Youth sports safety - 5 tips to help protect your little athlete
Cringing at bumps, falls, trips and nudges is a common response
among parents of young athletes. Seventy-two percent of parents
of children ages 6 to 17 report that they are highly concerned
about their child experiencing a head injury on the sports
field, according to a recent survey conducted by NMI Research
and DSM Nutritional Products, and their concern is not
unwarranted. In fact, data indicates that emergency room visits
of school-age athletes for serious injuries like concussions
have significantly increased in recent years. Parents should
continue to encourage their children to get involved with youth
sports, but they need to be aware that hard-hitting spills could
have a lasting impact on their child’s brain health if not
handled properly. “I’ve worked with young and old athletes who
are experiencing the lasting effects of head trauma during
sports,” says Dr. Julian Bailes, a neurosurgeon and sports
medicine expert who has worked with p