In the U.S., about 30 million children and teens take part in some forms of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries happen each year. Almost one-third of all injuries from childhood are sports-related injuries. More than 775,000 children, aged 14 and younger, are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries each year.
Obviously, some sports are more dangerous than others. For example, contact sports such as football can be expected to result in a higher number of injuries than a noncontact sport such as swimming. However, all types of sports have a potential for injury, whether from the collision (冲撞) with other players or from overuse or misuse of a body part.
Most of the injuries happen as a result of falls, being struck by an object and collisions during unorganized or informal sports activities. Some are caused by poor training practices, or not warming up enough.
There are two kinds of sports injuries. Acute injuries happen suddenly, such as sprained (扭伤) ankles. Chronic injuries happen after you play a sport or exercise over a long period of time.
Sports injuries are first treated with R-I-C-E: Rest, Ice, Compression (pressure on the injury), and Elevation (raise the injured area above the heart). Doctors will treat more serious injuries with medications, by limiting movement, or by recommending operations, physical therapy, and rest.
You can prevent many kinds of sports injuries by following safe exercise habits.
