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Blog: Sports Injuries Rank Among Top Reasons For Hospital Visits In The Trident Area Of South CarolinaPosted by: Lindsay Hansen at Apr 21, 2011 12:00 AM CDT Keywords: Education
The adage: “Go where the people go” is smart. Our Safe Kids Trident Area coalition held their recent Sports Safety clinic in a clever spot: at the baseball stadium. As Safe Kids' Program Manager for Sports and Recreation, I was fortunate enough to be there and I not only enjoyed a warm, sunny day at the ball field, I learned a few important things about concussions, dehydration and other critical youth sports topics. Kristin Greeson, program coordinator for Safe Kids Trident area, shares her experience participating in Safe Kids USA’s Youth Sports Safety Program and Sports Safety Week. From Kristin: On Sunday April 17, 2011 the crowds rushed into Joseph P. Riley Stadium to watch our local AAA baseball team, the Riverdogs. It was the first Family Sunday of the season, and Safe Kids Trident Area was there with our Sports Safety clinic. Even though our team lost 6-1, it was a great opportunity for us to remind parents and children about staying safe both on and off the field! In Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties, sports and recreation injuries are sending more children between the ages of 5 and 14 to the hospital than motor vehicle collisions. It is important for coaches to be aware of the injuries sending our children to the hospital, but also for parents and youth athletes to know how to prevent a trip to the emergency department. The three top causes of sports-related injuries are concussions and traumatic brain injuries, overuse injuries and heat-exhaustion or dehydration. The best way to prevent these injuries is for athletes to obtain a Pre-Participation Evaluation (PPE) prior to the start of any season to ensure that he or she has no underlying conditions. Also, coaches and parents need to be aware of the causes and symptoms of the various injuries and to be able to recognize whether an athlete is in danger. This is why Safe Kids Trident Area is pleased to be a part of the 2011 Safe Kids Worldwide Sports Safety program. We’re teaming with MUSC Children’s Hospital, MUSC Neurosciences and MUSC Sports Medicine to provide free sports safety seminars to area coaches, parent-coaches, athletic directors, school nurses and gym teachers to equip them with all the tools necessary to reduce sports-related injuries to our youth. To find out more about sports related injuries or what is going on in our community visit our website or find us on Facebook! |
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