There is a low incidence of injuries in youth football and the majority of those injuries are minor. Older players appear to have a greater risk.1 This is believed to be due to the children getting bigger, stronger, and faster as they get older. These results were presented in a study by the Mayo Clinic in April 2000. A easy read summary of the study is available on the Mayo Clinic website entitled Injuries Uncommon in Youth Football, Mayo Clinic Study Reports.
The injury rate for youth football is comparable with basketball, baseball, and soccer. In a study at the University of Pittsburgh, the authors noted that the speculation that football as a collision sport would have a higher injury rate than the other sports was not supported by the data collected in their study. 4
Parent's concern for considering their childrens participation in organized youth sports are discussed in an article Youth Sports on the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) web site. The AOSSM prepared this information to help provide parents with some answers. It also discusses some of the benefits of participation.
1. Stuart M, Morrey M. Injuries in Youth Football: A Prospective Observational Cohort Analysis Among Players Aged 9 to 13 Years. Mayo Clin Proc. 2002 Apr;77(4):317-22.
2. Stuart M. Gridiron Football Injuries. Med Sport Sci. 2005;49:62-85.
3. Adickes MS, Stuart MJ. Youth football injuries. Sports Med. 2004;34(3):201-7.
4. Radelet MA, Lephart SM, Rubinstein EN, Myers JB. Survey of the injury rate for children in community sports. Pediatrics. 2002 Sep;110(3):e28.
5. Hergenroeder AC. Prevention of Sports Injuries. Pediatrics. 1998 Jun;101(6):1057-63.
6. Almekinders LC. Youth in Sports. www.sportsmed.org. 2001 Jul
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