Sports-Related Injuries in Children: Causes and Prevention
More children all over the world are playing organized sports; from high school basketball teams in America to street cricket matches in India. With the increase of children playing sports, sports-related injuries are also on the increase. More children are getting injured while playing organized sports and more trips to the hospital are being undertaken. Injuries from the common and harmless to the more severe are being seen in hospitals and paediatric units around the world. There are several very simple preventive measures that can be undertaken by parents and coaches of children’s sport teams to ensure long lasting damage is not done. Hopefully, we will see less injuries occurring among children with more health and safety measures in place.
Studies in America have shown that the incidences of children getting concussions while playing sports have doubled in the last decade. These injuries are most common in football and hockey, where there is a strong chance of falling over and receiving a knock on the head. Some of the statistics related to head injuries and concussions in children are that firstly 500,000 children between the ages of 8 and 19 visited emergency rooms in America between 2001 and 2005. Half of these injuries were sports-related and 40% of them were concussions that occurred in 8-13 year olds. It seems girls have a higher risk of getting a concussion than boys when they play sports. A reason for this could be that their neck muscles are weaker than boys, and also tests that were done showed interestingly that girls were more aggressive than boys at their sports.
Besides concussions, the other sports-related injuries that children receive most commonly are sprains, strains, fractures and bumps and bruises. A common sports-related injury is the overuse injury; this is when an injury occurs, is not given enough time to heal, and the child starts to play the sport again and the injury just gets worse. A preventive measure for this injury is complete rest and making sure the child is healed before they get back onto the field of play. It seems more injures are occurring in children these days because sports on a whole have become more competitive. Sports in adults are getting more competitive because the rewards of professional sports are so great and this has filtered down into children’s sports as well.
There are a few ways to prevent sports-related injuries in children. Firstly, children should be made aware of the rules and regulations of a sport and learn how to play it properly before they jump onto the field; being ill-prepared can lead to many injuries. A child should be taught that winning is not everything in sports, and sportsmanship spirit and giving it your all count just as much. The pressure to win at all costs and be insanely competitive should be removed from children’s sports. The proper equipment should also be worn when playing; these reduce the chances of injuries and are mandatory for a good reason. Also, coaches and parents should be thoroughly prepared and trained in first aid and emergency aid to help a child if they are ever injured. With simple steps like these, children can play competitive, organized sports with ease and relative safety.
With organized sports becoming more popular by the day, kids the world over will be found on various fields, pitches and courts playing the sports they love. Bumps, falls and scrapes will always be a part of the sports they play and are the norm. Even though adult supervision is a must, children must learn to develop skills in sports on their own and make their own mistakes. Falling and getting back up is a part of growing up and playing sports has so many benefits that the fear of injury should never rule children out from taking part in them. Besides helping kids maintain a healthy lifestyle, remain physically fit, learn to be part of a team and build self esteem, sports are a part of every child’s development process. If a child turns out to be very good at a sport, it could even lead to a professional career in the future and lots of fame and fortune.
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