A new study out in Pediatrics indicates that children are more likely to get hurt in gym class than they were a decade ago. A lack of supervision and school nurses may be part of the reason behind a 150% jump in physical education-related injuries treated at emergency departments between 1997 and 2007, according to Dr. Lara McKenzie of National Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, the lead researcher on the study. But whatever the cause behind the trend, Dr. McKenzie told Reuters Health that the benefits of participating in physical education far outweigh any risks.
Dr. McKenzie and her team looked at data from the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. This system tracks sports and recreation-related injuries treated at a nationally representative sample of about 100 hospital emergency departments. While the system reported an estimated 24,347 physical education-related injuries in 1997, there were 62,408 in 2007. The increase was seen for both boys and girls and across all age groups. About one in five of the injuries were strains or sprains of the legs, while about one in seven were broken arms, or arm sprains or strains. Six sports accounted for 70% of injuries: running, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, and gymnastics.
The safety commission’s data indicate that cheerleading is the leading cause of catastrophic injuries – those usually involving spinal cord damage – among high school and college athletes. High school cheerleading accounted for about 73 such injuries, according to the report by The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. Dr. McKenzie’s study didn’t look at why physical education injuries had increased. But she told Reuters Health that it may be because fewer schools have full-time nurses on staff to help injured children. Schools may also be packing more kids into gym classes, making it harder for teachers to supervise them, according to Dr. McKenzie. Just 36% of schools that require PE classes set a maximum student/teacher ratio, the report notes.
Dr. McKenzie says that instructors must get comprehensive training in injury prevention, and kids need to get safety education as well. Schools must also make sure that teachers and students use all appropriate safety equipment. But the benefits of gym class – which has become one of the main strategies for fighting obesity among young people – far exceed any risks.
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