High School sports injuries

Injury rates have dropped, but there's still room for improvement

• True or False: Playing basketball is more dangerous for boys than girls.
• True or False: Student wrestlers have higher rates of injuries than football players.
• True or False: The rate of injuries among high-school athletes is climbing.  

In every case, the answer is false, a reflection of just how safe school sports are today.

The National Federation of State High School Associations estimates that nearly 7.2 million students played high school sports during the 2005-06 school year—considerably more than 20 years ago when there were 5.2 million student athletes. And in the post-Title IX universe, girls are more active participants today, accounting for 41 percent of the players compared to 35 percent 20 years ago. And, as girls have entered sports in high numbers, they're entering the nation's emergency rooms as well. Some sports, such as girls’ basketball have higher injury rates than their male-oriented counterparts.
According to a recently released study by the Center for Disease Control, and conducted by the Ohio’s Center for Injury Research and Policy at Columbus Children’s Hospital, participation in high school sports resulted in an estimated 1.4 million injuries during the 2005-06 school year. That amounted to 2.4 injuries per 1,000 athlete exposures (practices or competitions).

According to the study, football continues to have the highest injury rate per 1,000 athlete-exposures (4.36), followed by wrestling (2.50), boys’ (2.43) and girls’ (2.36) soccer, and girls’ basketball (2.01).  Sports with injury rates of less than 2 per thousand included boys’ basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball.

The good news is that the number of sports-related injuries among high school athletes has declined dramatically since the 1990s when injury rates were nearly double the current number in most of the sports. For example, the rate of injury for football players per 1,000 practices or competitions was 8.1, according to a 1999 study published in the Journal of Athletic Training, the first study to calculate national estimates of sports-related injuries.  For boys' soccer, the injury rate was 4.6, and 4.4 for girls' basketball. At that time, volleyball was the only sport with an injury rate that was less than 2.0.

Although there is a risk of getting injured while playing high school sports, the physical, mental, and social health benefits are so great that we believe participation should not be discouraged. But the latest CDC study is a good starting point to help high schools make sports safer. For example, which sports would benefit most from improved safety rules and gear, especially when money’s tight? Clearly football would have to be included in the list. Maybe the new CDC numbers will encourage improved helmet designs to reduce the number of injuries. (We have more on football helmets here.)  We also believe there should also be more detailed research into the severity of sports-related injuries -- breaking it down sport by sport -- with a national surveillance system to track such injuries.  

Meanwhile, we all realize that accidents happen. To reduce the risks:

• Wear the correct, properly-fitting protective gear (helmet, mouth guard, knee pads, etc.) every time you practice or play in a game.
• Warm up before you play.
• Know the rules of the game before you play to help keep yourself and others safe.
• Listen and communicate with others on the field or court.  
• Never play a sport when you’re injured.

And if you’re injured while playing a sport, RICE is the best way to keep the swelling down, feel less pain, and speed up healing time.  No, we don’t mean you should eat rice; rather you should follow this rule: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.  But remember, RICE should not be a substitute for seeking professional medical treatment if you need it.