The Effectiveness of Injury Prevention Programs for Youth and Adolescent Athletes

Clinical Question: In youth and adolescent athletes, are jumping/plyometric exercises more effective than balance exercises in preventing sport-related injuries? Objective: The aim of this article is to examine the meta-analysis by Rossler et al.(1) as it relates to the clinical question. Conclusion: Evidence in this meta-analysis suggests that injury prevention programs provide beneficial effects in injury reduction for youth and adolescent athletes. Prevention programs that contained jumping or plyometric exercises and were targeted toward females appeared to be especially beneficial for decreasing injury risk.