海角大神

A new study from researchers at Nationwide Children鈥檚 Hospital in Columbus, Ohio finds that the number of young soccer players who made a visit to the emergency room for injuries sustained on the field has more than doubled over recent decades, rising from just over 100 per 10,000 in 1990 to some 225 in 2014.

That trend was especially pronounced when it came to concussions and similar injuries, with the annual rate skyrocketing over 1,500 percent over the time period examined. And as the study notes, 聽of the 鈥減otentially serious consequences聽of sports-related concussion鈥� might simply mean that more incidents end up with a hospital visit.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 necessarily say that the amount of injuries has actually increased, I鈥檇 say the amount of injuries reported has increased,鈥� says Samantha Scarneo, a director of sport safety at the University of Connecticut鈥檚 Korey Stringer Institute who did not contribute to the study.

Where people used to think that 鈥済etting your bell rung鈥� wasn鈥檛 significant, she tells 海角大神, a flood of new initiatives by public-health organizations and state laws calling for parents, officials and athletes to receive education on the health impact of concussions on youths have instilled a greater scrupulousness among members of the public.

But some experts also say that as children and their parents take a less catholic attitude toward sports, focusing their ambitions on one sport and playing it year-round, they might be putting kids at a greater risk for injury.聽

"In the 1990s, kids played for one season and then they were done. Now kids can play so they don鈥檛 have a lot of time to recover,鈥� said Tracy Mehan manager of transnational research at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children鈥檚 Hospital, in an interview with ABC. "If you play one other sport, it allows a break mentally and physically.鈥�

鈥淭hey鈥檙e not thinking about playing the sport for the fun of the sport and being active, they鈥檙e thinking, 鈥榳here is this getting my kid in life?鈥欌�� says Ms. Scarneo. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that that mindset starts to shift, because playing multiple sports might be more beneficial.鈥�

Concussions and other closed head injuries, which saw the most concentrated leap in reports, still accounted for only 7 percent of all injuries. And the study鈥檚 authors add that the findings underscore 鈥渢he need for increased injury prevention efforts鈥� among parents, administrators and players.

Part of those efforts might consist of public education on what researchers call 聽a term that stresses the development of proper mechanics for moves spanning a wide variety of athletic activities. By getting coaches and educators to implement certain warm-ups as a standard, from developing down the road, especially among younger participants.

鈥淎t younger ages 鈥� the 7 to 12 age range, or 7 to 14 鈥� those kids are not learning how to move properly,鈥� says Scarneo. 鈥淚f we can fix their biomechanics at a younger age, then we鈥檇 probably be able to see a reduction [in injuries to their extremities] when they get older.鈥�