Participating in sports is a great way to stay active and develop a multitude of skills from teamwork and discipline to self-respect.  However, playing safe is critical to not only staying in the game today, but also throughout life. While athletic participation is on the rise, so is the incidence of youth and childhood sports injuries. Most are aware of a sports injury when it occurs to a professional athlete, but few understand the life ramifications when a child gets a major athletic injury at an early age.  Lifelong and ongoing issues can ensue that may lead to a lack of physical activity and an increase in the chance for obesity and other health problems in adulthood.  

First, let’s take a look at the facts: more than 7 million high school students participate in athletics, resulting in an estimated 2 million injuries and 500,000 physician office visits.  An estimated 30 million children participate in sports resulting in 1.8 million emergency room visits for athletic injuries annually.

While certainly many of these injuries are traumatic, it has been estimated that close to half of these injuries are overuse in nature. The reasons for this trend have yet to be determined, but are likely attributable to the increase in children and youths specializing in specific sports and even positions – without allowing the usual rest gained during cross-training or an off-season.  These overuse injuries can often have long-term consequences well into adulthood, including tendinitis, arthritis and chronic pain.

It is not surprising that the sports with the most injuries are the contact sports: football, rugby, wrestling and hockey. However, sports like soccer and basketball are more commonly played – resulting in a large injury load as well. The majority of injuries are to the lower extremity: knee and ankle. The knee accounts for 30% of serious injuries and more than 50% of injuries resulting in surgery.⁴ These injuries, such as an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, can result in significant cost to the individual as well as the health care system.

As you can see, if we can prevent kids from getting hurt or burned out during athletic participation then they are more likely to remain active throughout life and achieve the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. In addition, research has shown that kids who participate in sports are more likely to stay in school and receive better grades.  It is for this reason that the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and several other organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, SAFE Kids USA and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association are launching the STOP Sports Injuries campaign. STOP, or Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention is a campaign designed to educate coaches, parents, athletes and healthcare providers on the importance of sports injury prevention while keeping kids active and involved in sports and physical activity for a lifetime.  Do you want to learn more about this program and how you can get involved in your local communities? Visit http://www.sportsmed.org/stop  and help keep kids in the game…for life.

What else needs to be done to make sure that physical activity is safe for children and adolescents?

This week, we highlight community-level efforts to increase physical activity opportunities for the less-financially-fortunate:

• Detroit non-profit opens green gym (Source:  PR Newswire) The nation’s first gym for the homeless provides physical activity opportunities, job opportunities, and an alternative power source.

• Programs pay wellness fees (Source:  The Daily Sentinel news) A tri-county area in Ohio offers a “Silver Sneakers” program, complete with free physical activity classes for older adults with limited financial resources.

What are your thoughts on these programs?  How does your community provide physical activity opportunities for those who can not afford to join a fitness club or build a home gym?

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provided the nation with an airtight scientific case for why a person should make exercise a top priority.  The case is unchallenged and polls show that the health benefits of exercise are generally acknowledged by an overwhelming majority of Americans.  Nevertheless, research suggests that most Americans are not active enough to actually reap the benefits.

 We are left, therefore, with one simple, maddening, urgent question:

“How do we compel more Americans to exercise regularly?”

We know there are real barriers to physical activity (injury/illness, unsafe environment, etc.), but other commonly cited barriers, such as “lack of time,” seem too often to simply be the consequence of low prioritization; conscious or subconscious choices to put-off exercise until a theoretical later date.     

 At IHRSA, one way we’ve attempted to address the question is with our I Lost it at the Club! program, an eight-week motivational weight loss program designed to help individuals keep their New Year’s resolutions and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle year-round.  Currently in its 6th year, I Lost it at the Club! is set up as a competition among the participating health clubs.  Last year, a total of 4,857 participants lost over 22,100 lbs.

Undoubtedly, much of the program’s success is due to the great passion and spirit of the participating clubs and their communities, but we think a critical component of the program is that it ties people to something bigger than themselves.  It fosters camaraderie, holds people accountable to others, and celebrates accomplishments.  Moreover, it recognizes that physical activity, like obesity, is contagious, and that social environments play a major role in our levels of physical activity.

The compelling power of camaraderie is certainly not a novel concept, but perhaps it has nevertheless been undervalued or underemphasized in the promotion of physical activity.   It seems like the business community is beginning to incorporate the idea into workplace wellness programs, and social gatherings like running clubs have certainly flourished, but we’d like to see it spread deeper into society, embraced by families, friends, religious groups, book clubs, Facebook friends, etc. 

We want us all to challenge those around us – the people we care about – to be more physically active.

We know there are several wonderful organizations with programs designed to bring people together for physical activity.  We would love to hear from as many of you as possible.  What are you doing and how has it worked?