Strains are injuries to muscle due to overstretching, while sprains involve a stretch or a partial tear of ligaments (which connect two bones) or tendons (which connect muscle to bone). Sprains and strains happen more often in teens than in younger children.
Teach kids to warm up properly and to stretch before and after exercising or participating in any sport, and make sure they always wear appropriate protective equipment.
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: April 2014
© 1995-2015 KidsHealth®. All rights reserved. Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com