Instructional Course 6: Caring for the Pediatric Runner

Course Summary

The popularity of youth participation in running as a sport has dramatically increased. Running poses potential benefits to a childs health, social, and personal development. However, increased participation in youth running may also contribute to rise of running related injuries and health concerns. Recent publication of guidelines have been published on the topic of guiding safe participation in youth running and subsequent research has expanded on recognized gaps in knowledge. Injury prevention includes utilization of effective screening tools to identify risk factors and implement injury preventative measures through a multidisciplinary approach. This course highlights the care of the pediatric runner with a focus on the evolution of running as a sport, the types and patterns of running-related injuries, identification of injury risk factors, and the development of effective screening tools and preventative measures.

Course Objectives

• Have greater awareness of the benefits of running as a sport as well as expert-guided recommendations for training guidelines for safe running participation in the youth runner.  
• Understand the types and patterns of specific youth running-related injuries/conditions and identified intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors for injury.   
• Learn about specific injury screening tools and preventative strategies to consider when caring for the youth runner.                                                                                                                                            

Presenters