Sports-Related Head Injuries Among Children Skyrockets

A new study concerning youth head-injury statistics shows there has been a 90 percent surge in the number of children being treated in emergency rooms for sports-related head injuries since 2001.

This new study focused on nine years, 2002-2011, and analyzed ER rates at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in order to gain a better grasp of what was causing child concussions and how severe the cases were.

Concussions have been a leading cause for concern as more research has found that these types of head blows can be linked to other health problems later on in life.
Additionally, further research has concluded that children may need longer recovery periods following concussions, which has increased concern among physicians since their brains are still developing.

The Cincinnati study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that of the 25,000-plus children who were treated in an emergency room following a TBI over the last decade, nearly 15 percent, or almost 3,900 cases, were caused by sports. Roughly three-quarters of those treated were males.

While the study showed a 92 percent spike in the number of TBI-related ER visits among children, researchers did not see an increase in the number of children who had been admitted to the hospital following the visit, which implies more children are not getting seriously hurt.

In fact, the researchers involved reported a drop in scores related to injury severity as well as the length of hospital stays.

The sports-related injuries that brought most children in for hospital admittance were skiing, sledding and rollerblading or skateboarding.

Concussions as well as other TBIs have been connected to a variety of permanent medical conditions, such as fatigue, depression, sleep disorders and increased risk of stroke. Furthermore, statistics show that a person who suffers a concussion is up to four times more likely to endure a second concussion at some point, which only increases a child’s risk for suffering learning disabilities and other neuropsychological problems.

When a child suffers a TBI while partaking in supervised sports or recreational activities, it is important to identify whether someone else’s negligence caused or contributed to the injury. A TBI can be an expensive and lifelong injury that your child may never fully recover from. Kids who have been injured due to another party’s carelessness deserve to be fairly compensated for damages.

If your child has suffered from a TBI in Inverness, Crystal River, Beverly Hills, Lecanto, Homosassa, Dunnellon, Hernando, Sugarmill Woods, Citrus Springs or Floral City, please contact a Citrus County Brain Injury Lawyer at Whittel & Melton to schedule a free consultation to discuss a possible personal injury lawsuit. You can reach us 24/7 at 352-726-0078 or by visiting us online.

Photo credit: Vaguely Artistic / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND