The Effects Of Sports Injuries On Young Athletes

In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” Jessica Statsky argues that younger children should not be involved in overly competitive sports. Statsky wrote that organized competitive sports were to the disadvantage of children both physically and psychologically. In youth athletics, some parents and coaches put their own dreams in front of their children 's’ well-being by stressing winning. Statsky concludes “all organized sports activities” to be remade as a more enjoyable game regardless of each athlete’s ability and athleticism. The author states many issues that kids have when they are forced to play a sport just to win or that they don’t enjoy. Some kids just don 't enjoy sports, but their parents force it on them. Certain organized sports programs promote winning over physical skills and self-esteem. Statsky brings up valid points that early childhood shouldn’t involve intense physical competition, which is associated with the risk of injury to the body and mind.

Competitive sports in some cases are becoming very unhealthy for children. Most children would rather play on a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team. Youth sports are a great idea to get children up and active, as well as improve their social skills. Just like every other thing in life it is important to practice and work hard to achieve success. However it is unhealthy to push for results over the needs or wants of the child. Aside from the mental stress that young athletes may experience from intense training and physical play long lasting injures is now a growing concern. Fact is competitive sports is a double edge sword if done right it is the greatest thing world, but if done wrong it can be very unhealthy for a child.

A point of disagreement among many parents of children who play competitive sports is if the benefits outweigh the risk of injury. It is clear that competitive sports aren’t worth the risks, with high mental costs to send a child where they would be pressured to not let down the team, and when all it takes is a hit to the head to sustain life-changing injuries.

High school sport injuries have become such a common incident. Precautions are not taken as

Each year in the United States, more than 36 million school-aged children participate in an “organized sport” (“Youth Sports Statistics”). Especially over the past few years, many studies have proved or disproved the idea that sports are beneficial for young kids. Those studies have found that youth sports have both positive and negative effects on young children, and research shows parents and coaches have the greatest effect on a child’s experience.

In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete”, Jessica Statsky talks about the different kinds of students and their approach and mental and physical ability and pressure towards Sports. Statsky differentiates between two sets of children who have physical and mental attributes and towards sports. She gives a few examples and changes that have taken place in the past decades in the sports scenario. When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children. She further states that children should not be pressurized or forced upon their performance and improvement rather they should first be given a chance to understand the sport, their potential and the way in which they develop

Young children having major physical injuries while participating in sports should be of more concern. In the article High School Football Comes With a Risk, by Jeffrey Perkel it states that, “...boys aged 10 to 14 we’re most likely to end up in the nation’s emergency departments with a traumatic brain injury…,” This shows how adolescents are unnecessarily hurting themselves because of these sports. Expectedly, during the 2005-2006 US high school football season an , estimate of 517, 726 injuries were submitted to the RIO. Even my own personal experiences with sports all ended in tragic faults. Swimming with

Any child who participates in sports only raises the likelihood that they will suffer one of these injuries. The most deadly and life altering injury children can are concussions. Concussions are a part of all sports and are unavoidable. Many children are young and may not be able to recognize if they have suffered a concussion or not. This is extremely dangerous because any physical activity is unhealthy when trying to heal the brain and if they get another concussion, it can have be life changing for the child “A second concussion soon after the first one does not have to be very strong for its effects to be permanently disabling or deadly.”(“concussion”). Because of how easily a concussion could go unnoticed in young children it leads as the most deadly injury from sports. Some children may even lie about how they feel knowing that if they do have a concussion they won't be able to play their sport for a few weeks at least. For how dangerous and deadly of an injury, concussion are they are very prevalent in contact sports “the likelihood of suffering a concussion while playing a contact sport is estimated to be as high as 19 percent per year of play”(“concussion”). That means if your child participates in a contact sport for more than 5 years they will most likely suffer at least one concussion if not more. Concussions are a huge danger to any child participating in sports and no sport will be able to give back what a conclusion could take away from your child's

A Worldwide survey of emergency room visits shows that about every 25 seconds, a young athlete visits a hospital emergency room from a sports-related injury (Loehrke and Healy, USA TODAY). Occasional bumps and bruises are expected when kids play sports, but when almost 1.4 million kids are injured and sent to hospitals its catches someone’s eye. Sprains, strains, fractures, contusions, abrasions, and concussions all top the list of ER diagnoses for kids age 6-19. That’s averaging a cost of up to 935 million a year. Many believe these are preventable (Carr, Safe Kids).

A 2011 study of U.S. high schools with at least one athletic trainer on staff found that concussions accounted for nearly 15% of all sports related injuries reported to athletic trainers. More than 248,000 children visited hospital emergency departments in 2009 for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries related to sports and recreation. Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for 21% of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States. These statistics, all gathered by and coming from SWATA (Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association), a branch of the NATA (National Athletic Trainers’ Association) are all reputable facts that were analyzed by healthcare professionals in the field of sports and that deal with athletes everyday. No argument for why a child should become one of these statistics is needed, given the gross number of cases and the severity of them

Athletics play an immense role in the lives of youth, whether they play with friends for fun or in team competition as student athletes. Regular physical activity helps build and maintain bone and muscle health, helps reduce the risk of developing obesity, and promotes psychological well-being (U.S. Dept.). Public health programs promote the benefits of physical activity, but those benefits are reduced by the possibility of injury (CDC, 2). The participation in athletic sports outweigh the potential of sustaining a concussion.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations studying in California, “1.5 million preadolescent and adolescent boys participate in high school football” (qtd. “Injuries”). That is a lot of students at risk for injury while playing high school sports. In the two seasons of high school football seasons observed in California, “players sustained 25.5 injuries per 100 players” (“Injuries”). With all those injuries, students are likely out of the game and are possibly hampered in other parts of their life, adjusting to their injury. With these injuries on young bodies, they can cause many problems in the future. The issue of injuries to students participating in high school sports cannot be ignored.

According to stopsportsinjuries.org, high school athletes make up two million sports injuries, half a million doctor’s visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year. Those numbers are huge, and a large part of them could have been avoided. The website also goes on to give more specific statistics, and of those, it is mentioned that half of the injuries that student athletes get in middle or high school are from overuse. And of the sports injuries listed on their website, over half of them are

In the U.S there are thirty million or more children/teens that participate in sports. Out of the 30 million children/teens that participate in sports, 3.5 million of those children/teens get injured each year.

hergenroeder says injuries in sports also include psychological injury as well. Young athletes should play sports for self enjoyment and to boost self-esteem and improve athletic skills. If these are not priorities in youth sports then participation in sports are potentially harmful by decreasing self-esteem, diminishing athletic skills, and discouraging additional participation in sports. Pediatricians should be aware of potential psychological issues within a young athlete and provide guidance to address them. Albert also says pediatricians should always be involved in providing medical care for children and adolescents when these patients are injured in sports participation. Albert says the overall goal of his article was to increase competency of pediatricians in sports medicine care, specificaly prevention of sports related injuries. Overall Phsycological issues should be looked at carefuly to prevent any future damage to the