Top Story: Sportslife: The Power of Pause

Youth sports have most children busy year-round, with different sports every fall, winter and spring. But those are just the official sports seasons, while many athletes and families are participating in outside of season training and activities, to work on their skills and reach peak performance. This can be extremely exhausting, as kids usually only get a few weeks off to rest and recuperate. 

Dr. Heather Bergeson, a pediatric sports medicine specialist and adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School Department of Orthopedic Surgery, told KARE 11, “We really have to think of rest as an essential part of a training regimen. Within tense exercise and competition, there’s going to be load and wear on our muscles, bones and tendons, and they need time then to adequately recover and repair, and if we don’t allow for that, we’re going to set ourselves up for more overuse injuries and also decreases in performance.” 

Dr. Bergeson is among many who have expressed concern for the growing trend of one-sport athletes. By not playing a secondary sport that utilizes and develops different muscles, bones and joints, athletes take the risk of developing repetitive stress injuries and more importantly, mental fatigue and burnout. Playing another sport introduces another season of activity, different routines, teammates and coaches, and a renewed enthusiasm for something new.

Dr. Bergeson suggests that athletes should have one or two days a week where they aren’t really doing anything. On those days, it is more important to focus on restorative activities, rather than building yourself and your skills. 

You can read more about the power of pause here.