Page 39 - The Connection Bridgewater Somerville Edition, September 2012

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Health and Wellness

PAGE 39

YOUR CHILDREN’S FEET

By: Marco Ucciferri, DPM, FACFAS

Children and Sports

All parents know that children take to sports like

ducks to water. Almost as soon as they start to walk,

they’re chasing balls, swinging sticks, and running

races against nobody in particular.

Children’s sports used to mean baseball, basketball,

or football. That’s changed. Soccer has leapt onto

the youth sports scene, as have wrestling, tennis,

and lacrosse with older children. The starting age

for training in individual sports such as swimming,

skating, track, and gymnastics grows younger every

Parents should encourage their children to partici-

pate in sports but never forget that

competition should be fun. Too much

emphasis on winning can alienate a

child from athletic competition.

Children active in sports programs will

improve their cardiovascular and mus-

culoskeletal systems, coordination, and

state of mind. Participation in sports

develops a sense of self discipline,

teamwork, and recognition of the

importance of a healthy body — good

habits that last a lifetime.

Training Emphasis

Every child physically matures at his or

her own rate and has a different degree of athletic

ability. No amount of training can improve a child’s

natural athletic ability, but training helps improve

coordination and therefore performance.

Early training should emphasize proper technique

and basic movement skills in all sports, especially in

children younger than 10. Podiatric physicians, spe-

cialists in treating the lower extremities, say children

who concentrate on a single sport at too young an

age are more likely to develop injuries of the foot

and ankle. Save specialization in sports for the late

teens, is advised.

Warming up before participating in sports is more

important for adults than children, but it helps

loosen the muscles and prevent injuries in athletes

of all ages. Light jogging and smooth stretching

exercises (be sure not to bounce when stretching)

are all that’s necessary for young athletes. Learning

to stretch at an early age will set a good pattern for

sports activities as the body develops.

Whether parents like it or not, part of a child’s

image revolves around footwear. Expensive sneakers

have become fashion statements as much as athlet-

ic equipment. But for good foot health, the condi-

tion of the shoe is more important than the price

tag or brand name.

Podiatric physicians agree it’s often better to buy a

child two $50 pairs of shoes than a single $100 pair,

so the shoes can be rotated to avoid rapid wear

deterioration. Excessive wearing of the outsole, loss

of shoe counter support, or wearing out in the mid-

sole indicate it’s time to replace the shoes.

Because a child’s feet are constantly growing, it is

important to allow at least one finger’s width from

the end of the longest toe when buying shoes.

Remember, proper fit is very important. You can

have the best shoe in the world, but if it doesn’t fit

right, it doesn’t do its job.

In the shoe store, children should put on both

shoes, with their athletic socks and the laces tied

tight, for several minutes to properly check the

shoes’ fit. Shop for shoes in the afternoon, when

the feet are naturally slightly swollen.

In young children, an “all purpose” sports shoe

works well for most sports. A running-specific shoe

is not suitable as an all purpose shoe; moving later-

ally in a running shoe is more difficult and presents

greater risk of injury for children. After the age of

10, sport-specific shoes can help improve perform-

ance and protect the feet. With the exception of the

running shoe, a degree of crossover between sport-

ing shoes is usually not harmful to the feet of a child

Rubber cleats are not usually necessary

for children under 10, though they pose

little potential harm for them. They are

most useful on a soft-field sport such as

soccer. Podiatric physicians recommend

molded shoe rubber cleats rather than

the screw-on variety. Metal baseball

spikes can be dangerous and should not

be used until the teenage years.

Growing Bones and Ligaments

The immature bones of children are dif-

ferent from those of adults. The

“growth plates” in children’s bones do

not finish closing until age 15-17 in

boys and 13-15 in girls. When stressed,

these plates are more susceptible to injury than the

tendons and ligaments that support the joints. Liga-

ments tend to “give” before bones in adults.

Podiatric physicians warn repetitive overuse can

cause inflammation of the growth plates. They

advise parents to promote diverse physical activities

for their children rather than one sport. This is espe-

cially important with individual sports such as run-

ning, gymnastics, and tennis, which require long

hours of practice.

Statistics show children who concentrate on just

one sport for long hours at a time are setting them-

selves up for injuries. Because of the susceptibility of

bones with open growth centers to overuse injuries,

sponsors of the Boston Marathon recently increased

the minimum participation age from 16 to 18.

A sports medicine podiatrist can offer a thorough

examination of the entire lower extremity and iden-

tify a leg length imbalance, weakness, or biome-

chanical imbalances that may need to be addressed

to prevent injuries on the athletic field.

Injuries and Treatments

Many children suffer from mild “torsional” imbal-

ances, commonly known as in-toeing and out-toe-

ing. Most children outgrow these imbalances with-

out medical treatment. However, if a child has obvi-

ous torsional imbalances, he or she may be more

susceptible to injury. If that is the case, keep a close

eye out for foot and ankle injuries associated with

sports activity. Foot injuries commonly seen in very

active children include ankle sprains, fractures, shin

splints & stress fractures.

• Don’t put too much performance pressure

• Don’t let children use running shoes for

court sports. An ankle sprain could result.

• Change shoes often. Check the sizing and

wear regularly.

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