Kids Need to Warm Up
Before Exercise, Too

(HealthScoutNews) -- Older athletes know the importance of warm-up exercises.

But children also need to do them to avoid injuries and perhaps avoid developing arthritis when they get older, experts say.

There's a new Web site to teach children about warm-up exercises. You can find it by clicking here.

The animated exercises on the Web site are a combined effort by University of Missouri-Columbia athletic trainers and sports medicine staff and the Central Missouri Branch of the Arthritis Foundation.

Young people who suffer sports-related injuries, especially in their knees and hips, have a greater risk of developing osteoarthritis when they get older. The Arthritis Foundation says that children between the ages of 5 and 14 account for more than a third of all sports-related injuries.

Arthritis prevention is an important health issue. Arthritis in the United States carries a annual cost of about $65 billion in direct and indirect expenses. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health offers more information about childhood sports injuries and prevention.

Reference Source 101

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".