Safe Sports Initiative to Prevent Kids' Injuries

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 3, 2010) – With the goal of keeping kids safe while also helping them to stay active through sports, Safe Kids Fayette County, led by Kentucky Children's Hospital, joins Safe Kids USA this season in launching the new Safe Sports initiative. This initiative focuses on four components critical to keeping young athletes healthy and injury-free: preventing acute and overuse injuries, proper hydration before, during and after play, annual pre-season medical screenings for each athlete and finally, concussion awareness, prevention and screening methods.

“More than 30 million children participate in sports each year in the United States,” said Sherri Hannan, coordinator of Safe Kids Fayette County. “Of those 30 million, approximately 3.5 million children under the age of 14 are treated for sports-related injuries in hospitals, clinics and emergency rooms. Children ages 5 to 14 account for nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments.”

Here are five important sports safety tips from Safe Kids Fayette County that all coaches, parents and league organizers can use to prevent sports-related injuries.

Pre-Season Medical Screening: Every child should receive an annual pre-participation physical evaluation (PPE). These exams may prevent or treat any underlying conditions the young athlete may have.

Safety gear: To prevent acute injuries, children playing sports should have access to and consistently use well-maintained safety equipment during both practices and games.

Qualified coaching: Athletic coaches should be trained in both first aid and CPR, have a plan for responding to emergencies and have current knowledge of both safety rules and proper equipment use. Sports programs with certified Athletic Trainers on staff are ideal because they are trained to prevent or provide immediate care for athletic injuries.

Proper Conditioning: To prevent acute and overuse injuries, coaches should teach young athletes proper routines for both warm-ups and cool-downs before and after practice and play. Sixty-two percent of sports-related injuries occur during practice rather than in a game.

Hydration: Athletes should be encouraged to drink water before, during and after practice and competition.

Rest: If young athletes are very tired or in pain, coaches and parents should encourage them to rest, not to play, as this valuable recovery time can help prevent acute and overuse injuries.

“Our goal is to reach coaches and parents through our Safe Sports initiative and equip them with the critical information and resources to keep kids out of the emergency room,” said Hannan. “With their help, we can create a sports culture that is both fun and most importantly, safe.”

For more information on sports injury prevention from Safe Kids Fayette County, call (859) 323-1153 or go to www.safekids.org/sports.

For more information about Safe Kids Fayette County at or go to www.ukhealthcare.uky.edu/safekids or www.safekids.org.

Safe Kids Fayette County works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under. Its members include health and safety experts, educators, community leaders, corporations, foundations, government representatives and volunteers to educate and protect families. Safe Kids Fayette County is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental injury. Safe Kids Fayette County was founded in 1994 by Kentucky Children's Hospital.