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Health & Wellness > Ask
The Doc: Football Injuries
Ask The Doc: Football Injuries
The board certified pediatricians at After Hours Pediatrics Urgent Care (www.afterhourspediatrics.com)
want to answer your questions regarding urgent care. To submit a question to be
answered in the next issue of Families on-the-go, please email your question to
info@afterhourspediatrics.com.
My son has just started playing football. When do I know if an injury is more
than just a bump or a bruise?
School is in and that means football season. In today’s world, that includes
children as young as four to five years old playing tackle football, with all
the bells and whistles (helmets, refs, scoreboards, stadiums, etc.). Here are
some tips on how to evaluate your child with certain types of injuries.
Injured Arms and Legs:
For the younger kids (under the age of ten), unless you see some obvious
deformity in the arms or legs, it will be rare your child has a serious injury,
even with lots of crying and thrashing around. Gently take the child off the
field and put ice on the injured area for 15 minutes (always place a cloth
between the skin and the ice pack as putting ice directly on the skin can cause
injury). If your child’s injury needs further attention, give a dose of
acetaminophen (Tylenol®) and wait at least another hour or two before seeking
medical attention. This approach will save a lot of unnecessary trips to the
doctor.
If things are improving, but there is still a sore area, continue ice treatment
for 15 minutes every two hours (again, through a cloth so you don't freeze the
skin), acetaminophen as needed, and instruct your child not to use the area
until it is pain-free. Your child should not go back into a game or back to
practice until there is no pain or limping without the use of pain medicine.
Some extra padding to the area that was injured (usually bruised) will make
things more comfortable for your little player.
You may visit the doctor to check out continuing pain sometime within the first
48 hours. Even if it is determined that there is a broken bone, waiting the
extra time to see if the symptoms resolve will not delay healing.
If there is a visibly deformed bone, call 911 so fire rescue can splint the limb
and transport your child for medical attention.
Head and Neck Injuries:
Head and neck injuries are treated more cautiously since the potential
consequences of an injury can be serious. The good news is that it is rare to
have significant head or neck injuries before 14-15 years old. The culprit in
most of these injuries is head/helmet tackling, so do what you can to make sure
your child doesn't do this and that his coaches don't teach or encourage it.
If your child is complaining of either head or neck pain, he should stop any
further play until cleared by a doctor. If he is lying on the field complaining
of either of these, call 911 so he can be moved in a safe manner.
Head injuries can lead to concussions and brain damage that gets worse with
repeated exposure. If your child is complaining of headaches related to
football, he should stop play and see his doctor.
Dr. Ted Kaplan is a board certified pediatrician at After Hours Pediatrics
Urgent Care (www.afterhourspediatrics.com).
Do you have a question for these columns? Please email your question to
info@afterhourspediatrics.com.
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