Kids are built to get over it: UBC injury research

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Kids are better and faster at healing from injuries than adults give them credit for, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

Associate Professor Dr. Mariana Brussoni’s study followed children aged newborn to 17 years who came to the BC Children’s Hospital emergency department with a variety of injuries with different severities. Researchers asked about the children’s quality of life before the injury and the followed up a month, four months and a year later.

What they found was by four months kids experienced no difference in their quality of life, regardless of the kind or severity of injury.

“Their bodies are just built to be able to get over stuff really quickly,” Brussoni says. “Their brain wiring is quite flexible, their bones are, for lack of a better description, are more rubber than adult bones so they can fuse together quite well.”

Older children and those who experienced the most severe forms of trauma such as burns and bad car crashes did have a slightly higher risk of long-term side effects, but overall those side effects were not that significant.

The quality of care BC children receive and the support they get from their family also play a role in a child’s ability to heal quickly, Brussoni says.

The results, according to her, show parents and even society at large should be less concerned with policing kids’ activities and allow them to get out, get a little dirty and take reasonable risks.

“It’s not about avoiding all risks. It’s okay for kids to get out there and engage in some activities that keep them happy, healthy and active,” she says.

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