Sports-Related Injuries Comprise 22 Percent of Children’s ER Visits

Broken bones, head injuries, and other injuries sustained while people are engaged in various sports accounted for more than one in five hospital emergency room visits among American children between the ages of five and 17 in 2006, new statistics show.

The numbers underscore the importance of strictly following sports safety guidelines and always wearing the proper safety equipment – such as helmets and padding — in an effort to prevent severe sports-related injuries. By taking time to make sure your children or others in your care are wearing safety equipment that fits properly and is age appropriate, parents and other responsible adults may be able to avoid devastating sports-related injuries.

Now that it is summer time, the weather is warmer and the days are longer, many more kids are playing outside or participating in organized sports leagues and therefore at increased risk of suffering devastating sports-related injuries. Playing baseball, swimming and playing in lakes and streams, and other common summer activities are among the leading causes of sports-related injuries.

Boys Injured More Often Than Girls

According to statistics from News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which is a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, boys were nearly three times as likely to visit an emergency room for a sports-related injury than girls. ER visits by boys occurred at a rate of 147 per 10,000 children, compared to just 50 visits per 10,000 children for girls, the researchers said.

Also, teens were five times more likely than younger children to require ER treatment for sports-related injuries. Teens between 15 and 17 accounted for 154 visits per 10,000 children, compared to just 30 visits per 10,000 children for kids between the ages of five and nine.

Most Common Injuries

Bruises, muscle sprains and strains, broken arms, and cuts or scrapes to the head, neck and chest were the most common types of sports-related injuries seen in the analysis, accounting for about 81 percent of all such injuries.

Only 1.3 percent of the injuries resulted in the victim being admitted to the hospital, with the vast majority of injured children treated in the ER and released without further care. Cases of leg and arm fractures were most likely to require admittance to a hospital.

Most Dangerous Sport: Cheerleading?

It may come as a surprise to some, but the most common sport or activity blamed for such injuries to American children and teens is not football, hockey, or baseball – but cheerleading.

Cheerleading is the leading cause of sports-related injuries for young women, according to a new report from researchers at the University of North Carolina. According to that study, cheerleading accounts for 65 percent of sports-related injuries among high school students and 70 percent in colleges.

In the last 26 years, there have been more than 1,100 severe injuries associated with all levels of cheerleading, including 174 deaths. Cheerleading often involves high-flying tosses, running and jumping, and towering pyramid formations, which expose participants to devastating falls resulting in head and spinal cord injuries, broken bones, muscle sprains and strains, and other serious injuries.

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