Concussions, other soccer injuries cause surge in kids’ ER visits
Soccer injuries are sending soaring numbers of kids to emergency rooms, a study has found.
The findings reflect soccer’s growing popularity and also heightened awareness about concussions, according to the researchers and other sports medicine experts.
Nearly 3 million players 7 through 17 received ER treatment for soccer-related injuries in the 2000- 2014 study, published in Pediatrics, the journal of the Elk Grove Village- based American Academy of Pediatrics.
The overall rate of injuries, which takes into account soccer’s rising popularity, more than doubled — to 220 per 10,000 players in 2013, up from 106 per 10,000 in 1990. There wasn’t enough data to calculate 2014 rates.
More than 200,000 concussions or head injuries were treated in emergency rooms — 7 percent of the injuries. The rate jumped to almost 30 per 10,000 players in 2013 from just under 2 per 10,000 in 1990.
That underscores a need for better safety education and injury prevention, says Dr. Huiyun Xiang of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, whose study analyzed data from a national injury surveillance system.
Sprains and fractures were the most common injuries. Most players weren’t hospitalized. Falling and getting hit by another player or the ball were among leading causes of injury. There’s no data in the study on injuries resulting from heading the ball.
Concern about kids’ injuries from heading led to recent recommendations from the U. S. Soccer Federation — the Chicago organization that’s the nation’s chief governing body for the sport — that included barring kids 10 and younger from heading and putting limits on heading for kids 11 to 13 years old.
Many concussions in soccer happen when two players jump to head the ball and bump heads, says Dr. Cynthia LaBella, medical director of the Institute for Sports Medicine at Lurie Children’s Hospital, who says many injuries she treats involve kids who lack adequate strength and conditioning for their soccer level.
“The range of athleticism especially at the youth and preteen level is pretty broad,” LaBella says.