The U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health looked at concussion in school sports, and found that parents are not prepared for their role in reducing kids' risks. __________________________________________________________________
Youth Sports Safety Resources
What do I need to know about kids and sports injuries?
Playing sports is a great way for your child to stay fit and healthy, to learn about teamwork, make friends, and develop a sense of personal satisfaction. In addition, taking part in youth sports may lead to greater leisure-time physical activity as an adult [1].
However, kids' injuries from playing sports are on the rise, perhaps due to several factors [2]:
- Physical stress from the demands of training on kids’ growing bodies
- Life stress (which increases the risk of injury)
- Improper training
- Poor coaching
Can youth sports injuries be prevented?
Most sports injuries can be prevented, even predicted! The first step in preventing sports injuries is finding out why sports injuries occur. Sports injuries may be caused by:
- Individual risk factors (such as medical conditions)
- Inadequate physical exams before participating (every child should get a sports-specific physical exam before each season)
- Find out what UM experts say about heart screening for young athletes.
- Lack of pre-season conditioning
- Lack of safety equipment, or poorly fitted, improper equipment
- Lack of proper eye protection
- Teaming up by age instead of size
- Unsafe playing fields, or surfaces
- Improper training or coaching, or lack of instruction
- Fatigue
- Not warming up, cooling down and stretching properly
- Playing while injured
- Stress and inappropriate pressure to win
- Temperature
- Poor nutrition or hydration
More resources:
- Check out this excellent guide from the National Institutes of Health on Childhood Sports Injuries and Their Prevention. It has tips on treating and avoiding sports injuries, and even has “scorecards” with information about specific sports.
- The Young Athlete, from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), describes how young athletes are different, and what to watch out for with kids involved in sports.
- A Guide to Safety for Young Athletes, also from the AAOS, discusses reasons for concern, plus how to prevent injuries and play it safe.
- Sports Safety Checklist to help prevent common athletic injuries—from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
What do I need to know about trampoline safety?
Trampoline injuries have been increasing in number and severity. In 2007, hospital emergency rooms treated more than 210,000 kids under age 15 for trampoline injuries.
According to professional medical associations, trampolines should never be used at home, in gym classes, or on the playground. Kids should use trampolines under the supervision of a professional trained in trampoline safety in competitive sports training programs.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) offers these additional safety precautions [3]:
- Only one person should use a trampoline at a time.
- Trampoline legs should be placed firmly into a hole slightly wider and longer than the trampoline frame, and deep enough so that the mat is level with the ground.
- The surrounding surface should be shock-absorbing to reduce risk of injury.
- The supporting bars, hooks, springs, strings and surrounding landing surfaces should be completely covered with adequate shock-absorbent protective padding.
- Place the trampoline away from structures, fences, trees and other play areas.
- Adult spotters must be present when participants are jumping.
- Somersaults or high-risk maneuvers should never be attempted without appropriate supervision and instruction; these maneuvers should be done only with proper use of protective equipment, such as a harness and helmet.
- Do not use the trampoline in inclement weather conditions like rain or snow.
- Tip the trampoline onto its side (if possible) when not in use to prevent jumping without proper supervision.
- More trampoline safety tips in this position statement from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
- Listen to the American Academy of Pediatrics Minute for Kids about Trampoline Safety
How about the risks for emotional injury in youth sports?
A good sports program will provide a safe learning environment where kids can grow physically and emotionally in self confidence.
However, some kids have negative experiences and sustain real emotional injury. Find out more in this fact sheet: Emotional Injuries, from the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation.
Parents have a big role to play. Listen: Parents: Be a Good Sport Too.
What about vitamins, drugs and supplements that are supposed to improve performance?
Here's some information from the American College of Sports Medicine:
- Vitamin and mineral supplements
- Creatine
- Steroids
- Listen to the American Academy of Pediatrics Minute for Kids about Steroids in Sports
- Chromium
- Information for teens on Sports Supplements
What are the risks for specific sports?
In 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported the following statistics on injuries to youth under age 18 [4]:
- Football sends 1,024,022 kids to doctor’s offices, emergency rooms and hospitals.
- Soccer is next on the list, with 368, 726 injuries for that same age group.
- Cheerleading was the cause of 75,307 injuries.
- Gymnastics injuries numbered 67,542.
Where can I get more information about safety in specific sports?
- Fact sheet on ice hockey injuries from the British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit (Canada).
- Be familiar with the Heads up, don't duck! campaign to prevent ice hockey spine injuries.
- The AAP has issued a policy statement on Safety in youth ice hockey: the effects of body checking.
- Video: Check out these instructional videos from Massachusetts Hockey’s “Heads Up, Don’t Duck!” campaign. The short videos teach you how to safely take a check and hit the boards.
- Listen to the American Academy of Pediatrics Minute for Kids about Body Checking in Hockey
- Common injuries: Bruises, cuts and scrapes, headaches, sunburn.
- Safest playing with: Shin guards, athletic supporters for males, cleats, sunscreen, water.
- Injury prevention: Aerobic conditioning and warmups, and proper training in “heading” (that is, using the head to strike or make a play with the ball).
- Soccer safety, from SafeUSA.
- Guidelines for moveable soccer goal safety, from the CPSC.
- Listen to the American Academy of Pediatrics Minute for Kids about preventing soccer injuries
- The American Academy of Pediatrics makes these recommendations [5]:
- “Protective eyewear and mouth guards may help reduce the number of some nonfatal head and facial injuries.
- Further research is needed to determine if rule changes, equipment modifications, or further safety interventions can reduce the number of other injuries.
- Because soccer-related fatalities have been strongly linked with head impact on goalposts, goalposts should be secured in a manner consistent with guidelines developed by the manufacturers and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- The potential for permanent cognitive impairment from heading the ball needs to be explored further. Currently, there seems to be insufficient published data to support a recommendation that young soccer players completely refrain from heading the ball. However, adults who supervise participants in youth soccer should minimize the use of the technique of heading the ball until the potential for permanent cognitive impairment is further delineated.
- Violent behavior and aggressive infractions of the rules that tend to decrease broad participation in youth sports should be strongly discouraged. Parents, coaches, and soccer organizations should work to promote enforcement of all safety rules and strongly encourage sportsmanship, fair play, and maximum enjoyment for the athletes.
- Pediatricians should encourage efforts to increase participation in all forms of physical activity, including youth soccer. Because soccer is a valuable component of physical activity and fitness for youth in the United States, pediatricians should work with other members of the community to make it safer for young people. “
- Cheerleading has become the leading cause of catastrophic injury in young female athletes.
- Listen to the podcast about cheerleading injury and injury prevention, with UM expert Amy Miller Bohn, MD.
- A parent's guide to cheerleading safety, from the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA).
- Tips for avoiding cheerleading injuries from the AAOS.
- AACCA high school safety rules.
- March is cheerleading safety month.
- Common injuries and locations: Bruises; sprains; strains; pulled muscles; tears to soft tissues such as ligaments; broken bones; internal injures(bruised or damaged organs); concussions; back injuries; sunburn. Knees and ankles are the most common injury sites.
- Safest playing with: Helmet; mouth guard; shoulder pads; athletic supporters for males; chest/rib pads; forearm, elbow, and thigh pads; shin guards; proper shoes; sunscreen; water.
- Injury prevention: Proper use of safety equipment, warmup exercises, proper coaching techniques and conditioning.
- Football safety from SafeUSA.
- Youth football: Heat stress and injury risk—a consensus statement from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
- Download a full-color poster with the ACSM’s recommendations
- Common injuries: Sprains and strains of soft tissues.
- Safest playing with: Athletic supporters for males, safety harness, joint supports (such as neoprene wraps), water.
- Injury prevention: Proper conditioning and warmups
- AAP SportsShorts: Gymnastics, with guidelines for families and coaches on one page, and pediatrician guidelines on the other.
- Tips for parents to keep gymnasts' health from taking a tumble. Prepared just for parents by the AAP.
- Common injuries and locations: Sprains; strains; bruises; fractures; scrapes; dislocations; cuts; injuries to teeth, ankles and knees. (Injury rates are higher in girls, especially for the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL, the wide ligament that limits rotation and forward movement of the shin bone).
- Safest playing with: Eye protection, elbow and knee pads, mouth guard, athletic supporters for males, proper shoes, water. If playing outdoors, wear sunscreen and, when possible, a hat.
- Injury prevention: Strength training (particularly knees and shoulders), aerobics (exercises that develop the strength and endurance of heart and lungs), warm-up exercises, proper coaching, and use of safety equipment
- Basketball safety from SafeUSA.
- Common injuries: Soft tissue strains; impact injuries that include fractures due to sliding and being hit by a ball; sunburn.
- Safest playing with: Batting helmet; shin guards; elbow guards; athletic supporters for males; mouth guard; sunscreen; cleats; hat; detachable, “breakaway bases” rather than traditional, stationary ones.
- Injury prevention: Proper conditioning and warmups.
- Baseball and softball safety from SafeUSA.
- Listen: Preventing Baseball and Softball Injuries
- Common injuries: Strains, sprains, scrapes from falls.
- Safest playing with: Proper shoes, athletic supporters for males, sunscreen, water.
- Injury prevention: Proper conditioning and coaching.
Where can I find out more about sports and safety?
Information:
- Heads Up—free CDC tool kit on concussion for high school coaches (also in Spanish)
- Current comment on Strength Training in Children and Adolescents from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
- For teens: Handling sports pressure and competition.
- Sports, food, and fitness topics for teens from Kidshealth.org.
- Sickle cell trait and the athlete—a press release on the consensus statement from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
- STOP (Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention) Sports Injuries is a public outreach and education program.
Listen (American Academy of Pediatrics’ Minute for Kids):
- Overuse Injuries in Sports
- Protective Eyewear in Sports
- Quitting a Sports Program
- Avoiding Golf Cart Injuries
- Exercise-Induced Asthma
- Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke
- Treating Sprains
Organizations:
- The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation is an educational organization dedicated to reducing kids' sports and fitness injuries.
- The National Center for Sports Safety seeks to promote the importance of injury prevention and safety on all levels of youth sports through education and research. The NCSS focuses on decreasing the number and/or severity of injuries through developing and teaching sports safety courses and collecting, analyzing and researching injury data.
- The Positive Coaching Alliance is a non-profit within the Stanford University Athletic Department. Its mission is to transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience. The Alliance offers workshops for youth sports coaches, parents, organizational leaders and athletes, as well as free tips and tools for parents and coaches at their website.
- The Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, in the College of Education, Michigan State University, Department of Kinesiology, studies the beneficial and harmful aspects of youth sports in order to maximize the beneficial aspects. The website contains content for parents, coaches and kids.
- YourChild: Sledding and Winter Sports Safety
- YourChild: Playground and Outdoor Play Safety
- YourChild: Recreational Vehicle Safety
- YourChild: Safety Out and About (Biking, Walking, Skating, Skateboarding and Scooters)
- YourChild: Eating Disorders
- YourChild: Hunting and Shooting Sports Safety
Compiled by Kyla Boyse, RN. Reviewed by Amy Miller, MD.
Updated August 2009
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U-M Health System Related Sites and Services:
U-M Pediatrics
U-M Bone & Joint Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation Center: Youth Sport Injury Prevention
Family Medicine Sports Medicine Program
U-M MedSport Sports Medicine Program
