O VER the last two decades, competitive sport has transformed in to a mania, with plentiful returns that range from endorsements, fame, scholastic placement preferences, scholarships, and the like.

In trying to stay in this newly developed “rat race” children are moving faster, training harder, pushing further to try to measure up and make the cut, and we are witnessing their developing bodies undergoing stresses to the joints, ligaments and muscles unlike anything the world has never seen before.

Luckily, with the evolution of medicine and movement education methods such as Pilates, we can work towards providing a balance to the rigour of the damage done by overtraining at an early age. Specificity training for the feet, ankles and knees, which focus on alignment, can avert a host of heel and knee injuries, while providing a firm base for balance and agility training that is useful for performance goals.

We recognise that the need for compensatory exercise programmes introduced early, in order to prevent injuries and satisfy the muscular imbalances, are even more important for this younger population.

Overloaded ligaments find ease in flexibility training, which reduces the pulling actions on the rest of the body’s systems. When one end is pulled too tight, everywhere else feels the strain. More and more younger people are learning to adapt to smarter methods of dealing with their bodies and adopting new ways of thinking about it, understanding that longevity is their greatest investment.

Young bodies

Children have a natural need to match their maturing strength, and sports are without a doubt a positive influence on a young person’s life. But just like the Pilates method preaches, balance is always at the heart of the conversation.

The conditions associated with overtraining are amplified in the developing body because of the presence of growth hormones which cause an overgrowth of muscle around the joints, causing injuries when physical loading becomes excessive.

Frequent overloading on immature musculoskeletal systems can cause micro trauma to tissues such as the developing growth cartilage of the bones — known as growth plates, and create injuries that become permanent growth disturbances. One common disease caused from this force of will to train, is the Osgood-Schlatter disease, which affects the knees.

How a young athlete can benefit from Pilates

Performance Enhancement: Venturing into a Pilates programme motivates the athlete for the main purpose of improving their output.

Pilates focuses on movement in all planes and orientations, which delivers fluidity and more movement strategies to players who need to reach further, develop more power from their centre, deliver bursts of energy and control their balance.

Flexibility: Increasing range of motion can positively influence performance as well as bring length back to over tightened ligaments and muscles, which fends off injuries.

Core strength and stability: For a body that is very strong, balance and control are fundamental to safety and precision. A good Pilates regime inside of an athlete’s training programme can be the missing link to winning or losing.

Breath difference between training: Increasing the body’s capacity to upload oxygen comes from practice. Stretching the ribs allows for greater volumes of oxygen during inhalations, and the diaphragm being a muscle too, with it also can be strengthened.

The more oxygen comes in, the more energy the muscles are able to produce, which translates to higher levels of work output. It can also play a big role in endurance, and longevity is always a game breaker in any sport.

Conditioning body and mind: Understanding the need to take it down a notch and paying attention to developing the parasympathetic nervous system is important to an athlete’s best self. This concept has everything to do with rest and digestion, allowing the heart rate to slow down and energy to be distributed throughout the body more efficiently.

The younger you are when you can appreciate what this can do for your whole health and optimal output, the stronger you will become as a seasoned athlete later on.

Simple tips to include Pi

● Begin with about 20 minutes of Pilates after a short warm-up.

● Choose exercises that relate to the mechanics of the sport of choice. For example, squash players should be paying attention to footwork that strengthens the ankle and knee joints for improved stability, due to the sharp turns and agile turns and bouncing actions on these joints.

●Include flexibility training that uses props relative to your sport. So, a football player can use the ball to work on pelvic stability and then jump into a practice game right after. A tennis player can use their racket to pull the leg into a hamstring stretch in preparation for a game, and the habit becomes automatic, making it a win-win.

● Get into a studio: The Pilates apparatus offers a wider range of training strategies than a mat. If you are an athlete who uses jumping actions of any kind, incorporate the jump board to build solid skills for proper take-off and landing drills.

This class focuses on foot placement, foot and ankle strength, and emphasises moving correctly through the forefoot and landing with knee flexion, avoiding improper knee positioning. It also teaches athletes to use their core as a powerful initiator of movement and as a shock absorber when landing, which is essential for staying vital over a sporting career.

Young athletes who move into the next level of sports conditioning will certainly take off and gain years in tip-top shape, if they start using Pilates in their agenda early on.