Sports Injury Facts
According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association:
According to SAFE KIDS USA:
- More than 3.5 million children ages 14 and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year.
- Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States.
- Overuse injury, which occurs over time from repeated motion, is responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle-and high-school students. Immature bones, insufficient rest after an injury and poor training or conditioning contribute to overuse injuries among children.
- Most organized sports related injuries (62 percent) occur during practices rather than games. Despite this fact, a third of parents often do not take the same safety precautions during their child's practices as they would for a game.
- A recent survey found that among athletes ages 5 to 14, 15 percent of basketball players, 28 percent of football players, 22 percent of soccer players, 25 percent of baseball players and 12 percent of softball players have been injured while playing their respective sports.
- Children ages 5 to 14 account for nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. The rate and severity of sports-related injury increases with a child's age.
According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program:
- In 2001, the number of sport-related injuries for each sport are as follows:
- Gymnastics — 99,722
- Basketball — 680,307
- Baseball — 170,902
- Softball — 118,354
- Football — 413,620
- Soccer — 163,003
- Volleyball — 55,860
- Track & Field — 15,113
- Hockey — 63,945
According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research Twentieth Annual Report:
- From 1982-2002, the total numbers of direct and indirect fatalities among high school athletes were:
- Baseball — 17
- Basketball — 88
- Cheerleading — 21
- Cross Country — 14
- Football — 22
- Soccer — 31
- Track & Field — 47
- Wrestling — 16
Overuse Injuries: The New Scourge of Kids Sports
Overuse injuries were once virtually unknown in young athletes. All that changed with the emergence of organized sports and their emphasis on repetitive coaching drills, as well as the recent trend toward sports specialization in young athletes
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Safety Checklist: For the Coach
Emergency Planning is an integral part of every sports program that outlines the responsibilities all those involved in the care of an athlete including all facility staff, coaches and players' parents. Each of these components should be included to ensure the safety of youth athletes
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Nutritional Abuse
The frequent over-emphasis on winning in sports may drive some young athletes to abuse their nutritional status, often with dangerous consequences. Taking steroids is the most blatant form of this abuse, but nutritional abuse is almost as serious
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