Young people are not just miniature adults! Many of our senior clinicians at Kinetics have vast experience with this unique and energetic clientele. Rapid stages of growth, softer bones, developing muscle tissue are all some of the challenges that can affect injury and rehabilitation. Senior Physiotherapist Jody McGowan has conducted original research at AIMS Games as part of her Masters Thesis.

Findings included an alarming reduction in the amount of ‘free play’ that our youth are engaging in. The body typically develops accurate movement patterns from climbing trees, running, jumping and more. Our team are able to consult with you and your child when you have had an injury but can also provide insight on other areas of sporting involvement.

At Kinetics we strongly believe that there is more that can be done for our younger generation to prevent musculoskeletal injuries. Principal physiotherapist David Cooper has been a consultant to Athlete Development and has a strong interest in youth injury prevention and management.

Senior Physio Jody McGowan has recently completed a Masters degree investigating injury rates at AIMS Games. Her research was published in early 2020 in the peer reviewed Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, titled “The associations of early specialisation and sport volume with musculoskeletal injury in New Zealand children”.

Many of our clinicians have children of their own so we understand the challenges of youth sport and injury. We all strongly believe in a balanced philosophy of free play and sport. We also believe that a lot more can be done to reduce the risk of injury in the younger generation to avoid some of the more serious injuries that we see in the clinic.