Baton twirling isn’t just fun and games. Just like any competitive sports, injuries are very much a reality. While baton twirling can be exciting and a great form of exercise, not being careful can lead to injury. Thankfully, there are ways to prevent your twirler from getting injured while doing the activity they love. Having the proper size baton, watching your technique, and making sure you strengthen and stretch your muscles will help keep your child happy and healthy and without risk of injury. Our professionals at Star Line have provided some details on each below.

1. Finding the Right Size You may not have thought about the importance of sizing for your child's baton. The perfect baton size should be the length of your child's arm. To measure: have your child put one end of the baton under their arm and stretch the arm to the opposite end. If they match, you have the right fit. If not, this could lead to it being too short or too tall for their twirls and spins which could result in poor performance and muscle strain.

2. Keeping Your Eyes on the Baton It's imperative that your child watches and correct their technique when baton twirling. Having the proper technique of catching the baton palm up can help decrease the risk of the baton dropping on their foot. Along with that, keeping their eyes on the baton will help your child control their moves and their baton, giving them a leg up on the competition and will help them stay safe and out of harm's way.

3. Always Stay Moving Baton twirling isn't always about routine. Muscle movement is important for children to help stop muscle strain, especially in their lower abdomen and legs. Strength training in these areas is beneficial for your child and considering the most common injury from baton twirling is knee injuries, it's important to stretch and strengthen whenever you can.

With these three ways, you are sure to help reduce the risk of harm. Keep in mind, before and after every baton twirling practice or competition your child should take the time to warm up and cool down, so their muscles and their minds are ready to best take on the competition!

Posted: 6/6/2017