Common knee injury in children

By: The Osteopathic Centre for Children

A torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is a common sports injury among adults but can be serious among children if not delt with. The ACL is one of the four main ligaments that gives the knee its stability. Together, the four ligaments act like strong ropes to hold the bones together and keep your knees stable. These ‘ropes’ can be sprained, torn or broken apart when they’re put under the strain of the type of swift or sudden movements common in playing sport.

The symptoms and pain will vary depending on the severity of the injury. Some children may hear a popping sound when they bend their knee, while for others, the knee may feel loose, and their mobility’s affected.

Even a slight strain is painful, and anyone of any age could pick up an ACL simply by landing awkwardly when walking. But, with their frantic dashing around and love of sports, children are at risk of picking up an ACL from;

• landing incorrectly from a jump
• stopping suddenly
• changing direction suddenly
• having a collision, such as during a football tackle
• playing sports regularly
• being in poor physical condition
• wearing ill-fitted footwear.
• playing on artificial turf

Avoiding an ACL, which is more common in girls than boys, is not easy; accidents happen! Maybe you could encourage your child to do a few warmup exercises before they join in with sports. Do a few squats, a few star-jumps or stretching, wake up those muscles and ligaments.

Sometimes, too much of what you like is maybe not the best thing for you, and reptation (Repetitive strain injury (RSI)) can also have effects on young bodies. Dr. Charles A. Popkin, pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Columbia University Medical Center, in America said in the New York Times: “Expose your children to as many activities as possible and support what they like. But if they’re doing more hours of a sport a week than their age in years, they’re overdoing it.

“A couple of months of the year, encourage them to do something else. If they play football, they could switch off to tennis; if they play hockey, they could try the track team. Cross-training helps their bodies and can keep them from burning out.”

If your child does injure their knee, make sure you stop physical activity until you’ve sought advice from your GP. Early diagnosis can help prevent further damage in the long term to those young knees.

So, mix it up, warm them up, let them go and watch them have fun!