Teen sports injuries drop

There is encouraging news on the teen sports injury front.

Sports-related injuries are down 47 percent in the past 10 years, according to a survey by valuepenguin.com.

There were 1.1 million sports-related injuries treated in emergency departments in 2021, down from more than 2.1 million in 2012.

A surprising finding (at least to me) is that more than a quarter of injuries happened while teens played basketball. That’s as opposed to 20 percent for football and 14 percent while competing in other sports such as cheerleading, gymnastics and wrestling.

Significantly, sports-related concussions are down by 64 percent. There were 94,700 in 2012 but only 57,600 in 2012. That could be due to better equipment and a decrease in contact and better tackling techniques used in football.

Asked if he is surprised at such findings, Redlands East Valley High football coach Gavin Pachot said, “Yes and no. I think part of the reason [for fewer injuries] is lower participation at some of the schools.”

Pachot said REV had a few more concussions this season than last. Ironically, he doesn’t think football is as physical as it was 10 years ago.

“This might be in part because of the new form of tackling that is being taught,” he said. “There are also not as many people trying to run through people as there used to be. Plus, people are spreading things out [offensively] and there aren’t always as many linebackers on the field as there used to be.”

Sprains and fractures are the most common reason for emergency-room visits. Those are common basketball injuries.

Sports injuries decreased by 51 percent from 1.5 million to 763,000 in 2020. But that was a COVID-19 year. Following 2020 they rose to 1.1 million, a jump of 49 percent — still lower than before the pandemic.

Besides better equipment and safer techniques, there is another reason for the drop in injuries in the past decade, said valuepenguin.com health insurance expert Robin Townsend.

“COVID-19 prompted a dramatic drop in sports participation and related injuries, but interest started to fade before the pandemic,” Townsend said. “Family priorities have been shifting due to increasing costs, time commitments and the competitive nature of organized sports.”

As proof, the survey found those 15 and older spent an average of 1.47 hours a day participating in sports, exercise or other forms of recreation in 2021. That’s down from an average of 1.67 hours in 2012.