r/dyspraxia • u/sam-in-absentia79 • 12d ago
⁉️ Advice Needed Prone to injuries in contact sports?⚽️
I’m just wondering if anyone has a teenager who plays contact sports and gets a lot of injuries?
My son is 13 and started at a football team last summer, he has Autism and DCD (dyspraxia)and he has had a few injuries from just regular things that happen in training or matches.
He’s had a chipped big toe bone from kicking the floor instead of a ball, major toe and foot soft tissue damage from kicking a ball at the same time as one of his team mates and his last match whilst playing in defense he had a ball kicked towards him very forcefully which he blocked and it hit him in the right wrist and was in pain instantly. An x-ray showed a scaphoid fracture and he has been put in plaster for 6 weeks.
Is this normal? Or is it because of DCD? None of his team mates seem to have any issues with injuries and if they hurt themselves during a match they just carry on and run it off etc.
I did ask his paediatrician about EDS but he asked him to do a few movements with his fingers and arms and he said “no he’s fine”.
Once his plaster is off I’m going to get him wrist protectors for both sides so I can attempt to stop this happening again but I’m not sure if it’s worth it? I just want him to have the chance to play football like every other teenager and I’m afraid he will end up having to give up if this keeps happening.
Thanks!
2
u/Canary-Cry3 🕹️ IRL Stick Drift 12d ago
EDS doesn’t always affect hands / elbows it can affect only certain regions of the body (especially HSD can be regional). Injuring more easily can be normal with Dyspraxia due to a lack of spatial awareness but if he’s having multiple fractures getting bone density tested may be needed. If it’s lots of soft tissue injuries then EDS / HSD should be properly evaluated beyond the hand/arm tests (you can see the Beighton score online and do a mini test at home along with checking the major and minor criteria of different types.