Dangerous sports kill kids!
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), report some frightening statistics about sports injuries among American kids:
High school
athletes account for an estimated 2 million injuries and 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year.1
More
than 3.5 million kids under age 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year.1
Children ages 5 to 14 account for
nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospitals. On average the rate and severity of injury increases with a
child's age.4
Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for 21 percent of all traumatic
brain injuries among children in the United States.4
According to the CDC, more than half of all sports injuries in children
are preventable.
By age 13, 70 percent of kids drop out of youth sports. The top three reasons: adults, coaches and parents.2
Among
athletes ages 5 to 14, 28 percent of percent of football players, 25 percent of baseball players, 22 percent of soccer players, 15
percent of basketball players, and 12 percent of softball players were injured while playing their respective sports4
Since
2000 there has been a fivefold increase in the number of serious shoulder and elbow injuries among youth baseball and softball players.4
References:
1. JS Powell, KD Barber Foss, 1999. Injury patterns in selected high school sports: a review of the 1995-1997 seasons. J Athl Train.
34: 277-84.
2. Safe Kids USA Campaign Web site. 2009.
3. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 2009.
4. Preserving the Future of Sport: From Prevention to Treatment of Youth Overuse Sports Injuries. AOSSM 2009 Annual Meeting Pre-Conference Program. Keystone, Colorado..
4. Preserving the Future of Sport: From Prevention to Treatment of Youth Overuse Sports Injuries. AOSSM 2009 Annual Meeting Pre-Conference Program. Keystone, Colorado..
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The sad stories of five boys who celebrated last Christmas and should still be alive today:
Australia:
Jake Kedzlie - the teenage grandson of rugby league legend Tommy Raudonikis - died from head injuries suffered during a junior match.
The 15-year-old's family had to make the heart-breaking call to turn off his life support just two days later.
STAFF at Campbelltown Hospital twice told Grace Chiundiza to take her son home and give him painkillers after a crunching tackle during a school rugby game.
The 17-year-old, a gifted athlete from Zimbabwe, died the following morning.
Canada
A 15-year-old student from Mississauga, Ont., died from injuries sustained in an alleged attack at a rugby game that resulted in another student being charged. Manny Castillo, a Grade 10 Lorne Park Secondary School student, suffered severe head injuries during a junior rugby game at the school.
UK
A boy of 15 died after collapsing during a school rugby match.
Luke Chapman stopped breathing on the pitch and was airlifted to hospital but doctors were unable to revive him.
One message posted on Facebook suggested he had swallowed his tongue after another player ‘fell on his head’.
Jake Kedzlie - the teenage grandson of rugby league legend Tommy Raudonikis - died from head injuries suffered during a junior match.
The 15-year-old's family had to make the heart-breaking call to turn off his life support just two days later.
STAFF at Campbelltown Hospital twice told Grace Chiundiza to take her son home and give him painkillers after a crunching tackle during a school rugby game.
The 17-year-old, a gifted athlete from Zimbabwe, died the following morning.
Canada
A 15-year-old student from Mississauga, Ont., died from injuries sustained in an alleged attack at a rugby game that resulted in another student being charged. Manny Castillo, a Grade 10 Lorne Park Secondary School student, suffered severe head injuries during a junior rugby game at the school.
UK
A boy of 15 died after collapsing during a school rugby match.
Luke Chapman stopped breathing on the pitch and was airlifted to hospital but doctors were unable to revive him.
One message posted on Facebook suggested he had swallowed his tongue after another player ‘fell on his head’.
South Africa
Pietermaritzburg - A 13-year-old Greytown schoolboy died after collapsing during a rugby match.
Pietermaritzburg - A 13-year-old Greytown schoolboy died after collapsing during a rugby match.