Injuries / aches / growing pains?

U

uburoi

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My 06 boy is in his third year of club and now is playing pre-academy. He was always the fastest kid and loves to run. For a month he's having freak leg pains - ankle, heel, hamstring (hamsrting started in spring) and has started complaining. This week he could barely run. I thought maybe shin splints. We've only been working out 2 / week and one scrimmage. He did a camp 2 weeks ago but no 2x day workouts. He has worked much harder. At this age my daughter had growth plate issues. Any thoughts?
 
uburoi said:
My 06 boy is in his third year of club and now is playing pre-academy. He was always the fastest kid and loves to run. For a month he's having freak leg pains - ankle, heel, hamstring (hamsrting started in spring) and has started complaining. This week he could barely run. I thought maybe shin splints. We've only been working out 2 / week and one scrimmage. He did a camp 2 weeks ago but no 2x day workouts. He has worked much harder. At this age my daughter had growth plate issues. Any thoughts?
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When did he get the new shoes?
 
It's a good point. One month ago. That's when this pains started except minor hamstring issue was before. He got Nike super fly junior and got a blister breaking them in.
 
Get him into a doctor. At his age, kids have all sorts of bone, muscle, and ligament ailments just from growing. My DD went through Seavers and some lower leg problems around your son's age. They were fairly easily identified by the doctor and resolved through physical therapy. She was also referred to a podiatrist who fitted her for orthotics to wear in her cleats and running shoes.
 
uburoi said:
It's a good point. One month ago. That's when this pains started except minor hamstring issue was before. He got Nike super fly junior and got a blister breaking them in.
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Evidently the cleats were not fitted correctly if he got a blister. Todays top level cleats are well made and really don't need to be broken in. DD gets new cleats and goes out and plays a full 90 minute game or full two hour practice in them without any problems. Her teammates that buy the quality cleats that are properly fitted also do not have problems.
 
Surfref said:
Get him into a doctor. At his age, kids have all sorts of bone, muscle, and ligament ailments just from growing. My DD went through Seavers and some lower leg problems around your son's age. They were fairly easily identified by the doctor and resolved through physical therapy. She was also referred to a podiatrist who fitted her for orthotics to wear in her cleats and running shoes.
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Two of my daughters teammates have Seavers. Before each practice or game they use KT tape. It has really worked for them.
 
Good stuff and thanks. Cleats may have been a hair too big, but he was desperate to get into the size and bought them himself. So much for parental influence. Going to my go to PT today.
 
LASTMAN14, how did the girls with Seavers apply the tape?
 
LASTMAN14 said:
Two of my daughters teammates have Seavers. Before each practice or game they use KT tape. It has really worked for them.
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With my DD we found the taping helped initially, but the 2 weeks off, 4 weeks of physical therapy and good daily stretching completely alleviated the problem.
 
uburoi said:
Good stuff and thanks. Cleats may have been a hair too big, but he was desperate to get into the size and bought them himself. So much for parental influence. Going to my go to PT today.
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My advice for any new club soccer parent is to make sure your kid gets the best cleats that you can afford. Make sure that someone who knows soccer cleats properly fits them to your kids foot. These kids are in those cleats for 6 to 20 hours a week and they need to fit correctly or they will have foot, leg and back problems. Don't just buy the cleats that your kid thinks look cool. My DD had good luck with Adidas when she was younger, but they changed how the cleats were made and they did not fit her the same so we had her fitted for Nike. I know it is tough to spend $100 or more for cleats for a 10 or 11 year old, but the right cleat will prevent pain/injury and make them perform better. My DD wears $200+ Nike Tiempos with custom orthotics that fit her feet perfectly. She is in these cleats for 20-40 hours a week during the college season. Of course we can write the cleats off on taxes since they are a college expense. When DD was younger we would go to Soccerloco and have them fit her with the proper cleats, take a picture of the box (when they were not looking), than go home and order the cleats online for a cheaper price.
 
Surfref said:
My advice for any new club soccer parent is to make sure your kid gets the best cleats that you can afford. Make sure that someone who knows soccer cleats properly fits them to your kids foot. These kids are in those cleats for 6 to 20 hours a week and they need to fit correctly or they will have foot, leg and back problems. Don't just buy the cleats that your kid thinks look cool. My DD had good luck with Adidas when she was younger, but they changed how the cleats were made and they did not fit her the same so we had her fitted for Nike. I know it is tough to spend $100 or more for cleats for a 10 or 11 year old, but the right cleat will prevent pain/injury and make them perform better. My DD wears $200+ Nike Tiempos with custom orthotics that fit her feet perfectly. She is in these cleats for 20-40 hours a week during the college season. Of course we can write the cleats off on taxes since they are a college expense. When DD was younger we would go to Soccerloco and have them fit her with the proper cleats, take a picture of the box (when they were not looking), than go home and order the cleats online for a cheaper price.
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Completely agree! I make sure the boots my kids wear are functional, fit well, and comfortable. Look of the boot is secondary. I also have my two girls wear the appropriate footwear for each surface. So, they have 3 different shoes.
 
Took my son to the PT today, wanted to take him there for a while but have been too busy. He ran for her and she saw immediately that he puts his chest out when he runs, and that was causing issues in the lower legs due to the way he was holding his body. She said something really interesting when I asked why this was happening early. She said kids are specializing earlier. Back in the day when kids played all sports, their bodies had more exposure to different activities. Because my son is specializing in one activity, and even plays when they play in school (often instead of other sports), there is more chance of this sort of thing happening. If anyone needs a referral, she's a genius. Totally helped my daughter years ago, and me too for years.
 
I disagree, I would say buy what ever feels good to the kid. And looks good so they feel confident. At this age they won't do damage. No need to waste 100+ on a boot they will wear for maybe 3-6 months with the way they grow. Maybe some decent insoles. But don't waste your money on expensive boots. Invest in a good private trainer. The money you save will get you 4 training sessions.
 
Go to a podiatrist and get him fitted for orthotics. My DD had these issues for the first couple years of playing. I noticed they got worse almost every time we got her a new pair of cleats. We've now been through several cleat changes and even switched from Nike to Adidas with no issues.
 
softwaretest said:
Go to a podiatrist and get him fitted for orthotics. My DD had these issues for the first couple years of playing. I noticed they got worse almost every time we got her a new pair of cleats. We've now been through several cleat changes and even switched from Nike to Adidas with no issues.
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The most comfortable cleats my son had were purchased by mistake - one shoe was a half-size larger than the other.
 
espola said:
The most comfortable cleats my son had were purchased by mistake - one shoe was a half-size larger than the other.
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That's too funny. I think the insert is what matters most and if you look at the most expensive Nike's the insert is just a flimsy board. The podietrist told me the main problem with many of these cleats is they are too flexible. That's probably why my daughter said the copa's were so comfortable. Now if I could have only gotten her to not care about having the shinny new cleats.
 
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