PENINSULA FITNESS

I encourage those of you visiting my site to carefully look through the various kid's case studies I have posted. Too many parents and coaches don't realize just about every child has some "dysfunction" that should be addressed so as to avoid future problems with pain and or injury. Typically adults believe because a child is young they can't possibly have any physical issues. This is just not the case. That is why I have put up the case studies, so that you can see with your own eyes that every body (even the young) has some form of dysfunction. The idea is to identify it, address it and fix it as soon as possible.

In fact there is usually more than just one issue to contend with. You will see that several of my subjects in the case studies were used a couple of different times because they exhibited multiple problems. These are all young athletic children, but youth and athleticism don't grant you immunity from strength imbalances, poor posture, and restricted flexibility. And no you won't grow out of it! Just look at the "Prevent Back Pain and Knee Deviation" examples in the case study section. Our subject loads more weight on her right side and two years later she still does this. In fact with time the compensation can get worse (see the Avoid Knee Injury case).

Today with the increasing popularity of over specializing in one sport, a child's chances of injury increase dramatically. The child already has some dysfunction and performing the same movement patterns again and again will layer more stress on top of the existing dysfunction(s) and weaken tissues. Last year I saw a news segment about a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who was performing several ACL reconstructions a week ON CHILDREN. These were non-contact injuries too! I never heard of any of my peers when I was in grade school or high school tearing an ALC. That ladies and gentlemen is what results when dysfunction runs its' course. The key is for the child to have a corrective exercise program customized for their specific needs and body type. Generic programs will not be good enough. If a child had a learning issue we would be all over it. We need to treat the body with the same sense of urgency and importance.

My goal is to educate the parent and coach to recognize the value in identifying dysfunction as early as possible in the child's life and then address it. Many of my adult clients will only make so much progress and it was because their problems were not identified and addressed soon enough to avoid irreparable structural damage. I hate to see when this happens. I know this from first hand experience because I live with it myself everyday. If I had had someone like me when I was 8 years old I would have an entirely different level of function and performance.