HEALTH & SAFETY

Study Shows Hockey and Football Lead Youth Sports in Number of Concussions

By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health News

Aug. 30, 2010 -- The number of young children treated in hospital ERs for concussions they got while playing on sports teams has doubled in just a decade, a new study shows.

While the concussion rate is higher among high-school-age athletes, researchers say the rate among younger athletes is both significant and rising.

The study represents the first attempt to document the national incidence of sports-related concussions among children in elementary and middle school.

A fitness center injury lawsuit illustrates the importance of a proper risk management plan.

By John T. Wolohan, AthleticBusiness.com

As any administrator or employee involved in the sports and recreation industry will acknowledge, one of the most important tasks is to control or limit an organization's exposure to financial risk -- either through insurance or by taking corrective actions that mitigate risk. While there are many ways to reduce an organization's exposure, one of the best is to develop a risk management plan.

In developing an effective risk management plan -- which can include everything from the frequency and type of maintenance required on equipment to proper emergency procedures and training for personnel -- it is essential that sports and recreation administrators try to identify any and all risks that may be associated with an activity. As a result, one of the first steps is to conduct a risk audit, during which administrators walk around the facility and inspect for potential dangers. Inspection of all equipment for wear and tear is important, since the facility is liable for any injuries suffered on defective or broken equipment that it knows, or should have known, poses a danger to users.

It is not enough, however, to conduct only a single or annual audit. For a risk management plan to be effective, it is essential that the plan incorporate a regular, systematic inspection program that includes a written record of the inspection, including who conducted the audit, the date, any defects found, and any remedies taken to correct them.

State's governing body of high school sports is adopting new safety standards and assemblyman is expected to withdraw his bill that would have imposed a one-year moratorium on non-wood bats.

August 10, 2010|Eric Sondheimer - Los Angeles Times

The California Interscholastic Federation has reached agreement with Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) on new safety standards for metal bats, which is expected to result in Huffman withdrawing his bill, AB 7, that would have imposed a one-year moratorium on non-wood bats for high school baseball games next season.

Huffman said he will hold a news conference Wednesday in Sacramento with Marie Ishida, the CIF's executive director.

On Friday, during a conference call, the executive committee of the CIF passed a requirement that aluminum bats used for 2011 must meet the new BBCOR performance standards if the bats are commercially available by Jan. 1.

BBCOR gauges the trampoline effect of a ball coming off a bat instead of simply the speed of the ball after it's hit, and the new standard is aimed at decreasing bat performance by 10% to 15%, making the game safer.

A new study appearing in this month's issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine adds to the growing body of research noting differences in injury rates and severity of ACL injuries among males and females. This particular study, involving researchers from Washington University School of Medicine and the Santa Monica (Calif.) Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation, found that male soccer players are more likely to sustain ACL injuries in their dominant kicking legs, while females are more likely to suffer ACL injuries in their supporting legs.

As with past research, these findings confirm that female athletes are far more susceptible to ACL injury. In fact, females are as much as six times more likely to tear their ACLs, and every year one out of every 10 women participating in intercollegiate athletics (and one in 100 female high school athletes) suffers an ACL injury.

Practices moved or canceled; heat sickens 6 rowan players

By Jim Warren and Shawntaye Hopkins - jwarren@herald-leader.comshopkins

Six Rowan County High School football players were treated for heat exhaustion after becoming ill during practice Wednesday morning, and Fayette County schools later canceled all its football practices for the day as record temperatures pushed heat indexes well above 100 degrees in many areas of Kentucky.

Penny Alderson, assistant principal at Rowan County High, said one player remained under observation at St. Claire Regional Medical Center late Wednesday afternoon, although he appeared to be doing well. The other five were released, she said. The six players became ill around 10 a.m. during the team's morning practice, she said.

Meanwhile, Fayette County Public Schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said football practices at all district schools were canceled about 11 a.m. Wednesday, after heat indexes at practice fields at Henry Clay and Bryan Station high schools were measured at 103. District policy calls for practices to be halted at a heat index of 103, Deffendall said, even though it is one degree less than required by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Other outdoor activities, such as marching band practices, also were canceled unless they could be moved inside, Deffendall said.

August 06, 2010 Seacoastonline.com

It's mid-summer in New Hampshire and soon enough high schools across the state will be kicking off fall sport tryouts, workouts and practices.

Although the lazy days of summer have just ended, students soon must ramp up quickly to ready themselves for competitive matchups and rivalries in all fall athletics. These include those that produce some of the higher injury rates in scholastic sports, namely football, field hockey, soccer and cross country. This dangerous combination of de-conditioning, coupled with the short preseason of fall athletics, is a recipe for many injuries.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high school athletes account for an estimated two million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year. Not only are youth athletes injuring themselves playing sports more often, but the types of injuries and the magnitude of injuries that we are seeing have changed.

More youth athletes are suffering from injuries that previously would have only been seen in professional level athletes. Overuse and serious acute injuries are becoming more common. As the intensity and demands of youth sports continue to rise, young athletes are more vulnerable than ever to these types of injuries

By Meredith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun

A bad diet may lead to bad health for many inner-city kids. And it may also lead to bad behavior.

That's the conclusion of some public health experts who are advocating for vitamins and other nutritional supplements to curb youth violence and to increase learning. The controversial idea is getting a fresh hearing in Baltimore, where advocates for the disadvantaged are considering testing it on city kids.

If it's proven that a tablet a day can tick up test scores and dial down violence, it could be a cheaper and easier means of improving a lot of young lives than costly and labor-intensive treatments, according to the Abell Foundation, which wants to determine whether a Baltimore study would be worthwhile.

"We wanted to see what the scientific view was at this point in time," said Robert C. Embry Jr., foundation president. "It seemed like there was something there worth exploring."

Amber Smith / The Post-Standard

If you notice people jumping rope in Solvay, just know they're on a fitness kick. They may be a little nostalgic, too.

Rene Bibaud - - jump-roper extraordinaire - - made her annual visit last week, teaching physical education classes at the schools and an evening community-wide assembly where, she says, she is ''hopefully, revitalizing that spirit."

That spirit ... of creative fitness, of getting outside and doing something physical for fun, of delighting in improving your abilities.

The jump-rope, she points out, is an inexpensive piece of exercise equipment that you can use almost anywhere for a good workout. "Depending on how you jump, it's on par with running" in terms of calories burned, Bibaud says.

For parents, the jump-rope is retro, a toy they remember from childhood. For kids in physical education classes, it's something new. And for students at more than 40 schools in Central New York, it's part of a major fundraiser for the American Heart Association. (Jump Rope for Heart takes place during April, May and June.)

by Alan Schwarz, New York Times

The National Football League is producing a poster that bluntly alerts its players to the long-term effects of concussions, using words like "depression" and "early onset of dementia" that those close to the issue described as both staggering and overdue.

The poster, soon to be hung in locker rooms leaguewide, becomes by far the N.F.L.'s most definitive statement on the cognitive risks of football, which it had discredited for most of the past several years as academic studies and reports of deceased players' brain damage mounted.

The new document also warns players that repeated concussions "can change your life and your family's life forever," a clear nod to retired players' wives who have spoken out on the issue, occasionally before Congress. A draft of the poster also features photographs of unnamed youngsters in various sports with the reminder, "Other athletes are watching."

The new poster, which will also become a brochure given to all players, presents a stark change in league approach. It replaces a pamphlet given since 2007 that said, "Current research with professional athletes has not shown that having more than one or two concussions leads to permanent problems if each injury is treated properly," and also left open the question of "if there are any long-term effects of concussion in N.F.L. athletes."

The sobering new warning could affect not just the behavior of current N.F.L. players and youth athletes, but also how retired players' claims of cognitive decline are handled under the disability plan operated jointly by the league and the players union.

"That poster is shocking," said Domonique Foxworth, a cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens. "It gives people facts before they take risks. But it's not exactly a new revelation."

The heat was too much for a high school student who was sprinting during football practice on Monday evening and police are faulting the coaches.

The student was in the middle of sprinting laps up a hill at Middletown High School when he collapsed at around 7:30 p.m., about 90 minutes into a practice that included weight training and running.  According to police, no water was provided during practice.

Police said that, according to the National Weather Service, the approximate temperature at the time was 93 degrees with a heat index of about 100.

The student, whose name has not been released, was taken by ambulance to Middlesex Hospital.

New Security Measure Took Effect Friday

POWAY, Calif. -- A popular skate park in Poway unveiled a new security measure Friday that is being met with some opposition.

At the Poway Skate Park, surveillance cameras capture the every move of every visitor. Additionally, motion detectors are also present and a wrought iron fence surrounds the park. Some visitors said the security measures are a bit much.

"This is the only facility, I'd say, in the San Diego area that has this big reinforcement around it and the turnstile. I've been here when law enforcement causes problems for kids. They come in here and everyone panics, they start feverishly running and they get hurt on the bowls," said skater Doug Marker.

Use common sense, health tips in face of extreme temperatures

By Joanne Beck
jbeck@batavianews.com

Drip, drip, splash.

A watery version of "Duck, Duck, Goose" was one way for kids to keep cool during opening day of the city's summer recreation program Tuesday, Youth Bureau Director Toni Funke said.

The steamy heat kept Funke busy to make sure her rec leaders and youths were staying cool.

"I have delivered ice to the parks two times today to keep the water cold and refreshed," she said with an hour to go for the first day. "I tell my leaders to keep the kids hydrated and keep them in the shade as much as possible ... curtail physical activity. And we encourage kids to bring their own water bottles in with them. Most of the kids did that."

Drinking plenty of fluids -- especially water -- was the common advice that Funke and other area health professionals offered during these days of 90-plus temperatures.

Outdoor Play Fights Obesity

BY JILL BARKER, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE

In my day summer meant cycling around the neighborhood, playing in the park and hanging around at the pool. Parental supervision was from a distance and kids spent most of the day outside.

Today, unstructured and unsupervised play is rare. If left on their own kids are more likely to spend their summer playing video games than playing outside. Current statistics suggest children age eight to 13 spend nearly six hours a day in front of a screen.

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Published: July 5, 2010
www.nytimes.com

This time of year, allergies and the promise of air-conditioning tend to drive people indoors.

But for those who can take the heat and cope with the pollen, spending more time in nature might have some surprising health benefits. In a series of studies, scientists found that when people swap their concrete confines for a few hours in more natural surroundings -- forests, parks and other places with plenty of trees -- they experience increased immune function.

Stress reduction is one factor. But scientists also chalk it up to phytoncides, the airborne chemicals that plants emit to protect them from rotting and insects and which also seem to benefit humans.

By JANE E. BRODY

Published: May 24, 2010

I'd be the last person to discourage children from playing sports. Indeed, I wish many more would move away from their computers, put down their iPods and cellphones and devote more time and energy to physical activities.

But for many children and adolescents, the problem is the opposite of being sedentary. Encouraged by parents and coaches, many with visions of glory and scholarships, too many young athletes are being pushed -- or are pushing themselves -- to the point of breaking down, physically and sometimes emotionally.

The statistics cited by Mark Hyman in his book "Until It Hurts: America's Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids" (new in paperback from Beacon Press), are sobering indeed: "Every year more than 3.5 million children under 15 require medical treatment for sports injuries, nearly half of which are the result of simple overuse."

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