More kids are being seen in emergency rooms with soccer-related injuries, especially concussions, a new study has found.
The findings, based on 25 years of data, partly reflect soccer’s growing popularity. However, researchers also believe the trend is a result of greater awareness about concussions and their potential risks.
As a result, more parents and coaches are likely seeking emergency treatment for symptoms that in previous years might have been downplayed or overlooked.
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Researchers looked at almost three million players between the ages of seven and 17 in the U.S. who have had ER treatment for soccer-related injuries between 2000 and 2014.
More than 200,000 concussions or head injuries were treated in emergency rooms accounting for seven per cent of injuries during the study’s research period. When looking at head-related injuries alone, the rate jumped to almost 30 per 10,000 people in 2013 from just under two per 10,000 in 1990.
Researchers say these findings underscore a need for better safety education and injury prevention in youth soccer.
“Concussions can have significant consequences in terms of cognitive function and brain development,” said Dr. Huiyun Xiang, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
The rate of overall soccer injuries also increased.
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Taking into account the rise in the sport’s popularity, researchers found the rate had more than doubled to 220 per 10,000 players in 2013, from 106 per 10,000 players in 1990.
According to Dr. Cynthia LaBella, a sports medicine specialist at Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, many concussions in soccer occur when heads collide as two players jump up to head the ball. “Heading” refers to a soccer move when a player hits the soccer ball with their head.
She also adds that soccer often includes kids with a wide range of athletic ability and that many injuries she’s treated are in kids who lack adequate strength and condition for the level of soccer they’re playing.
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“Everyone’s so eager to join the soccer team,” she said. “They’re signing up because they want to be with their buddies. The range of athleticism especially at the youth and pre-teen level is pretty broad.”
Concern about kids’ injuries led the U.S. Soccer Federation to impose a heading ban for kids aged 10 and younger, and impose a limit to heading for those aged 11 to 13.
In Canada, soccer is second to swimming as the most popular sport among youth ages three to 17 with 767,000 participants (it’s the number one team-based sport, according to the 2014 Canadian youth Sports Report).
The Canadian Soccer Association reports that about 20 per cent of all sports-related emergency department visits in Canada are a result of soccer injuries.
With files from Lindsey Tanner of The Associated Press
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