“Play Safe - Stay Safe” Hospital, SAFE KIDS, Offer Tips to Prevent Sports Injuries

Friday, April 29, 2005

If your child plays sports, there's a good chance that he or she is at risk for getting hurt. Each year, nearly 775,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries each year, according to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, SAFE KIDS Middlesex County and the Level One Trauma Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital advise 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 sports teaches children to stretch their physical limits and helps them learn the value of sportsmanship and discipline,” said Dr. Dennis Cardone, an attending physician at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and director of the Sports Medicine Center at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “However, any sport, organized or not, carries the risk of injury.”

The number of youth sports injuries are divided roughly in half between team sports like soccer and football, and solo sports such as cycling and skateboarding. While contact sports have a higher rate of injuries than solo sports, injuries from solo sports tend to be more severe, said Dr. Cardone. Furthermore, repetitive-motion injuries account for nearly half of all sports injuries to students in grade 6 and above.

“When we think of sports injuries, we think of dramatic tackles or falls or being hit in the head, but young athletes are also at risk of strains and repetitive-motion injuries,” Dr. Cardone added.

Before signing up for a sport, have a general physical exam.
Always wear appropriate protective gear for the activity – for practice as well as games – and make sure it’s the right size and properly adjusted.
Do your warm-ups. If it’s important before a game, it’s important before practice too.
Have adult supervision. Make sure responsible adults know and enforce the safety rules of the sport and are trained in first aid and CPR. Also, make sure the field is in safe condition.
Never “play through” an injury. Get immediate help from a coach or trainer and be sure to mention everything that hurts or aches.
Follow the rules. In most sports, the rules are based not only on sportsmanship, but safety.
Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water or sports drink before and during the activity, and rest frequently during hot weather. A child can lose up to a quart of sweat during two hours of exercise, and kids get overheated more quickly than adults and cannot cool down as easily.

For more information about sports safety, call SAFE KIDS Middlesex County at (732) 418-8026 or visit www.safekids.org.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.

Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.

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