Back to School Sports and Injury Prevention

School is back in session! While you may be rejoicing that your days are filled with peace and quiet now, your worries aren’t over yet. Back to school also means back to sports. Whether they have soccer, hockey, track, or tennis on their schedule, it’s important that your child stay safe. Here’s what you should know.

Common Sport Injuries

There are three common types of sports injuries that kids and teens experience while playing sports. These include:

• Acute injuries: These happen suddenly and are often some form of trauma, such as bruises, sprains, broken bones, and sprained ligaments.
• Overuse injuries: These occur when the body performed repetitive actions that put too much stress on the bones and muscles. Common types of overuse injuries include swimmer’s shoulder, anterior knee pain, and shin splints.
• Reinjuries: Reinjuries are exactly what you think they are – an injury that happens when an athlete returns to the sport before a previous injury has adequately healed. This puts stress on the injury, forcing the body to compensate for a weakness. In turn, this can injure another body part. 

Proper Sport Injury Prevention

What can you, as a parent or guardian, do to help prevent injuries that occur in school? Believe it or not but there are many ways you can protect your child when they are out of your hands. You can:

1. Teach him or her how to warm up and cool down properly by showing them safe stretches
2. Encourage him or her to speak up when they are in pain
3. Send your child to school with adequate and proper-fitting equipment
4. Let the coach know if your child has any conditions that could make exercise difficult
5. Give your child a reusable water bottle to fill up throughout the day to stay hydrated
6. Fill him or her up on a nutritious and healthy diet
7. Ensure they get sufficient rest and sleep
8. Book your child in for a sports physical

How Can a Sports Physical Help Reduce Injury?

A sports physical is designed to determine if it’s safe for him/her to participate in a certain sport. The doctor will identify health concerns that may impact your child’s ability to perform the sport. For example, if your child has asthma attacks but wants to play soccer, you will need to work with your doctor to determine the safest way to ensure they can breathe easy when running.

These tips can help protect your child throughout this school year and beyond. For all of your health concerns and to book your child in for a sports physical, visit Sand Canyon Urgent Care. We welcome walk-in patients. Our onsite diagnostic and lab facilities help us to best serve you and your loved ones. Call us at (949) 536-7892 or visit us here to get started!

Sore Throat? Find Out If It’s a Cold or Strep Throat

Sore throats are very common and can be triggered by things like viruses, bacteria, allergens, postnasal drip, or even smoke. Generally, sore throats resolve on their own. However, sometimes a sore throat can indicate a larger health concern. Strep throat is caused by a streptococcus bacteria and is contagious. Be sure you know the differences between the two so that you can stay on top of your health and wellbeing.

Sore Throat

Pharyngitis (sore throat) is usually caused by viruses. There are many different viruses that cause a sore throat, including allergies. If an allergy is triggering a sore throat, this can be resolved by treating the allergy with over the counter medications. If it is a virus, the throat pain may be present for 3 to 5 days.

Sore throat symptoms include:

• Cough
• Congestion
• Running nose
• Sometimes a fever

What is Strep Throat?

Strep throat is a bacterial infection that causes inflammation in the back of the throat. Streptococcal bacteria are highly contagious. They can spread through airborne droplets when someone with the infection coughs or sneezes, or through shared food or drinks. You can also pick up the bacteria from a doorknob or other surface and transfer them to your nose, mouth or eyes.

Strep throat symptoms include:

• Sore throat
• Red and swollen tonsils, sometimes with white patches or streaks of pus
• Swollen and tender lymph nodes in your neck
• Fever
• Headache
• Stomach ache
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain

As opposed to a cold or the flu, strep throat generally doesn’t trigger a cough or a runny nose. While it can present itself in any individual, younger children may face additional symptoms, including abdominal pain, fever, and vomiting without any complaint of a sore throat.

Generally, strep throat is not an emergency and a swab to test for strep is recommended so that overprescribing of antibiotics can be avoided. At Sand Canyon Urgent Care, our staff will provide treatment for common family illnesses and injuries. For minor to moderate injuries and medical issues, visit us. Call us today for more information about our Irvine and Stanton centers.