lacrosse, baseball, soccer,
all the above, but kids who justlike to go outside and play.
What are some things we can doto keep them healthy and safe in
this coming end of the year, asthings are shifting up and kids
are back at home a bit more andplaying out back?
Now we tend to think aboutinjuries.
(00:42):
We picture kids getting hurtduring, like I said, organized
sports, but here's a surprisingstat for you Close to half of
all child injuries happenactually outside of recreational
and competitive sports, andthey often occur during playtime
or everyday activities.
(01:03):
Think recess, think playing outback when they get home from
school.
This means if you got a kid wholoves climbing trees, biking or
playing endless rounds of tagor wiffle ball, in my case
growing up, there's a realchance for injury if we're not
careful.
But don't worry, we're going tocover some of the simple tips
and tricks that we can use tohelp mitigate that.
(01:25):
I'm always going to say there'sno perfect way to reduce
injuries entirely, but there'sthings we can do that can help
mitigate or reduce that risk,which is always going to be key.
We're human and sometimes wejust step off a curb wrong, but
there's a lot of things we cando to help reduce the risk of
injury, especially in our kids.
So, whether you're a parent, ateacher, a coach or just someone
(01:49):
interested in learning more,this episode we're going to jump
into all things.
Injury prevention for activekids outside of sports.
All right, to kick things off,I want to touch on why this
topic is so important.
Things off, I want to touch onwhy this topic is so important.
(02:09):
Play is natural for kids.
It's how they learn, grow anddevelop physically and socially
which is key here.
But with all that activitythere's also a real need to
support their developing bodies.
Kids are still learning, andabout not only how to move their
body but balance andcoordination, and their bones
and muscles are growing strongerat the same time, so they're
actually at an increased riskfor strains, sprains and falls.
(02:32):
Think back to when you wereyounger and there were growing
pains.
Your calves hurt, your Achilleshurts, sometimes it's elbow,
sometimes it's knee Actually, alot of times it's knee,
sometimes it's elbow, sometimesit's knee Actually, a lot of
times it's knee.
So today I want to cover fivekey areas that can help to
reduce that risk.
(02:52):
Some key ones are strength andstability.
Teaching safe movement patterns.
Balancing activity with restand I would say that's a biggie.
That falls more into mysporting youth athlete crowd.
But sometimes kids that evenhave just a lot of recreational
(03:14):
stuff going on, from playingoutside to riding your bike etc.
Can fall into that category aswell.
Adding variety to prevent someof the overuse we see.
Going for swims is great, butgoing for a lot of swims could
potentially cause overuse.
And then, lastly, making surethey have the right shoes.
On that one's kind of a way outthere idea, but I've had kids
come to the clinic where they'rewearing shoes that you would
just look at them and naturallygo.
These aren't meant for runningright.
(03:36):
These aren't meant for movingaround on concrete.
Especially if your kid's playarea is a basketball court or
they're outside running aroundin front of the house and
there's concrete there, youshould be having good shoes on,
it can cause a lot of feetproblems as well.
These tips are practical,they're straightforward and the
biggest thing is with kids.
(03:57):
You've got to have fun withthem.
If you're giving them a bunchof boring exercises to prevent
injury, it's just not going towork.
You've got to have fun.
It's got to like play and infact it's a lot of fun to get
out and move yourself.
So these are some things youcan do to actually get exercise
as well as helping your kidsreduce some injuries.
So let's get started withstrength and stability.
(04:21):
One of the biggest reasons kidsget hurt during everyday
activities is simply becausethey haven't yet developed
strong, stable movement patterns.
They're still learning.
Their muscles are stillbuilding coordination, so even
basic activities can sometimesthrow them off balance.
I remember looking back on abaseball field and I'm not going
(04:41):
to name names, but I had afriend who was a rather tall kid
at the time playing shortstopand there would be baseballs hit
up the middle that he would goto dive for and it would just
look like a baby giraffe kind offalling to the ground there.
He, many years later, is one ofthe most athletic people I know
, and it's just when you'regoing through growing phases and
(05:02):
you're young.
You're learning to use thoselong legs that are developing,
and part of that is a littleperiods of in coordination.
They just have to move andlearn their bodies a little bit
more.
So it's just good to know thatwhen you look at your kids
running around, don't expectthem to move the same way as you
.
So a fun way to start buildingsome strength and stability is
to integrate body weightexercises that are simple but
(05:25):
effective and key fun Talkingabout exercises like squats,
lunges and even balancing on onefoot.
So how do you get your kidsinterested in doing squats and
all these things that seem unfunon paper?
That's where a littlecreativity can go a long way.
Try tuning into a game.
Creativity can go a long way.
(05:46):
Try tuning into a game.
You can challenge them to seehow long they can balance on one
foot.
Or even set up an obstaclecourse in the yard and see who
can compete with the fewestwobbles.
These are all tricks that weactually use in the clinic.
They're fun activities.
They're ways to get the jobdone of strengthening, spending
time on a single leg and workingoutside their center of mass
without the typical three setsof 10.
Because even as adults, threesets of 10 is really boring.
(06:09):
There's many other ways toaccomplish the same goals, so
let's use the more fun ways andkeep kids interested.
It's also going to build areally, really, really good
basis for wanting to exercise inthe future, especially when
it's fun.
Another favorite is animalmovements.
Ever hear of the bear crawl,the crab walk?
These exercises are not onlyfun, but they're also fantastic
(06:33):
for building core stability andcoordination.
If you've never tried any ofthese, they're things that you
try and you just laugh atyourself because they are hard.
And if you've never done thembefore, it just becomes a joke
and you have to laugh atyourself a little.
And you can do a lot of fungames with these.
Put a ball, potentially on.
If you're in a crab walkposition, you could put a ball
(06:54):
on the stomach and you can tellyour kid to walk around, or can
you do this as fast as you canand try to keep the ball on your
stomach and that's gonnapromote coordination through the
midline but also get themmoving and sweating and
breathing hard.
Coordination through thestomach, through the midline,
there, is key for low backstability and preventing any low
back things going on and whatyou're going to see is there's a
(07:18):
lot of different ways to doexercises, but the key is fun.
Another option is play, followthe leader and see who can keep
up.
Not only does this strengthentheir balance and stability, but
also a great way to spend somequality time together.
There's so many opportunitiesor I should say, lack thereof
opportunities to hang out andhave fun, even as adults.
(07:40):
See, if we can pair all thesethings together, where your kid
is getting around and movingsome different patterns, you're
making it fun to move in more ofthese exercise-type motions,
but also you're getting out andmoving as well.
Number two teach safe movementpatterns.
This blurs into that first one,especially when we're talking
about using some different funactivities to reteach motor
(08:04):
patterns and coordination Toteach safe movement patterns.
Kids are learning to move allthe time, and establishing safe
movement habits early on canhave long-lasting benefits.
Talking about things likelearning to land softly when
they jump or understanding howto pick things up without
(08:25):
rounding their backs I think wealways look at gym movements and
we go.
These are unsafe for kidsbecause this adult's using a ton
of weight or this guy'srounding their back or whatever
it is, and the earlier you startsomeone, like in a sport the
kid that learns to swing abaseball bat.
20 years later they alwaysswing the baseball bat better
(08:46):
because they learned propermechanics earlier on, when it's
much easier and our brains areready to absorb like a sponge
all those new patterns.
Teach your kids how to lift.
I'm not saying go out and maxout a deadlift.
There are certainly reasonableexpectations and boundaries
there.
But teaching them to move witha proper hinge at the hips or
teaching them to squat properly,those are all going to add up
(09:11):
in the future.
And instead of working on thesethings when you're injured
later in life, when you startdoing more things and you start
not recovering as well, teach itnow so that those movement
patterns are ingrained and we'repreventing injury in the future
.
I should say reducing the riskof injuries in the future.
For example, next time your kidneeds to pick something off in
(09:32):
the ground, try to show them howto squat down, grab it and
stand back up with a straightback.
Believe it or not, kids don'tknow how to naturally do that.
All the time.
We live in differentenvironments where we're sitting
on chairs and we're looking atcomputers.
If we go back thousands ofyears.
If we're spending all our timeon the ground and we're picking
things up and we're notstatically in one position like
(09:52):
we are now, we would naturallypick up on these things.
So let's promote environmentsthat that can happen, and that
could be something as simple ashaving floor time at night too,
where we're moving around on thefloor and we're having to get
into these squat positions.
Not only can you incorporatethings like building puzzles or
spending time as a familytogether, but we're also working
(10:12):
on just mobility and movementand proper patterns.
You can also try to make thisfun, which again is key when
working with the youth.
Athletes and just active youngkids Keep it fun.
One thing you can do is pretendthey're lifting a heavy
treasure chest and have to usetheir super strong back to
(10:33):
protect it.
Reinforcing these basics helpscreate some muscle memory that
encourages safe movement lateron.
Another simple drill you cantry is practicing soft landings.
Kids naturally want to jump offthings.
It's fun.
Everyone wants to do that, buthave some reasonable
expectations here.
Don't make them jump off aswing set.
Higher isn't always better, solet's teach them to land safely.
(11:02):
One of the ways we can teachthis is pretending when they
jump off something to land in asquat position or land with a
soft knee bend.
Now, granted, when you say thatto kids, they're not going to
know what that necessarily means.
This is where the imitationgame is fun where you show them
something, make a game of it.
How many times can we do this?
Can you catch the ball beingthrown at you while you land?
Imitation is so key.
(11:24):
Show them what you want.
Have them do it.
Show them again.
We have receptors in our brainthat are built for that and kids
are so attuned.
Use that.
Use your body to show them whatyou want.
And if you're not sure how tomove a lot of resources on
YouTube, you can reach out to me.
I can help you with that aswell.
But learn how to land your kidslanding better.
(11:45):
That's one of those things welook at and return to sport
after an ACL injury because theyeither didn't know how to do it
before or they just weren'tstrong enough to handle that
position.
A long way of saying teach itbefore, it's an issue All right.
Let's move on to number threebalancing activity with rest.
I know this one can be tough,especially for kids who just
(12:08):
want to go, go, go and just movearound and run all the time.
But just like adults, kids needrecovery time to avoid injuries
.
Their muscles and joints areworking hard when they're active
and they just don't get enoughchance to rest, they're going to
be at an increased risk.
They're reaching their volumethreshold in activity.
It doesn't matter if it'sorganized sports and
(12:28):
weightlifting.
I have this conversation allthe time with my clients that
it's not just about what you doin the gym, what about all the
other things you did.
In Vero Beach we recently had ahurricane and there was a lot
of shutters going up and peoplestarted having back pain.
When they came in to see me andI said to them have you moved
shutters lately?
I know everyone wants theirbodies to be perfect and be able
(12:50):
to do stuff, but you're notused to doing something.
Your body will become sore andachy.
It's adapting to that volume.
That's the point.
That way, if you do it again,you're stronger for it.
It's a prime example of why,even in kids that don't do
sports, they might get achy andsore and have these injuries
(13:10):
later on because they're tiredfrom that volume.
So understand that rest isstill important, even in youth,
in youth, kids youth athletes, Ishould say and kids.
An easy way to encourage morerest is by setting up a quiet
time in the afternoon.
It doesn't have to be long, butit's time for them to relax,
read a book or do something alittle less physical.
I'm going to say, for kids whoare very active, I would say a
(13:35):
lot of kids these days spendmore time on their video games
and computers.
Don't encourage more lying onthe ground at that point in time
.
Get them up and moving, whichis the opposite end of the
spectrum.
Here I'm talking about kidsthat are really active.
Maybe play some sports, maybedo a lot of recess, run around
constantly, Enc.
Encourage some relaxing time.
Have them read a book.
(13:56):
I'm not going to encourage moredigital time a different topic.
If they're reluctant, tryreframing it as something like
recharge time so they have moreenergy for the next round of
play, or try tying some sort ofincentive to it as well.
The goal of all this is to givetheir bodies a break without
feeling like they're cuttinginto their fun.
(14:18):
So if there's an ultimate funactivity that's a bit more
inside-based, let's add it to it, and a bonus if you get it to
be on the floor and you're alsoworking on some hip mobility.
On days they're especiallyactive, like after a big
playground day, considerbuilding in an early bedtime to
ensure they get the sleep theirbodies need.
(14:40):
Quality sleep is a powerfultool for recovery.
Some kids have a really easytime going to bed.
Others, I'm sure it's a fight.
Try to make some sort of againtied-in incentive.
Connect it back to what it isthey want and I think that goes
(15:02):
for a lot of other things, evenin the adult rehab world.
If it's they love to playbaseball, encourage the fact
that by sleeping better they'regoing to perform better on the
field.
Whatever it is that motivatesyour child, do that with sleep,
because sleep is super importantas well.
Don't just sweep it under therug.
(15:23):
Keep it varied.
Our four tip is a key one,especially in kids that play a
lot of the same sport.
Again, this topic's more onactivities outside of sports.
(15:44):
But if you look at a kid wholoves to use the jungle gym and
they're constantly arms overhead, swinging around like monkeys
on monkey bars and they'restarting to get some shoulder
stuff, this could be a a goodpractical tip for them.
Variety is a key factor ininjury prevention here.
(16:05):
Here's why, when kids repeatthe same movements over and over
, like constantly running orjumping or, like I said, monkey
bars, they start to overuse thesame muscles and joints.
This can lead to injuries overtime.
It's the same thing in kids asin adults.
To be honest, encourage them toswitch up activities, and this
is where keeping it fun willalso keep them moving here, just
(16:28):
like adults, I see you just getbored with the same thing over
and over again, and kids areespecially acceptable to that.
So try something that's similaror a little different than what
it is they normally do.
You don't have to totallyaccident if they just love it,
but give them some variation,either in hand position or foot
(16:48):
position, with whatever they'redoing, just to allow their hips
and shoulder joints and allthose joints and muscles to
experience something new.
It also gives some of the othermuscle groups a break.
So if you, for example, havebeen spending a lot of time
running, suggest they take abreak and swing or swim, climb
or do something completelydifferent, like I said is an
(17:10):
option.
Or if they're biking a lot, tryintroducing them to
balance-based activities liketightrope walking, which is a
really fun one.
You basically put a line oftape on the floor and you have
them stay on there and again tieeither a competitive motive to
it or something fun at the end.
One of the things we found inthe clinic is, if we're throwing
something at them, especiallyif they do enjoy sporty
(17:34):
activities, they just keeps themway more engaged by introducing
some new ways to play and notonly helping them prevent
overuse but also keeping themmentally engaged.
As I said, think of this as inquotes cross training for kids,
for my folk that love crustedand functional fitness.
Keep all muscle muscle groupsengaged in their minds as well.
(17:56):
All right, number five.
I told you I was going to talkabout shoes.
Good, supportive shoes are oneof the simplest ways to protect
active kids from injuries, butI'll say they're often
overlooked.
Like I said, I've had a fewkids walk in here with shoes
with peeling off bottoms or justnon-active shoes in general,
(18:20):
and when I ask them do you wearthese shoes when you run around
out back when you play, andthey're like yes, then I follow
up.
Do you do that outside on yoursidewalk or on the street, and
they go yes, I immediately startto think well, this could be
part of the reason your, yourfeet hurt all the time or you're
(18:42):
having some of thesevolume-based issues on the
street where other kids don't.
Shoes are just as important forkids, if not more important for
them than adults.
Yes, they heal quicker.
Yes, they adapt quicker.
But on the same token, bemindful.
If your kids are running around,get them some good sneakers.
I'm not saying go out and spendthe world of money on them, but
they can't be running around inSperry's.
(19:03):
That's not what they'redesigned for.
Every few months, check to seeif the shoes are getting tight
or showing signs of wearing out.
That's one of the easiestrecommendations for that.
If they out grow them, investin a new pair.
It's going to happen.
Good shoes will protect theirfeet and ankles will certainly
help them with better balance ifthey have shoes that are
actually stable and just makethem comfortable too.
(19:26):
If they're super irritating,kids aren't going to wear them.
They're going to run aroundbarefoot on the concrete, and
that doesn't lead to greatthings as well.
That doesn't lead to greatthings as well.
Those five are a pretty goodstart, I will say, as far as
helping your kids mitigate someinjury risks, especially kids
who are less into sports.
(19:48):
Here are just a few more quickones, I would say encourage
barefoot play.
That's huge.
Keep teaching body awarenessthrough introducing new
activities.
I guess that goes with one ofthe ones above, but I think it's
important to always touch onadding variety.
Keep adding variety.
Add more stimulus, change thepositions they're in.
(20:09):
The more movements they'reexposed to, just the better
they're going to move and themore they're going to understand
their bodies, which is going tobe key for joint health in the
future.
Encourage some sort of stretchroutine, make it fun.
I will say with this one.
If you get on the floor andstart stretching and you
encourage your kids to, that'sgoing to be a big game changer
(20:29):
and just a really good way tobuild some solid habits going
forth.
To build some solid habitsgoing forth, we think of
flossing our teeth all the time,but we forget that our bodies
need to be moved too and theyneed to be stretched constantly.
And dentists have done a reallygood job pointing out that you
should floss because you don'twant cavities, and there's good
(20:52):
research to show that.
But there's also good researchto show that staying limber and
mobile is going to help yourbody's joints later on.
So install those habits now,the day the medical world starts
to talk about movement aspreventative is going to be the
day we have a lot less of thesejoint issues, a lot less of
chronic pain, a lot lessdiabetes.
So start it with your kids now.
(21:13):
Diabetes so start it with yourkids now.
Sometimes the world of medicineand modern health and wellness
is 15 years behind.
So don't wait 15 years to catchup, especially with your kids.
Institute that type of behaviornow.
So, wrapping up our five tipshere build strength and
stability with simple bodyweight movements.
(21:34):
Make them them fun.
That's a key.
Make it fun.
Teach safe movement patterns,like how to land off boxes.
I would say.
Use the imitation game.
You jump off something and landin a way that is proper and
safe.
So will your kids Teach them.
Show them Balance active playwith rest.
(21:58):
Again, the caveat being, if yourkid is active, if he spends all
day looking at computers andgames, probably doesn't need
more rest.
He needs to move more.
So this is one of those things.
Take with a grain of salt.
Encourage a variety ofactivities.
Kids get bored, so this is aneasy one.
Promote them to change theactivity up.
But for the kids that love onething, encourage them at least
for a few hours a day or a fewmoments.
(22:20):
If we need to start with that todo something else, it can be
similar.
Just get them out of that sameroutine.
It's going to help theirmovement patterns.
It's also going to prevent orreduce injuries and, lastly,
ensure they have protectivefootwear.
This is overlooked, mainlybecause kids just have less pain
, I believe.
(22:40):
But just understand that ifyour feet hurt on concrete with
shirt and shoes, theirs probablydo too, and their feet are
growing and they're developing.
Give them the best shotpossible.
Now I'd rather kids be barefootrunning on grass that's a topic
for another day.
But for kids that are runningon concrete or on courts and all
(23:00):
that, just give them the right,proper wear.
Just a sneaker, right?
I see a lot of people wearSperry.
I love Sperrys for the rightoccasions, but cut them out if
they're running around playingin them.
That's all I got for you guystoday.
We'll come back with more tipson how to keep your youth
athletes and kids healthy overthe years.
(23:21):
Thanks so much for joining meon the Hercules podcast.
I hope you found some of thesetips helpful and if you have any
questions, feel free to reachout.
Remember, keeping our kids safedoesn't mean we slow them down.
It just means we give themtools to play smarter and stay
healthier.
And again, the key is more fun.
All right, guys, till next time.
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Hercules podcast,
where we break down the latestin health, fitness and injury
prevention to help youthathletes, active adults and
their families.
I'm your host, dr Alec, andtoday we're diving into a topic
that's especially relevant forany of you, parents who have
kids who are always on the moveand I'm not talking just the
(00:22):
youth athletes who play football, lacrosse, baseball, soccer,
all the above, but kids who justlike to go outside and play.
What are some things we can doto keep them healthy and safe in
this coming end of the year, asthings are shifting up and kids
are back at home a bit more andplaying out back?
Now we tend to think aboutinjuries.
(00:42):
We picture kids getting hurtduring, like I said, organized
sports, but here's a surprisingstat for you Close to half of
all child injuries happenactually outside of recreational
and competitive sports, andthey often occur during playtime
or everyday activities.
(01:03):
Think recess, think playing outback when they get home from
school.
This means if you got a kid wholoves climbing trees, biking or
playing endless rounds of tagor wiffle ball, in my case
growing up, there's a realchance for injury if we're not
careful.
But don't worry, we're going tocover some of the simple tips
and tricks that we can use tohelp mitigate that.
(01:25):
I'm always going to say there'sno perfect way to reduce
injuries entirely, but there'sthings we can do that can help
mitigate or reduce that risk,which is always going to be key.
We're human and sometimes wejust step off a curb wrong, but
there's a lot of things we cando to help reduce the risk of
injury, especially in our kids.
So, whether you're a parent, ateacher, a coach or just someone
(01:49):
interested in learning more,this episode we're going to jump
into all things.
Injury prevention for activekids outside of sports.
All right, to kick things off,I want to touch on why this
topic is so important.
Things off, I want to touch onwhy this topic is so important.
(02:09):
Play is natural for kids.
It's how they learn, grow anddevelop physically and socially
which is key here.
But with all that activitythere's also a real need to
support their developing bodies.
Kids are still learning, andabout not only how to move their
body but balance andcoordination, and their bones
and muscles are growing strongerat the same time, so they're
actually at an increased riskfor strains, sprains and falls.
(02:32):
Think back to when you wereyounger and there were growing
pains.
Your calves hurt, your Achilleshurts, sometimes it's elbow,
sometimes it's knee Actually, alot of times it's knee,
sometimes it's elbow, sometimesit's knee Actually, a lot of
times it's knee.
So today I want to cover fivekey areas that can help to
reduce that risk.
(02:52):
Some key ones are strength andstability.
Teaching safe movement patterns.
Balancing activity with restand I would say that's a biggie.
That falls more into mysporting youth athlete crowd.
But sometimes kids that evenhave just a lot of recreational
(03:14):
stuff going on, from playingoutside to riding your bike etc.
Can fall into that category aswell.
Adding variety to prevent someof the overuse we see.
Going for swims is great, butgoing for a lot of swims could
potentially cause overuse.
And then, lastly, making surethey have the right shoes.
On that one's kind of a way outthere idea, but I've had kids
come to the clinic where they'rewearing shoes that you would
just look at them and naturallygo.
These aren't meant for runningright.
(03:36):
These aren't meant for movingaround on concrete.
Especially if your kid's playarea is a basketball court or
they're outside running aroundin front of the house and
there's concrete there, youshould be having good shoes on,
it can cause a lot of feetproblems as well.
These tips are practical,they're straightforward and the
biggest thing is with kids.
(03:57):
You've got to have fun withthem.
If you're giving them a bunchof boring exercises to prevent
injury, it's just not going towork.
You've got to have fun.
It's got to like play and infact it's a lot of fun to get
out and move yourself.
So these are some things youcan do to actually get exercise
as well as helping your kidsreduce some injuries.
So let's get started withstrength and stability.
(04:21):
One of the biggest reasons kidsget hurt during everyday
activities is simply becausethey haven't yet developed
strong, stable movement patterns.
They're still learning.
Their muscles are stillbuilding coordination, so even
basic activities can sometimesthrow them off balance.
I remember looking back on abaseball field and I'm not going
(04:41):
to name names, but I had afriend who was a rather tall kid
at the time playing shortstopand there would be baseballs hit
up the middle that he would goto dive for and it would just
look like a baby giraffe kind offalling to the ground there.
He, many years later, is one ofthe most athletic people I know
, and it's just when you'regoing through growing phases and
(05:02):
you're young.
You're learning to use thoselong legs that are developing,
and part of that is a littleperiods of in coordination.
They just have to move andlearn their bodies a little bit
more.
So it's just good to know thatwhen you look at your kids
running around, don't expectthem to move the same way as you
.
So a fun way to start buildingsome strength and stability is
to integrate body weightexercises that are simple but
(05:25):
effective and key fun Talkingabout exercises like squats,
lunges and even balancing on onefoot.
So how do you get your kidsinterested in doing squats and
all these things that seem unfunon paper?
That's where a littlecreativity can go a long way.
Try tuning into a game.
Creativity can go a long way.
(05:46):
Try tuning into a game.
You can challenge them to seehow long they can balance on one
foot.
Or even set up an obstaclecourse in the yard and see who
can compete with the fewestwobbles.
These are all tricks that weactually use in the clinic.
They're fun activities.
They're ways to get the jobdone of strengthening, spending
time on a single leg and workingoutside their center of mass
without the typical three setsof 10.
Because even as adults, threesets of 10 is really boring.
(06:09):
There's many other ways toaccomplish the same goals, so
let's use the more fun ways andkeep kids interested.
It's also going to build areally, really, really good
basis for wanting to exercise inthe future, especially when
it's fun.
Another favorite is animalmovements.
Ever hear of the bear crawl,the crab walk?
These exercises are not onlyfun, but they're also fantastic
(06:33):
for building core stability andcoordination.
If you've never tried any ofthese, they're things that you
try and you just laugh atyourself because they are hard.
And if you've never done thembefore, it just becomes a joke
and you have to laugh atyourself a little.
And you can do a lot of fungames with these.
Put a ball, potentially on.
If you're in a crab walkposition, you could put a ball
(06:54):
on the stomach and you can tellyour kid to walk around, or can
you do this as fast as you canand try to keep the ball on your
stomach and that's gonnapromote coordination through the
midline but also get themmoving and sweating and
breathing hard.
Coordination through thestomach, through the midline,
there, is key for low backstability and preventing any low
back things going on and whatyou're going to see is there's a
(07:18):
lot of different ways to doexercises, but the key is fun.
Another option is play, followthe leader and see who can keep
up.
Not only does this strengthentheir balance and stability, but
also a great way to spend somequality time together.
There's so many opportunitiesor I should say, lack thereof
opportunities to hang out andhave fun, even as adults.
(07:40):
See, if we can pair all thesethings together, where your kid
is getting around and movingsome different patterns, you're
making it fun to move in more ofthese exercise-type motions,
but also you're getting out andmoving as well.
Number two teach safe movementpatterns.
This blurs into that first one,especially when we're talking
about using some different funactivities to reteach motor
(08:04):
patterns and coordination Toteach safe movement patterns.
Kids are learning to move allthe time, and establishing safe
movement habits early on canhave long-lasting benefits.
Talking about things likelearning to land softly when
they jump or understanding howto pick things up without
(08:25):
rounding their backs I think wealways look at gym movements and
we go.
These are unsafe for kidsbecause this adult's using a ton
of weight or this guy'srounding their back or whatever
it is, and the earlier you startsomeone, like in a sport the
kid that learns to swing abaseball bat.
20 years later they alwaysswing the baseball bat better
(08:46):
because they learned propermechanics earlier on, when it's
much easier and our brains areready to absorb like a sponge
all those new patterns.
Teach your kids how to lift.
I'm not saying go out and maxout a deadlift.
There are certainly reasonableexpectations and boundaries
there.
But teaching them to move witha proper hinge at the hips or
teaching them to squat properly,those are all going to add up
(09:11):
in the future.
And instead of working on thesethings when you're injured
later in life, when you startdoing more things and you start
not recovering as well, teach itnow so that those movement
patterns are ingrained and we'repreventing injury in the future
.
I should say reducing the riskof injuries in the future.
For example, next time your kidneeds to pick something off in
(09:32):
the ground, try to show them howto squat down, grab it and
stand back up with a straightback.
Believe it or not, kids don'tknow how to naturally do that.
All the time.
We live in differentenvironments where we're sitting
on chairs and we're looking atcomputers.
If we go back thousands ofyears.
If we're spending all our timeon the ground and we're picking
things up and we're notstatically in one position like
(09:52):
we are now, we would naturallypick up on these things.
So let's promote environmentsthat that can happen, and that
could be something as simple ashaving floor time at night too,
where we're moving around on thefloor and we're having to get
into these squat positions.
Not only can you incorporatethings like building puzzles or
spending time as a familytogether, but we're also working
(10:12):
on just mobility and movementand proper patterns.
You can also try to make thisfun, which again is key when
working with the youth.
Athletes and just active youngkids Keep it fun.
One thing you can do is pretendthey're lifting a heavy
treasure chest and have to usetheir super strong back to
(10:33):
protect it.
Reinforcing these basics helpscreate some muscle memory that
encourages safe movement lateron.
Another simple drill you cantry is practicing soft landings.
Kids naturally want to jump offthings.
It's fun.
Everyone wants to do that, buthave some reasonable
expectations here.
Don't make them jump off aswing set.
Higher isn't always better, solet's teach them to land safely.
(11:02):
One of the ways we can teachthis is pretending when they
jump off something to land in asquat position or land with a
soft knee bend.
Now, granted, when you say thatto kids, they're not going to
know what that necessarily means.
This is where the imitationgame is fun where you show them
something, make a game of it.
How many times can we do this?
Can you catch the ball beingthrown at you while you land?
Imitation is so key.
(11:24):
Show them what you want.
Have them do it.
Show them again.
We have receptors in our brainthat are built for that and kids
are so attuned.
Use that.
Use your body to show them whatyou want.
And if you're not sure how tomove a lot of resources on
YouTube, you can reach out to me.
I can help you with that aswell.
But learn how to land your kidslanding better.
(11:45):
That's one of those things welook at and return to sport
after an ACL injury because theyeither didn't know how to do it
before or they just weren'tstrong enough to handle that
position.
A long way of saying teach itbefore, it's an issue All right.
Let's move on to number threebalancing activity with rest.
I know this one can be tough,especially for kids who just
(12:08):
want to go, go, go and just movearound and run all the time.
But just like adults, kids needrecovery time to avoid injuries
.
Their muscles and joints areworking hard when they're active
and they just don't get enoughchance to rest, they're going to
be at an increased risk.
They're reaching their volumethreshold in activity.
It doesn't matter if it'sorganized sports and
(12:28):
weightlifting.
I have this conversation allthe time with my clients that
it's not just about what you doin the gym, what about all the
other things you did.
In Vero Beach we recently had ahurricane and there was a lot
of shutters going up and peoplestarted having back pain.
When they came in to see me andI said to them have you moved
shutters lately?
I know everyone wants theirbodies to be perfect and be able
(12:50):
to do stuff, but you're notused to doing something.
Your body will become sore andachy.
It's adapting to that volume.
That's the point.
That way, if you do it again,you're stronger for it.
It's a prime example of why,even in kids that don't do
sports, they might get achy andsore and have these injuries
(13:10):
later on because they're tiredfrom that volume.
So understand that rest isstill important, even in youth,
in youth, kids youth athletes, Ishould say and kids.
An easy way to encourage morerest is by setting up a quiet
time in the afternoon.
It doesn't have to be long, butit's time for them to relax,
read a book or do something alittle less physical.
I'm going to say, for kids whoare very active, I would say a
(13:35):
lot of kids these days spendmore time on their video games
and computers.
Don't encourage more lying onthe ground at that point in time
.
Get them up and moving, whichis the opposite end of the
spectrum.
Here I'm talking about kidsthat are really active.
Maybe play some sports, maybedo a lot of recess, run around
constantly, Enc.
Encourage some relaxing time.
Have them read a book.
(13:56):
I'm not going to encourage moredigital time a different topic.
If they're reluctant, tryreframing it as something like
recharge time so they have moreenergy for the next round of
play, or try tying some sort ofincentive to it as well.
The goal of all this is to givetheir bodies a break without
feeling like they're cuttinginto their fun.
(14:18):
So if there's an ultimate funactivity that's a bit more
inside-based, let's add it to it, and a bonus if you get it to
be on the floor and you're alsoworking on some hip mobility.
On days they're especiallyactive, like after a big
playground day, considerbuilding in an early bedtime to
ensure they get the sleep theirbodies need.
(14:40):
Quality sleep is a powerfultool for recovery.
Some kids have a really easytime going to bed.
Others, I'm sure it's a fight.
Try to make some sort of againtied-in incentive.
Connect it back to what it isthey want and I think that goes
(15:02):
for a lot of other things, evenin the adult rehab world.
If it's they love to playbaseball, encourage the fact
that by sleeping better they'regoing to perform better on the
field.
Whatever it is that motivatesyour child, do that with sleep,
because sleep is super importantas well.
Don't just sweep it under therug.
(15:23):
Keep it varied.
Our four tip is a key one,especially in kids that play a
lot of the same sport.
Again, this topic's more onactivities outside of sports.
(15:44):
But if you look at a kid wholoves to use the jungle gym and
they're constantly arms overhead, swinging around like monkeys
on monkey bars and they'restarting to get some shoulder
stuff, this could be a a goodpractical tip for them.
Variety is a key factor ininjury prevention here.
(16:05):
Here's why, when kids repeatthe same movements over and over
, like constantly running orjumping or, like I said, monkey
bars, they start to overuse thesame muscles and joints.
This can lead to injuries overtime.
It's the same thing in kids asin adults.
To be honest, encourage them toswitch up activities, and this
is where keeping it fun willalso keep them moving here, just
(16:28):
like adults, I see you just getbored with the same thing over
and over again, and kids areespecially acceptable to that.
So try something that's similaror a little different than what
it is they normally do.
You don't have to totallyaccident if they just love it,
but give them some variation,either in hand position or foot
(16:48):
position, with whatever they'redoing, just to allow their hips
and shoulder joints and allthose joints and muscles to
experience something new.
It also gives some of the othermuscle groups a break.
So if you, for example, havebeen spending a lot of time
running, suggest they take abreak and swing or swim, climb
or do something completelydifferent, like I said is an
(17:10):
option.
Or if they're biking a lot, tryintroducing them to
balance-based activities liketightrope walking, which is a
really fun one.
You basically put a line oftape on the floor and you have
them stay on there and again tieeither a competitive motive to
it or something fun at the end.
One of the things we found inthe clinic is, if we're throwing
something at them, especiallyif they do enjoy sporty
(17:34):
activities, they just keeps themway more engaged by introducing
some new ways to play and notonly helping them prevent
overuse but also keeping themmentally engaged.
As I said, think of this as inquotes cross training for kids,
for my folk that love crustedand functional fitness.
Keep all muscle muscle groupsengaged in their minds as well.
(17:56):
All right, number five.
I told you I was going to talkabout shoes.
Good, supportive shoes are oneof the simplest ways to protect
active kids from injuries, butI'll say they're often
overlooked.
Like I said, I've had a fewkids walk in here with shoes
with peeling off bottoms or justnon-active shoes in general,
(18:20):
and when I ask them do you wearthese shoes when you run around
out back when you play, andthey're like yes, then I follow
up.
Do you do that outside on yoursidewalk or on the street, and
they go yes, I immediately startto think well, this could be
part of the reason your, yourfeet hurt all the time or you're
(18:42):
having some of thesevolume-based issues on the
street where other kids don't.
Shoes are just as important forkids, if not more important for
them than adults.
Yes, they heal quicker.
Yes, they adapt quicker.
But on the same token, bemindful.
If your kids are running around,get them some good sneakers.
I'm not saying go out and spendthe world of money on them, but
they can't be running around inSperry's.
(19:03):
That's not what they'redesigned for.
Every few months, check to seeif the shoes are getting tight
or showing signs of wearing out.
That's one of the easiestrecommendations for that.
If they out grow them, investin a new pair.
It's going to happen.
Good shoes will protect theirfeet and ankles will certainly
help them with better balance ifthey have shoes that are
actually stable and just makethem comfortable too.
(19:26):
If they're super irritating,kids aren't going to wear them.
They're going to run aroundbarefoot on the concrete, and
that doesn't lead to greatthings as well.
That doesn't lead to greatthings as well.
Those five are a pretty goodstart, I will say, as far as
helping your kids mitigate someinjury risks, especially kids
who are less into sports.
(19:48):
Here are just a few more quickones, I would say encourage
barefoot play.
That's huge.
Keep teaching body awarenessthrough introducing new
activities.
I guess that goes with one ofthe ones above, but I think it's
important to always touch onadding variety.
Keep adding variety.
Add more stimulus, change thepositions they're in.
(20:09):
The more movements they'reexposed to, just the better
they're going to move and themore they're going to understand
their bodies, which is going tobe key for joint health in the
future.
Encourage some sort of stretchroutine, make it fun.
I will say with this one.
If you get on the floor andstart stretching and you
encourage your kids to, that'sgoing to be a big game changer
(20:29):
and just a really good way tobuild some solid habits going
forth.
To build some solid habitsgoing forth, we think of
flossing our teeth all the time,but we forget that our bodies
need to be moved too and theyneed to be stretched constantly.
And dentists have done a reallygood job pointing out that you
should floss because you don'twant cavities, and there's good
(20:52):
research to show that.
But there's also good researchto show that staying limber and
mobile is going to help yourbody's joints later on.
So install those habits now,the day the medical world starts
to talk about movement aspreventative is going to be the
day we have a lot less of thesejoint issues, a lot less of
chronic pain, a lot lessdiabetes.
So start it with your kids now.
(21:13):
Diabetes so start it with yourkids now.
Sometimes the world of medicineand modern health and wellness
is 15 years behind.
So don't wait 15 years to catchup, especially with your kids.
Institute that type of behaviornow.
So, wrapping up our five tipshere build strength and
stability with simple bodyweight movements.
(21:34):
Make them them fun.
That's a key.
Make it fun.
Teach safe movement patterns,like how to land off boxes.
I would say.
Use the imitation game.
You jump off something and landin a way that is proper and
safe.
So will your kids Teach them.
Show them Balance active playwith rest.
(21:58):
Again, the caveat being, if yourkid is active, if he spends all
day looking at computers andgames, probably doesn't need
more rest.
He needs to move more.
So this is one of those things.
Take with a grain of salt.
Encourage a variety ofactivities.
Kids get bored, so this is aneasy one.
Promote them to change theactivity up.
But for the kids that love onething, encourage them at least
for a few hours a day or a fewmoments.
(22:20):
If we need to start with that todo something else, it can be
similar.
Just get them out of that sameroutine.
It's going to help theirmovement patterns.
It's also going to prevent orreduce injuries and, lastly,
ensure they have protectivefootwear.
This is overlooked, mainlybecause kids just have less pain
, I believe.
(22:40):
But just understand that ifyour feet hurt on concrete with
shirt and shoes, theirs probablydo too, and their feet are
growing and they're developing.
Give them the best shotpossible.
Now I'd rather kids be barefootrunning on grass that's a topic
for another day.
But for kids that are runningon concrete or on courts and all
(23:00):
that, just give them the right,proper wear.
Just a sneaker, right?
I see a lot of people wearSperry.
I love Sperrys for the rightoccasions, but cut them out if
they're running around playingin them.
That's all I got for you guystoday.
We'll come back with more tipson how to keep your youth
athletes and kids healthy overthe years.
(23:21):
Thanks so much for joining meon the Hercules podcast.
I hope you found some of thesetips helpful and if you have any
questions, feel free to reachout.
Remember, keeping our kids safedoesn't mean we slow them down.
It just means we give themtools to play smarter and stay
healthier.
And again, the key is more fun.
All right, guys, till next time.
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