If it seems like more kids are experiencing serious injuries in youth sports, you are not wrong. Recent studies show that injuries in youth sports are increasing, especially ACL tears, arm injuries in pitchers, and overuse syndromes. Early specialization, year-round training, and inadequate recovery time are major contributors that lead to these injuries. The data suggests a growing need for prevention programs, cross-training, and stronger safety guidelines to protect young athletes. While the physical recovery related to a sports injury can be overwhelming for kids, the mental toll injury recovery has on kids may be even more concerning. Time away from the sport (and team), uncertainty about how to best manage the injury and related pain, and finding ways to stay productive and mentally strong throughout the rehabilitation process are just a few things kids generally experience — and the related stress can be overwhelming.
Youth sport injuries are up
Each year over 3.5 million children under 14 are treated for sports-related injuries, making sports the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits among youth. Scrapes and scratches have been replaced by very serious injuries, including:
- ACL tears among high school athletes have increased by 26% over the past 15 years.
- Nearly half of youth sports injuries are due to overuse; players specializing early in one sport are more than twice as likely to suffer serious overuse injuries compared to multi-sport peers.
- Shoulder and elbow injuries in youth baseball and softball players have seen a five-fold rise in the last 25 years.
- Pitchers aged 15–19 account for over 40% of all UCL “Tommy John” surgeries at a leading medical center.
- Doctors report seeing 10-year-olds with significant pitching-related injuries, and even 14-year-olds requiring surgery.
While the data clearly shows a disturbing trend of more frequent and more serious injuries occurring, what rarely gets discussed are the mental health concerns that often accompany injury rehabilitation. When kids are injured, the newness of the injury can be overwhelming. How long will this be? What can I do? When will it stop hurting? As you might imagine, it is not uncommon to experience anxiety stemming from the uncertainty of the injury, but kids often worry even more thinking about what games they will miss, or if they will get their starting position back? As a result, some kids experience depression, or they rush back too soon and re-injure themselves. And if it is an athlete in high school, thoughts of sport retirement can make things even more scary.
I regularly see kids at my office dealing with injuries, and rarely are the injuries as simple as a bruise or a sprain. Instead, I see kids on crutches and slings, often nursing very serious injuries that will keep them off the field for months on end (if not significantly longer). It’s one thing for a 25 year old to deal with a torn ACL, but what about a 13 year old? And, amazingly, I have helped kids overcome not one, but two ACL injuries — and before they have graduated from high school.
The mental toll
Studies have shown that having a support system of people can help ease the stress of an injury, as well as shorten the time for injury recovery. Having people around to listen to your stress, encourage you to stay strong, and help you develop the confidence needed to push on for another day can be invaluable toward healing. Sadly, for many kids dealing with an injury, they experience a lot of alone time, away from the team, and often feel forgotten about. The support system (the team) is practicing together, while the injured kid is doing physical therapy. Kids can feel a lot of anxiety during this time, and depression when they don’t know what is going on, or aren’t certain they will fully recover. In worst-case scenarios kids can get caught up in poor and/or dangerous coping, including substance abuse or self-harm.
Perhaps the most concerning part about the mental aspects related to injury recovery have to do with symptoms that are often missed. Unlike the physical component to an injury that can been seen by the naked eye (i.e. a cast or knee brace), mental challenges are largely invisible, and can be easily overlooked. For every kid who speaks up and asks for help, many more kids hold their stress inside and try and deal with their issues alone — after all, these are athletes who are specifically told to “play hard” and “don’t quit!”
Final thoughts
Youth sports injuries are up, and while we have the resources to attend to the physical aspects of a sports injury, we tend to miss the mental symptoms from a kid experiencing a difficult rehabilitation period. Mental health issues are tough to “see” with the naked eye, especially for kids indoctrinated through sports to not show pain and to push through adversity. Too many kids are getting caught up in this position right now, left alone to deal with serious injuries they know little about, and to deal with any and all stressors that come along. Serious injuries are tough enough for professional athletes, and a million times tougher for kids with no idea how they got hurt, the serious nature of the injury, when they will be able to return, and if they will have their old position back when they do?
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