Hot on HuffPost Parents: Soccer Injuries Affect Boys and Girls
In Different Ways, Report Finds That's one of the interesting
nuggets contained in a clinical report, "Injuries in Youth
Soccer," published in the February issue the journal Pediatrics.
Overall, soccer isn't among the most dangerous sports, says one
of the report's authors, Dr. Andrew Gregory, assistant professor
of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt Medical Center
in Nashville. "There's inherent risk in all sports," he tells
ParentDish. "I would put soccer in the middle; not as risky as
boxing, mixed-martial arts, football and wrestling." Research so
far doesn't explain boys' tendency to hurt their ankles more
than girls, Gregory says. One explanation might be "slide
tackling," an aggressive play that exposes ankles to collisions.
"It's something you see more in the boys' game, I think," he
says. Knee injuries have been a serious issue for girls in
basketball and lacrosse, as well as soccer. Many knee injuries
in girls are tears of the