Summer brings a packed calendar for young athletes. Club teams, school conditioning, camps, and tournaments often stack on top of each other, and many kids move from one season directly into the next with little time off in between. That pace can be exciting, but it also raises the risk of overuse injuries in young athletes, a category of injury that builds gradually rather than showing up after a single fall or collision. At Skyline Orthopedics, our sports medicine team works with families throughout Orland Park and the greater Chicago area to help recognize these injuries early and guide young athletes toward a steady, well-supported return to the sports they love.
Unlike a sprained ankle from a bad landing, overuse injuries tend to sneak up on a young athlete. A dull ache after practice, morning stiffness, or soreness that used to fade after a rest day but now lingers are common early signals. Because young athletes are still growing, their bones, tendons, and growth plates respond to repeated stress differently than a fully mature body does. Understanding what to watch for and knowing when it is time to have something checked out can make a real difference in how quickly a young athlete gets back to full activity.
Why Overuse Injuries Are So Common During Summer Sports Season
Several factors tend to converge once the summer sports season gets underway. Many young athletes now specialize in a single sport year-round, which means the same muscle groups, joints, and growth plates absorb repetitive stress with fewer natural breaks than a multi-sport schedule would provide. Add in back-to-back tournaments, weekend showcases, and camps layered on top of a regular practice schedule, and the total training load can climb quickly, sometimes faster than a young body can adapt to it.
Growth itself plays a role as well. During growth spurts, bones can lengthen faster than the surrounding muscles and tendons stretch to keep up, which may leave those tissues tighter and more vulnerable to irritation from repetitive motion. None of this means summer sports are inherently unsafe. It simply means that repetitive stress, combined with a still-developing musculoskeletal system, is a combination worth paying attention to, especially when a young athlete starts to favor a joint, change their mechanics, or complain about the same area more than once.
Stress Fractures: When Small Cracks Become a Big Problem
A stress fracture is a small crack that develops in a bone gradually, from repeated impact or loading, rather than from one traumatic event. In young athletes, stress fractures often show up in the shins, feet, or lower back, particularly in sports that involve a lot of running, jumping, or twisting, such as track, soccer, gymnastics, and cross country.
Early on, the pain associated with a stress fracture can be easy to dismiss. It may start as a mild ache during activity that eases with rest, then gradually progress to pain that shows up earlier in a practice or persists afterward. Some young athletes describe a specific spot that is tender to the touch. Because this pattern can overlap with ordinary muscle soreness or a mild strain, it is not always easy to tell the difference without an evaluation.
This is also an injury where imaging can be tricky. A standard X-ray does not always show an early stress fracture, and in some cases, an MRI or bone scan is needed to confirm the diagnosis. If pain in a bone lingers beyond a few days of rest, keeps returning at the same intensity, or worsens with continued activity, having it evaluated by our sports injury care team can help clarify what is going on before the injury progresses further.
Tendinitis in Growing Bodies: What Parents and Coaches Should Watch For
Tendinitis develops when a tendon, the tissue that connects muscle to bone, becomes irritated from repetitive motion. In young athletes, this often shows up around the knee, sometimes called jumper’s knee, along the Achilles tendon, or at the elbow in athletes who throw frequently. Sports that involve repeated jumping, sprinting, or overhead motion tend to place the most repetitive load on these areas.
The pattern often looks similar across cases: soreness that appears during or after activity, some stiffness first thing in the morning or after sitting for a while, and discomfort that eases somewhat with rest but tends to return once training resumes. Because young athletes are often motivated to keep playing through mild discomfort, tendinitis can go unaddressed for weeks before a parent or coach notices a change in form, effort, or performance.
Left unaddressed, tendon irritation can sometimes become more persistent and harder to resolve, which is one reason it is worth paying attention to complaints that repeat over several practices rather than assuming they will resolve on their own. A physical exam, and occasionally imaging, can help determine whether rest, physical therapy, or a modified training plan is the right next step.
Growth Plate Injuries: A Concern Unique to Young Athletes
Growth plates are areas of developing cartilage located near the ends of a child’s bones, and they are one of the features that make a young athlete’s body different from an adult’s. Because growth plates are softer than the surrounding bone, they can be more vulnerable to repetitive stress in certain sports, particularly those involving repeated throwing, jumping, or running.
A few patterns show up often in young athletes. Repeated throwing can place stress on the growth plate near the elbow, sometimes referred to informally as Little League elbow. Repetitive running and jumping can irritate the growth plate at the heel or the front of the knee, patterns sometimes associated with Sever’s disease or Osgood-Schlatter disease. These conditions are described here in general terms because an accurate diagnosis depends on an individual exam, and in some cases, imaging, rather than symptoms alone.
Growth plate injuries deserve particular attention because, in some cases, ongoing stress to a growth plate can affect how a bone continues to develop. That does not mean every ache near a joint is a growth plate problem. Growing pains and general muscle soreness are common in active kids. The distinguishing factor is often persistence and location. Pain that consistently centers on one spot near a joint and does not resolve with typical rest is worth having evaluated rather than assumed to be growing pains.
Why Early Intervention Matters More Than Parents Realize
One of the most consistent patterns in youth sports medicine is that overuse injuries caught early tend to respond well to conservative measures, while injuries that are pushed through for weeks or months sometimes require a longer, more involved recovery. Early evaluation does not mean every ache requires a doctor’s visit. It means paying attention to a few key signs: pain that changes a young athlete’s form or mechanics, pain that persists beyond a couple of rest days, limping or favoring one side, or a noticeable drop in performance without an obvious cause.
Parents and coaches are often the first to notice these changes, sometimes before the athlete says anything at all. Recognizing the difference between typical training fatigue and a developing injury can make evaluation and treatment considerably more straightforward. When in doubt, a conversation with a sports medicine physician is a low-risk way to get clarity, whether that conversation leads to reassurance, a modified training plan, or further evaluation.
Conservative Care vs. Surgical Care: How Treatment Decisions Are Made
The majority of overuse injuries in young athletes are managed with conservative care first. Depending on the diagnosis, this can include rest or activity modification, physical therapy focused on strengthening and flexibility, bracing or taping, adjustments to training volume, and a structured, gradual return to play once symptoms improve. The goal of conservative care is to give the affected bone, tendon, or growth plate the chance to recover while keeping the young athlete engaged in safe activity where possible.
Surgical care is far less common for overuse injuries and is generally reserved for specific situations, such as certain stress fractures in high-risk locations or growth plate injuries that do not respond to an adequate trial of conservative treatment. Whether surgery is ever appropriate depends on many factors, including the specific diagnosis, imaging findings, how the injury has responded to initial treatment, the athlete’s age and activity level, and the family’s goals for return to sport.
There is no single treatment path that fits every young athlete, which is why an individualized evaluation matters. Our sports injury physicians take the time to walk families through what an exam and any imaging show, what the treatment options look like, and what to realistically expect at each stage, so parents and young athletes can make an informed decision together with their care team.
Prevention Strategies Every Parent and Coach Should Know
Prevention is often more practical than parents expect, and it does not require pulling a young athlete out of the sports they enjoy. A few strategies tend to make a meaningful difference over the course of a season.
Building rest is one of the most effective tools available. That can mean at least one full day off from organized sports each week, and several consecutive weeks off from a single sport at some point during the year. Encouraging participation in more than one sport, rather than early specialization, gives growing muscles, tendons, and growth plates a break from repetitive, sport-specific stress. Gradual increases in training volume, rather than sudden jumps from a slower off-season pace to a full summer schedule, also give the body time to adapt.
For throwing sports in particular, following established pitch count and rest guidelines can meaningfully reduce stress on the elbow and shoulder. Just as important is a team culture where young athletes feel comfortable reporting pain rather than pushing through it, and where coaches take those reports seriously rather than treating them as a lack of toughness.
Frequently Asked Questions About Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes
What is the difference between growing pains and an overuse injury?
Growing pains typically occur at night, affect both legs, and are not associated with swelling, limping, or tenderness in one specific spot. An overuse injury, by contrast, often centers on one location, tends to worsen with activity, and may be accompanied by swelling, limping, or a noticeable change in how a young athlete moves. If pain is localized, persistent, or activity-related, an evaluation can help clarify the cause.
How can parents tell if their child’s pain is serious enough for an evaluation?
A few signs are worth paying attention to: pain that lasts more than a few days despite rest, pain that returns as soon as activity resumes, limping or noticeable changes in form, swelling, or pain that wakes a child at night. None of these signs confirms a specific diagnosis on its own, but any of them is a reasonable reason to schedule an evaluation with a sports medicine physician.
Are stress fractures common in young athletes?
Stress fractures can occur in young athletes, particularly those in running, jumping, or high-impact sports with heavy training schedules. They are not universal, and most young athletes never experience one, but the risk increases with rapid increases in training volume, inadequate rest, and certain sports. An evaluation is the most reliable way to confirm or rule out a stress fracture.
Can overuse injuries affect a child’s growth?
In some cases, ongoing stress to a growth plate can affect how that area of bone continues to develop, which is one reason growth plate-related injuries are taken seriously in young athletes. This does not mean every overuse injury has lasting effects. Most respond well to appropriate rest and treatment. An orthopedic evaluation can help determine whether a growth plate is involved and what treatment approach may be appropriate.
Does every overuse injury require surgery?
No. The large majority of overuse injuries in young athletes are treated with conservative measures such as rest, physical therapy, and a gradual return to play. Surgery is reserved for a smaller number of cases where conservative treatment has not resolved the issue, or where the specific diagnosis calls for it. A physician can explain which approach may be appropriate for a specific injury.
How long does it take a young athlete to recover from an overuse injury?
Recovery time varies widely depending on the type and severity of the injury, the athlete’s age, how early treatment began, and how consistently a rehabilitation plan is followed. Some cases of mild tendinitis improve in a matter of weeks, while certain stress fractures or growth plate injuries may take longer. A sports medicine physician can provide a more specific timeline once a diagnosis has been made.
What can coaches do to help prevent overuse injuries during the summer season?
Coaches can help by monitoring total training load across all the teams and camps an athlete participates in, encouraging rest days, following pitch count and rest guidelines for throwing sports, and creating an environment where athletes feel comfortable reporting pain. Recognizing early warning signs, such as a change in mechanics or a drop in performance, and encouraging evaluation rather than pushing through pain, can help prevent a minor issue from becoming a larger one.
Keeping Young Athletes Healthy Through the Rest of the Season
Overuse injuries are a normal part of the conversation around youth sports, not a sign that a young athlete is doing something wrong. Bodies that are still growing respond to repetitive training differently than adult bodies do, and recognizing that early can help families make informed decisions rather than reactive ones. Whether the concern is a nagging ache in a young pitcher’s elbow, a runner who has started to limp after practice, or a gymnast with persistent shin pain, an early conversation with a sports medicine physician is often the simplest way to protect a young athlete’s long-term health and enjoyment of their sport. Our team at Skyline Orthopedics is available throughout the summer season to evaluate new symptoms, answer questions, and help families put together a plan that fits their young athlete’s goals. Schedule an appointment now.
Written by Jacob Stelter, MD, FACEP
Dr. Jacob Stelter specializes in sports medicine and non-operative orthopedics at Skyline Orthopedics in Orland Park, IL. He blends his sports medicine training with years of emergency medicine experience, and his approach emphasizes education, prevention, and personalized care to help young athletes and active patients recover with confidence.
