AP
Football players have more severe injuries more often than any of their high school classmates who play sports. Wrestlers also face an increased risk of fractures and ligament sprains.
Mid-game kick returns seem particularly risky for football players.
A study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2006 notes that, overall, the injury rate for any athlete was 2.44 injuries per 1,000 plays--which CDC and Center for Injury Research and Policy researchers dubbed "exposures" so they could include both game play and practice.
Looking at different commonly competed sports, the researchers found that the injury rate for football players was 4.36/1,000. The next highest injury rate occurred in wrestling, at 2.50, followed by boy's soccer (2.43) and girl's soccer (2.36).
“Twenty-nine percent of severe injuries occurred to the knee, making it the most commonly injured body site,” explained CIRP research associate Christy Collins about further analysis of the data collected through the High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. “The ankle accounted for 12 percent, followed by shoulder at 11 percent.”
A look at the football data has revealed that the worst injuries on the football field come during kickoff and punt returns, between the 20-yard lines and during the second and third quarters. Commenting on this, CIRP's Dawn Comstock said, “Although more injuries occurred in the middle of the field, injury severity and diagnosis varied little by field location. Overall, severe injuries accounted for 20 percent of all injuries.
Comments