Safety

Four years after the American Academy of Pediatrics adopted the recommended return-to-play (RTP) guidelines proposed by the Third International Conference on Concussion in Sport, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHA) has proposed sport-specific guidelines for ten sports known to put young athletes at the highest risk for concussion.

Concussion rates in thirteen high school sports from 1998 to 2008, as reported in three separate studies, vary widely by sport and, in some cases, by gender.

Skin infections in athletes, including community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), are extremely common.  The nature of athletics, which expose the skin to a wide variety of stresses, trauma, environmental factors, and infectious agents, all combine to continually attack the integrity of the skin and lead to considerable disruption to individual and team activities.  A new position statement by the National Athletic Trainers' Association, says that recognition of skin diseases is absolutely essential, particularly by certified athletic trainers, who "represent the first line of defense against spread of infections to other team members."

The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has issued a position statement on preventing MRSA and other skin diseases among athletes at all levels, from youth to professionals. The statement includes comprehensive recommendations for avoiding, identifying and treating fungal, viral and bacterial skin infections, some of which are life threatening.

A rule requiring immediate removal of any contestant who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion and prohibiting his or her return to competition until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional was among the four rule changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee and  subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors for the 2010-11 season.

The shoulder is the most commonly dislocated joint in the human body, occurring most often in youth athletes, particularly wrestlers.  For some patients, standard stability-restoring procedures are ineffective.  New research from the University of Michigan shows patients who have recurrent shoulder dislocations may benefit from surgical reconstruction using cadaver bone and cartilage to essentially ‘sculpt' a new shoulder.

Which high school sports pose the highest risk of severe injury?  Football leads the list, slightly more than wrestling and more than twice the rate in girls' basketball and girls' soccer.  The safest of the nine studied? Girls volleyball.

While skin infections, including MRSA, are reported most often in sports with frequent physical contact, skin contact or activities that may lead to the spread of MRSA skin infections may take place before or after participation in a sport with little physical contact.  Therefore, anyone participating in organized or recreational sports should be aware of the signs of possible skin infections and follow prevention measures.