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Patriot-News Article I
"SPRING SPORTS SAFETY"
"Common sense reduces kids' athletic injuries"
by Jeff McGaw
of the Patriot-News
used by permission
They wear helmets, swing clubs and hurl themselves into the path of speeding projectiles armed with little more than a leather pad on their hand to dampen the blow.
They run fast, jump high, fall and slide across abrasive terrain. Sometimes they are guided by well-intentioned but overzealous and untrained field generals.
They are the estimated 13 million 5-to-14-year-olds playing baseball, softball and tee-ball, and while the game is a source of positive experiences for most, there are potential hazards according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Those hazards range from minor injuries to death.
Baseball has the dubious distinction as the deadliest team sport played by children. In all, 88 deaths occurred between 1973-1995 - 68 of them were due to being struck in the chest, head or neck by the ball.
Some 253,000 boys and 74,000 girls went to the hospital with baseball injuries in 1997, placing baseball/softball as the third-leading cause of youth sports injuries behind basketball and football. The cost of treating those injuries, of lost work time for parents, and other associated factors approached $4 billion.
The good news according to the safety commission and National Youth Sports Safety Foundation Inc. in Boston, a clearinghouse for information on safe sprts participation, is that through proper use of equipment, use of proper equipment, common sense safety precautions and better training for volunteer coaches, the number of injuries and deaths could be significantly reduced.
BALL IMPACT INJURIES
Most baseball injuries requiring medical attention result from being struck by flying balls.
Face guards are one of the best forms of protection from the inevitable collision of child and ball, most experts say.
Soft-core baseballs, or reduced-injury factor (RIF) balls as they are called, may reduce the risk and severity of 48,000 injuries to to children - especially those hit on the head and neck - according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Most of the more serious ball-impact injuries were caused by impact from ordinary adult hardballs.
Dr. Michael Link, a cardiologist at New England Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine and an authority on baseball-related deaths, said softer baseballs are the best answer to the problem.
"You don't want [fear] to rule your life," he said. "We have to have knowledge of it and lower our risk, and the main thing we should do is use age-appropriate baseballs."
The South Middleton Youth Baseball/Softball League uses softer baseballs for kids 5-8, according to league president Rick Thomas.
The Camp Hill Little League follows a similar plan for use of softer balls.
Link recommends using variations of the RIF ball in leagues for children up to age 13.
Link, who has researched and written extensively about commotio cordis - the fatal concussion to the heart caused by baseballs, pucks, or other objects - believes protective vests advocated by some are not practical.
Still, vests remain an option for worried parents. Camp Hill Little League Baseball, among others, has offered parents that option for the last six years, according to league president and Camp Hill Borough Manager Ed Knittel.
Few exercise that option.
SLIDING INJURIES
Sliding injuries accounted for about 13,000 hospital emergency-room visits for children in 1995. Girls typically were at higher risk for injury than boys, according to the commission.
"These injuries can be drastically reduced by the break-away bases," said Dr. John R. Frankeny II, an orthopedic surgeon with Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania, agreeing with the recommendation of the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation Inc.
Such bases break loose of their anchoring if they are hit too hard, such as on a poorly executed, technically incorrect slide.
Doctors at the Institute for Preventive Sports Medicine estimate that if break-away bases were introduced into baseball and softball leagues across the country, 1.7 million injuries each year would be prevented - a $2 billion savings a year in acute medical-care costs.
ARM INJURIES
The foundation estimates that between 20 percent and 45 percent of youth baseball pitchers suffer elbow pain. The number grows to 58 percent among high school pitchers.
The cause?
"Throwing intensity and duration - those two factors are what does somebody in," said Dr. Kevin Black at the Penn State Sports Medicine Center.
"Kids today are participating at much greater intensity and at younger ages and for a longer period of time than they used to."
Young, growing bodies are more susceptible to injury, he added.
In response, most leagues limit the number of innings a pitcher can throw in any given week, but Frankeny and Black say that's sometimes not enough.
"I've seen more than one young kid who has adhered to that protocol but [instead] is throwing hard the other days of the week in the yard with a well-intentioned dad," Black said.
Frankeny witnessed a local league game where a young boy threw 127 pitches in two innings. (A major league pitcher, on a very good day, might throw 100 pitches in an entire game.)
"The coaches' plan was to keep him in for three innings. I went over and said 'the kid's had enough.' Young pitchers should have their pitches monitored, and if the league is not going to do it, the coaches should do it," Frankeny said.
Frankeny suggests young children throw 40 or 60 pitches at the most. When the pitch limit is reached, "regardless if it's the middle of the inning and regardless of what the score is, the kid should be taken out," Frankeny said.
"It's very easy for a coach or a parent or a team to want somebody to sacrifice their arm for the good of the team," he said.
"Pain is your friend at that age," Frankeny said. "It's a bit of information you need to pay attention to. Any Little Leaguer, or any kid at any level who complains of pain while throwing should stop throwing, have it evaluated and rest."
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Lack of coaching education had been identified as a reason many sports injuries occur, according to Michelle Klein, founder and executive director of National Youth Sports Safety Foundation Inc. She estimates that 90 percent of coaches in the United States have never taken classes designed to enhance their knowledge of the sport they are coaching.
"A lot of these coaches are very well meaning," Klein said. "Unfortunately, there are so few that have any formal training or background...There are situations on the playing field when medical attention is necessary...If a child gets hit on the head or chest [and] if a person doesn't know CPR, by the time an ambulance arrives it [can be] too late. Basic first aid or CPR is essential."
Other problems can occur, Klein said, "when coaches push children too far too fast...If a child is going through a growth spurt, it's important to back off on the training," Klein said. "A lot of coaches really don't know that fine line," she said.
Locally, many youth league coaches are members of the National Youth Sports Coaches Association that offers training worldwide.
Its clinics feature such topics as the psychology of coaching children, maximizing athletic performance, first aid, nutrition, safety, organizing practices, teaching fundamentals and more.
Patriot-News Article II
"SAFETY OF YOUNGSTERS SHOULD HAVE PRIORITY"
by Jeff McGaw
of the Patriot-News
used by permission
How adults respond when children are injured on the playing field could make the difference between a serious and not-so-serious injury or, even, death. "Safety should be the No. one priority of any program," said Michelle Klein, founder and executive director of National Youth Sports Safety Foundation, Inc. in Boston.
Klein suggests that coaches or other supervising adults be trained in basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Additionally, she said, especially for contact sports, a trainer or doctor should be present at all times.
Here are some common scenarios in youth baseball and suggestions from National Youth Sports Safety Foundation, Inc. on how to cope with them.
Q. If a child is struck in the head or chest by a baseball, what should be done?
A. If unconscious, call 911 immediately. Even if the child seems OK after being hit in the head, he or she should not be put back into the game until the child is evaluated by a doctor. On May 29, 1985, a Pequannock, NJ, boy was struck in the temple with a pitched ball. The injury did not seem serious at first, but he died a week later from the depressed skull fracture that resulted from the blow.
Q. If a child turns an ankle, or twists a knee while playing or practicing, what should be done?
A. Apply ice immediately. Do not re-enter him in the game until the injury has been evaluated by a doctor.
Q. What if anything should a coach know about his players' health before the season?
A. Everything. Any underlying medical condition (i.e., asthma, allergies), illness, disease, previous injury or other susceptibility should be known to a person in charge.
Q. Should athletes have a preparticipation physical examination?
A. Always. Additionally, a doctor with some training in sports medicine should conduct the exam. Medical history is vital in these exams. Substantial evidence exists that most conditions which predispose young athletes to injury or death on the field are found in the history rather than the physical examination before participation. Areas of importance include hospitalizations, surgeries, medications, allergies, tetanus status, cardiovascular system, family heart history, musculoskeletal problems, vision problems, neurologic conditions, skin problems, heat tolerance, menstrual history and dietary problems.
Q. If it's hot outside, what precautions should you take?
A. Bring lots of water, Gatorade, oranges and bananas. Coaches should never say "You can't take a water break," Klein said. "That shouldn't happen."
In general, the following things should be present at every league contest:
*basic first aid kit
*an athletic trainer
*ice or ice packs
*easy access to telephone.
Susquehanna Township Baseball Safety Issues
The two Patriot-News articles present compelling evidence why there should be plenty of safety features in place in any youth sports program. The STBA board places a high priority on your child's safety. Some examples of this are:
the use of RIF balls at the T-Ball level;
strict pitching guidelines at all levels where children are pitching (and especially at the lower levels of the program);
first aid kits at all game locations (hopefully each team will have their own kit in the near future);
the phasing in of safer catcher's mask/helmet combinations over the next few years;
break-away bases;
insurance coverage for every registered association player.
Baseball is indeed a contact sport, and accidents will happen. However, with common sense, information and diligence, the number of injuries can be kept to an absolute minimum.
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