The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a report on the impact of traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, on children in contact sports.
According to the organization's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC analyzed data from 2010 to 2016 that looked at sports- and recreation-related TBIs.
The highest rates of those related TBIs were among males and children ages 10-14 and 15-17 years old. An estimated 2 million children went to emergency rooms for sports- and recreation-related TBIs over the course of the seven year study, the report said.
On average, an estimated 283,000 children under the age of 18 visit emergency departments for sports- and recreation-related TBIs.
Contact sports -- such as football, soccer, bicycling, basketball, playground activities and soccer -- accounted for 45 percent of all visits to emergency rooms for TBIs.
For boys, football accounted for the most ER visits for TBIs -- more than 52,000 -- than any other sport. Soccer and playground activities contributed to the most ER visits for girls.
The report says that rule changes can prevent TBIs and reduce the risk of children getting them.
“Limiting player-to-player contact and rule changes that reduce risk for collisions are critical to preventing TBI in contact and limited-contact sports. If a TBI does occur, effective diagnosis and management can promote positive health outcomes among children.”
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