Children and adolescents
Children’s bones aren’t fully set, which makes them much less likely to suffer long-term problems after injury, even breaks. “They’ve got growth plates, which allow bones to get longer and develop,” says Mehmet Gem, a specialist hip physio and regional lead at Pure Physiotherapy in Exeter, speaking via the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. The only drawback comes if a child plays their favourite sport too much and the plates become irritated. “If you have someone who plays tons of football, they might develop heel or knee pain.” If this happens, they can keep doing the activity, only less of it, “within what the pain permits and without further irritation. The less that they avoid, the better, so they stay strong and don’t feel scared to then get back to it.”
