Safety

The number of sport-related concussions is highest in high-school aged athletes, but the number among younger athletes is significant and on the rise, according to a first-of-its-kind study reported in the journal Pediatrics.  The number of concussions among athletes ages 7 to 13 in the top five team sports (football, basketball, baseball, soccer and ice hockey) doubled over a four year period, and the concussion rates among those playing ice hockey and football are eight- to ten-times higher than the overall  rate.

Concussion rates in ten high school sports from 1999 to 2007.

As the best  soccer players in the world compete in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, it is important to remember that they would not be playing if an overuse or traumatic injury, such as a torn ACL,  had put the brakes on their careers.  The STOP Sports Injuries Campaign and MomsTeam remind parents that many youth soccer injuries are preventable. 

The risk of severe injury in high school soccer is less than half that in football, a new study finds.

Which high school sports pose the highest risk of severe injury?  Football leads the list, slightly more than wrestling and more than twice the rate in girls' basketball and girls' soccer.  The safest of the nine studied? Girls volleyball.

If it was up to Dr. Lester Mayers, young athletes who suffer sports concussions would be not be allowed to return to play (RTP) for 4 to 6 weeks after injury, a significant departure from current concussion guidelines which allow RTP 1 to 2 weeks after an athlete's concussion signs and symptoms clear, both at rest and during exercise.

A year after requiring soccer shinguards to meet National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) standards, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Soccer Rules Committee will now require the front of the shinguard to be permanently marked with the NOCSAE seal and height range, effective in fall 2012.

While skin infections, including MRSA, are reported most often in sports with frequent physical contact, skin contact or activities that may lead to the spread of MRSA skin infections may take place before or after participation in a sport with little physical contact.  Therefore, anyone participating in organized or recreational sports should be aware of the signs of possible skin infections and follow prevention measures.