Play Safe - Stay Safe
Nemours Enterprise
Thursday, August 10, 2006 @ 12:00 AM EDT
Preventing children’s sports injuries may be as simple as using common sense.
More than 30 million kids participate in organized sports in the United States. If your child plays sports, theres a good chance that he or she is at risk for getting hurt. The fact is that nearly 775,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries each year, according to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. Nemours Children’s Clinic advises that knowing the causes, prevention, and treatment of sports injuries can help make athletic participation a positive, injury-free experience for your child.
“Participation in any sport, whether it’s recreational bike riding or peewee football, teaches children to stretch their limits and helps them learn the value of sportsmanship and discipline,”remarks Robert Stanton, MD, pediatric orthopedist with Nemours Children’s Clinic. “However, any sport, organized or not, carries the risk of injury.”
Nemours’ online resource for family health information (www.nemours.org), offers advice to prevent sports-related injury:
- Inspect, maintain, and help your child use the right equipment for the sport.
- Make certain that the correct equipment is being used and fits properly based on your child’s height and weight.
- Inspect and maintain the appropriateness of playing surfaces.
- Check that playing fields are not full of holes and ruts, possibly causing your child to fall. Basketball and running tracks should not be concrete.
- Do your homework. Make sure the club, team, or league your child is playing for is committed to safety and sportsmanship.
- Qualified adults should supervise any team sport or activity that your child participates in, and the team coach should have training in first aid and CPR. A healthy coaching environment includes a coaching staff that promotes a player’s well-being and not one that may encourage children to play through injury.
- Prepare your child for his or her chosen sport.
- Make sure your child knows how to play the sport before heading out on the field. Your child should prepare for games and practices with adequate warm-ups and training sessions.
“Proper preparation will lend a hand to ensure that your child has lots of fun on the playing field - without injury,” says Dr. Stanton. “Remember to encourage your child to drink plenty of fluids and rest before, during, and after practice or a game – these strategies will help athletes excel in their sports endeavors.”
Despite your best efforts to prevent injury, your child may get hurt while playing sports. If your child is injured, remain calm and ensure that he or she gets the immediate medical attention necessary.
To help you better prepare yourself, Nemours has posted several online articles relating to sport injury prevention. Visit www.nemours.org for more information.
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For articles written for parents relating to Sports Safety, visit:
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modified: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 @ 02:14 PM EST
created: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 @ 02:14 PM EST
About Nemours
Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.
Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.
Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.
