Unfit parents risk sports day injury

According to a poll of physiotherapists carried out by AposTherapy, this time of year brings in a host of patients who have injured themselves by competing in a race at a school's sports day.

Injuries inflicted by the likes of the egg-and-spoon race can be severe. One in seven physios report treating damage to the medial collateral ligament (one of the major ligaments in the knee) or strained calves and hamstrings (14 per cent), while one in ten have treated aggravated osteoarthritis.

Others even report parents tearing their knees’ cruciate ligaments as a result of competing in the sack race or three-legged race (3.5 per cent) – an injury from which it can take up to a year to recover.

The AposTherapy panel warns that sprints are the most hazardous event for competitive parents with over a third of people sustaining an injury. But even the quintessentially British three-legged race (17 per cent) and sack race (15 per cent) are cause for concern as out of shape parents go head-to-head.

Fathers are most likely to need treatment as a result of a sports day mishap although one in 20 physios has even had to treat grandparents.

And with half of parents set to attend a school sports day this year – and nearly half  saying they would take part in one of the events – thousands are potentially putting themselves at risk.

Commenting on the findings Dr Peter Mace, assistant medical director at Bupa, which provides AposTherapy, a pioneering new therapy for people with chronic knee and back pain said: “School sports days can be surprisingly competitive and parents will want to do their best – even if they happen to be wearing a sack!

“But parents should remember that it can be dangerous to go from doing a little or no exercise to taking part in competitive sport without taking necessary precautions – however innocuous that ‘sport’ might seem to be. Parents should remember to warm-up thoroughly beforehand, not overexert themselves during the activity and try to warm-down afterwards. Otherwise, they run the risk of injuring themselves – or even worse, developing or exacerbating chronic conditions.”

Visit www.apostherapy.co.uk to find out more about the pioneering non-surgical therapy, provided by Bupa that is enabling many Britons to take control of chronic knee and back pain.