I’ve noticed over the years that most sports-related injuries occur during practice rather than games. Parents can prevent this from happening by taking the same safety precautions during their child’s practice as they would for the actual game.
This is especially true for collision and contact sports, which are associated with higher rates of injury.
The four activities with the most injuries to bones and muscles include bicycling, basketball, football and roller sports. St. Vincent’s Hospital’s Sports Medicine department says these four sports lead to 1.5 million medically treated injuries in children ages 5 to 14. For kids ages 8 to 13, the rate of sports related concussions was highest for football and ice hockey.
In the winter months, more than 26,000 injuries were sustained by kids skiing, snowboarding or snowmobiles. Sledding can also be dangerous, over 25,000 children age 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms for sledding related injuries.
Gene Schafer, A.T.C
Owner, ARC Athletics
By Gene Schafer / August 17, 2013