Risk Management Forum

Court rules on stadium liability

admin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:37:00 GMT

A divided New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday declined to break legal ice, and dismissed a lawsuit by a woman who was injured by a puck during warm-ups at a minor league hockey game in Trenton.

http://www.njherald.com/291429532827851.php

Preventing Ankle Injuries

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:00:00 GMT

“US researchers have found a simple, inexpensive screening tool that can predict athletes at risk of ankle injuries during soccer training and help them avoid it.

In their study, team players who were unable to complete a ‘single-leg balance’ test on one or both legs were two-and-a-half times more likely to sprain their ankles during the subsequent season than those who could complete the test. The relative risk rose to just under nine times more for those who failed the test and then didn’t go on to tape their ankles.

http://swiftonline.com/crossfit/archives/1197

Report Says Education Is Key to Reducing Sports Injuries in Young Athletes

admin — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:32:00 GMT

Report Says Education Is Key to Reducing Sports Injuries in Young Athletes

ROSEMONT, IL -- July 20, 2007 -- A new study out in the June 2007 Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons shows early recognition and preventive regimens could drastically reduce the number of sports related injuries to America's younger athletes.

The number of injuries could drop if all young athletes were required to have a medical and sports participation history and physical examination. Parents, coaches and physical therapists should also be educated about musculoskeletal injuries and the mechanisms that contribute to them.

Each year, 30 million children nationwide participate in organized sports, everything from football to gymnastics.

An estimated $1.8 billion is spent each year on athletic related injuries.

According to Joshua B. Frank, MD, an orthopaedic surgery fellow at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, the bodies, muscles and bones of children are still growing.

"These children are often involved in multiple sports and intense competition," said Dr. Frank. "They also can lack fully developed complex motor skills in puberty and may demonstrate a temporary decline in coordination and balance, contributing to their injuries. Each child has various athletic abilities and often engages in athletic activities unsupervised." A variety of factors can contribute to sports specific injuries including:

· Poorly fitting or unsafe equipment

· Overly intense an/or unsupervised training

"For example," said Dr. Frank, "studies have shown that the use of breakaway rather than traditional bases in recreational softball can decrease the rate of injury sevenfold."

In another report, female gymnasts (averaging in age from 12 to 26 years) who trained more than 16 hours per week had a significantly higher rate of back injury. Playing technique may also be related to injury, particularly in "cutting sports," when children move back and forth or side to side too quickly.

Injuries which may occur in young people who are still growing or have an immature frame include:

· Fractures

· Muscle sprains, strains and contusions

· Knee injuries: including patellar dislocations, acl injury and fractures

· Overuse injuries

The authors feel there should also be appropriate medical coverage available at sporting events with the availability of first aid and CPR. Coaches, parents and trainers should be educated on injury prevention and strategies, including year round conditioning and fitness programs. Young athletes often downplay their injuries as not to be sidelined. This often leads to a delayed diagnosis (after the season) and a worse outcome. Proper supervision and officiating, adequate hydration, safe weather conditions and field or surface for play should be ensured. Children should not be fatigued and take the proper time to warm-up and stretch prior to participation.

For simple injuries (overuse, muscle strain and contusions) treatment can include rest, ice, gentle range of motion exercises with the gradual addition of functional exercises and return to play. More comprehensive treatments, such as arthroscopic and open surgery are often necessary for more complex injuries like dislocations, fractures and certain types of muscle and tendon ruptures.

Additional Authors of the study include: Gregg J. Jarit, Jonathan T. Bravman, and Jeffrey E. Rosen.

SOURCE: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Seven Tips to prevent sports injuries in young athletes

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:40:00 GMT

Rock River Times

from the April 11-17, 2007, issue

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 80 percent of sports-related injuries in children result from playing football, basketball, baseball or soccer. Two-thirds of these injuries are soft-tissue injuries, including sprains (tearing of a ligament) and strains (tearing of a muscle or tendon). Only 5 percent of children’s sports injuries involve broken bones.

Dr. Packard-Spicer offers the following suggestions to help guide young athletes to safety:

Wear protective gear and make sure it fits properly and is sport-appropriate. “Only use equipment specifically designed for the sport your child is playing. I’ve seen some kids wear football cleats for soccer, and due to the peg underneath the shoe, they end up tripping,” says Dr. Packard-Spicer.

Kids should play by the rules. Not playing by the rules results in fouls and penalties, which increases the likelihood of injury.

Parents and coaches should be aware of the appropriate body mechanics and physiology behind each sport. “It’s key for a coach and for parents to understand what body positions and stretching techniques best protect a player,” says Dr. Packard-Spicer. “A classic example of an incorrect technique that can possibly tear ligaments is a hurdle stretch that has kids stand on one leg and reach their other one off to the side. The correct method is to bend the elevated leg and hold it or tuck it close to the back side of the body.”

Don’t play through the pain or with an injury. “It’s important to respect the healing process and to avoid playing when one has an injury,” says Dr. Packard-Spicer. “Also, know your child and the signs that he or she shows when in pain, and instead of telling him to ‘tough it out,’ pull him out of the game to prevent an actual injury.”

Kids need chiropractic adjustments. “Kids as early as age 7 complain of transient back pain. Children, especially those that play sports, need chiropractic adjustments to ensure spinal stability, muscle balance, to improve biomechanics, and to have optimal nerve functioning,” says Dr. Packard-Spicer. “Chiropractic adjustments in childhood can help prevent chronic back pain and joint problems in the future. Most people think these types of adjustments are only for adults wanting to relieve back pain, but research shows that children and even infants have been safely adjusted for decades to relieve certain conditions including colics, asthma and reflexes.”

Good nutrition is important for bone building. “Especially for kids, it is important to eliminate the ‘junk’ food from their diets and to add the necessary fruits and vegetables, calcium, and protein that help build strong bones,” says Dr. Packard-Spicer.

Warm up, cool down, and be conscious of your movements. Warm-up and cool down stretches are necessary to prevent muscle spasms, and they help promote good body mechanics. “Make sure children don’t rush through stretches and are aware of their motions,” says Dr. Packard-Spicer.

For additional resources about preventing sports injuries in children, visit http://www.nwhealth.edu/nss, a Web site focusing on natural approaches to health and wellness hosted by Northwestern Health Sciences University.

Chest guards don't stop risks to heart

admin — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:26:00 GMT

A blow from a ball or puck at a key moment can be fatal, and more protective gear is a drag on players.

BY REBECCA JUNGBAUER and JEREMY OLSON

Pioneer Press

Chest protectors do not prevent rare but fatal heart conditions that occur when baseballs, hockey pucks or other projectiles strike the upper body at precisely the wrong moment, according to research led by a Twin Cities cardiologist.

A registry has tracked 182 cases in the United States over the past decade involving a condition known as commotio cordis, which occurs when a chest blow triggers an irregular heartbeat. More than eight in 10 incidents resulted in deaths. Almost half of the cases involved athletes in competitive sports, and 33 deaths occurred even though athletes wore protective gear.

The condition is rare, considering the millions of children playing sports, but draws considerable public attention because it strikes otherwise healthy children in public settings. Parents need to know about it, and equipment manufacturers need to consider it in future designs, said Dr. Barry Maron, the lead author of the research presented Monday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting.

"It's tricky," said Maron, a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute. "You're telling the public something they should know about, but there's nothing right now they can do about it."

The 33 deaths included 14 hockey players, 10 football players, six lacrosse players and three baseball players. Ten occurred from blows that directly struck the athletes' chest protectors. The other 23 occurred when projectiles, sticks or body checks missed the protective padding. Eight of the players were goalies or catchers, who typically wear protective gear.

Separate research in Boston verified that a baseball striking the chest at 30 mph can throw the heart into an irregular beat. However, the blow must occur during the 10- to 30-millisecond pause in electrical activity in the lower chambers of the heart.

Better padding that covers the entire chest wall might prevent deaths but also might be viewed as excessive when considering the rarity of deaths. Baseball players would have trouble pitching or batting if wearing clunky chest protection, said Dr. Bradley Bart, a cardiologist at Hennepin County Medical Center.

"I can't imagine it would be too comfortable to bat or run the bases with gear on," he said. "Practically, that's going to be pretty uncomfortable."

Alternative safety measures include placing defibrillators at parks and athletic fields or using softer "safety" balls.

Most of the patients in the registry were boys. Their average age was 15.

The study's funding came from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, which is made up of manufacturers, sports medicine specialists and athletic trainers and coaches.

"Hopefully," Maron said, "these data will represent a stimulus for developing a truly effective chest barrier that will be absolutely protective against the risk of these commotio cordis catastrophes."

From playground to podium: how to make an Olympian

admin — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:15:00 GMT

One of the main selling points of London’s Olympic bid is the idea that a whole host of social, even medical problems, will be tackled in the run-up to the games in 2012. But this focus on tackling junk food ‘addiction’ and obesity, exemplified by a recent speech by chancellor Gordon Brown, presents a profoundly dispiriting vision of the games, and sport in general - and it contradicts the aim of producing sporting champions

more >> http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2205/