When Is It Safe to Return to Play? A Guide to Pediatric Sports Injury Recovery

If your child has been injured while playing sports, you want to make sure they’re adequately healed before returning to the playing field.

Every injury – whether it’s a concussion, strain, sprain or break – has a different “return-to-play protocol,” which is essentially a set of boxes that need to be checked before your child can safely return to action.

On the minor side of the spectrum – a bruised knee, for example – this may require little more than reduced swelling and your child feeling relatively pain free.  It’s a different story on the more serious side, where concussions are carefully followed before your child is declared ready to go.

Let’s look at some of the more common injuries and what you can expect in terms of recovery.

Concussion Recovery: 6-Step Return-to-Sport Protocol

One of the most significant injuries – in terms of long-term health – is a concussion. We’ve learned much in recent years about the dangers of these brain injuries, particularly when the patient returns to physical activity too soon. Concussions have been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a rare disorder caused by repeated head injuries that has been found in the brains of football players and boxers. There is a particular danger when a second concussion occurs before the first has fully healed. That’s why your doctor won’t sign off on return-to-play until your child is 100 percent symptom free.

Your child’s progression will follow these steps:

1. Symptom-limited activities (walking and similar activities)
2. Light- to moderate-aerobic exercise (walking, stationary cycling and light resistance training)
3. Individual sport-specific exercise (individual drills away from the team environment)
4. Non-contact training drills (more challenging drills in the team environment)
5. Full-contact practice (normal training activities) – medical clearance is recommended before initiation of any contact
6. Return to sport with medical clearance (normal game play)

Managing Sprains and Strains in Youth Athletes

Sprains and strains are injuries to ligaments and muscles. Common injuries include sprained ankles and wrists, hamstring strains and sprained knees. These often occur in sports (soccer, basketball or football, for example) that require rapid acceleration and changes of direction or physical contact with other players.

Early treatment involves rest from PE and/or sports participation. In some instances, the ankle or other body part may be immobilized to allow healing. This is followed by a couple of weeks of physical therapy to restore mobility and strength. Return to play will rely largely on whether your child feels ready to play and they are pain free. But your doctor’s observations are also critical here, as athletes are often eager to return to their friends and the game. Someone who can’t comfortably put weight on an ankle should not be running on a soccer field.

Healing Timelines for Broken Bones and Fractures

While fractured bones may seem more frightening, they often have a more concrete treatment timeline – depending on the severity of the break. The injured bone will be immobilized with a cast or splint and allowed to heal for a few weeks. While recovery from a sprained ankle can take anywhere from two weeks to several months, broken bones usually heal within four to eight weeks. As soon as an X-ray shows that the bone is healed, your child is ready to return.

Growth Plate Injuries and ‘Growing Pains’

Children’s bodies may still be developing throughout their athletic endeavors. Growth plates are sections of specialized cartilage located on the ends of long bones (legs and arms, for example) that help the skeleton grow. Growth plates are weaker than the rest of the bone and can become sore, or even damaged, through injury or overuse.

These growing pains can show up in numerous ways – heel pain, for example. These injuries don’t necessarily require a total break from the sport. But your child may need to cut back on the intensity or limit some aspects of the sport for a bit. Maybe running is OK but jumping causes pain. In that case, the advice would be to hold off on jumping until the pain fades.

Why These Changes Work

If your child has a love of sports, it may be difficult to keep them off the field. But making sure they have fully recovered is important for their long-term health and to prevent a more serious injury.

Consider the recent Winter Olympics, when U.S. skiing legend Lindsey Vonn made the decision to compete, despite having torn an ACL in her left knee just two weeks earlier. Unfortunately, her Olympics bid ended in disaster when she crashed and shattered her lower leg. Her attempt to compete with a recent injury demonstrates the potential risk of returning to a sport when your body isn’t physically ready.

This content is not AI generated.