National Center for
Catastrophic
Sport
Injury Research
Director: Frederick O. Mueller, Ph.D.
Medical Director: Robert C. Cantu, M. D.
TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
FALL 1982 - SPRING 2007
Research
Funded by a Grant from the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
American Football Coaches Association
National Federation of State High School Associations
Introduction
In 1931
the American Football Coaches Association initiated the First Annual Survey of
Football Fatalities and this research has been conducted at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 1965.
In 1977 the National Collegiate Athletic Association initiated a
National Survey of Catastrophic Football Injuries, which is also conducted at
the University of North Carolina.
As a result of these research projects important contributions to the
sport of football have been made.
Most notable have been the 1976 rule changes, the football helmet
standard, and improved medical care for the participants, and better coaching techniques.
Due
to the success of these two football projects the research was expanded to all
sports for both men and women, and a National Center for Catastrophic Sports
Injury Research was established in 1982.
The decision to expand the research was based on the following factors:
1. Research
based on reliable data is essential if progress is to be made in sports safety.
2. The paucity
of information on injuries in all sports.
3. The rapid
expansion and lack of injury information in women's sports.
For
the purpose of this research the term catastrophic is defined as any severe
injury incurred during participation in an school/college sponsored sport. Catastrophic will be divided into the
following three definitions:
1.
Fatality
2.
Non-Fatal -
permanent severe functional disability.
3.
Serious - no permanent
functional disability but severe injury.
An example would be fractured cervical vertebra with no paralysis.
Sports
injuries are also considered direct or indirect. The definition for direct and indirect is as follows:
Direct - Those
injuries that resulted directly from participation in the skills of the sport.
Indirect - Those injuries that were caused by systemic failure as a
result of exertion while participating in a sport activity or by a complication
that was secondary to a non-fatal injury.
Data Collection
Data
were complied with the assistance of coaches, athletic trainers, athletic
directors, executive officers of state and national athletic organizations, a
national newspaper clipping service and professional associates of the
researchers. Data collection would
not have been possible without the support of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) the National Federation of State High School Associations
(NFHS), and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Upon receiving information concerning a
possible catastrophic sports injury, contact by telephone, personal letter and
questionnaire was made with the injured player's coach or athletic
director. Data collected included background
information on the athlete (age, height, weight, experience, previous injury,
etc.), accident information, immediate and post-accident medical care, type
injury and equipment involved.
Autopsy reports are used when available.
In
1987, a joint endeavor was initiated with the Section on Sports Medicine of the
American Association of Neurological Surgeons. The purpose of this collaboration was to enhance the
collection of medical data. Dr.
Robert C. Cantu, Chairman, Department of Surgery and Chief, Neurosurgery
Service, Emerson Hospital, in Concord, MA, has been responsible for evaluating
the medical data. Dr. Cantu is
also a Past-President of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Summary
Fall
Sports (Tables I – VIII – Click Data Tables
in Left Margin of Home Page to View Tables)
Football
As
indicated in Tables I through VIII, football is associated with the greatest
number of catastrophic injuries.
For the 2006 football season there was a total of 20 high school direct
catastrophic injuries, which is an increase of nine over 2005. College football was associated
with six direct catastrophic injuries in 2006, which is an increase of five
over the 2005 data.
In
1990, as shown in the Annual Survey
of Football Injury Research 1931-2007, there were no fatalities
directly related to football. The
1990 football report is historic in that it is the first year, and the only
year, since the beginning of the research in 1931 that there has not been a direct
fatality in football at any level of play. This clearly illustrates that this type of data collection
and constant analysis of the data is important and plays a major role in injury
prevention. The 1994 data shows
zero fatalities at the high school level and one at the college level, with a
slight rise in high school football in 1995 to four. These numbers are very low when one considers that there
were 36 football direct fatalities in 1968.
In
addition to the direct fatalities in 2006 there were also 14 indirect
fatalities. Twelve of the indirect
fatalities were at the high school level and two were at the college
level. The causes of the high
school indirect deaths were three heat stroke, eight heart related, and one
related to sickle cell trait. The
college indirect deaths were one heat stroke and one related to sickle cell
trait.
In
addition to the fatalities there were 17 permanent disability injuries in
2006. Ten were cervical spine
injuries and seven were brain injuries. This number is an increase of nine when compared to
the 2005 data. Fifteen of the
injuries were at the high school level and two at the college level.
Serious
football injuries with no permanent disability accounted for eight injuries at
the high school and college levels in 2006 – four at each level.
This
decrease in catastrophic football injuries illustrates the importance of data
collection and being sure that the information is passed on to those
responsible for conducting football programs. A return to the injury levels of the 1960's and 1970's would
be detrimental to the game and the participants.
Cross Country
Cross-country
was not associated with any direct injuries in 2006. There were two indirect deaths at the high school
level. For the 25 years indicated
in Tables I through VIII, cross-country was associated with one direct
non-fatal injury and 24 indirect fatalities at the high school level and one
indirect fatality at the college level.
Twenty-three of the indirect fatalities were heart related, one was
caused by a seizure, and the cause of one was unknown. Autopsy reports revealed congenital
heart disease in four of these cases.
Soccer
Table
I shows that high school soccer had no direct catastrophic injury in 2006 and a
total of 16 direct catastrophic injuries for the past 25 seasons. The three direct catastrophic injuries
in 1992 were the highest number in the past 25 years. There were no high school
soccer indirect fatalities in 2006.
In 2006 college soccer was not associated with any direct or indirect
catastrophic injuries.
Concussion injuries related to heading
is a controversial area in soccer.
There are helmet manufacturers that are now making soccer helmets to
protect the participants from brain injuries while heading, even though the research
indicates that concussion injuries during heading are related to head-to-head
contact and not ball contact. In a special edition of the Journal of Athletic
Training, July-September 2001, an article by Donald Kirkendall and William
Garrett, Jr. the authors stated that it is difficult to blame purposeful
heading for the reported cognitive deficits when actual heading exposure and
details of the nature of head-ball impact are unknown. They go on to say that concussions are
a common head injury in soccer (mostly from head-head or head-ground impact)
and a factor in cognitive deficits and are probably the mechanism of the
reported dysfunction. In October
2001 the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences held a
one-day conference. Experts on
head injuries discussed the potential risk of heading, but reached no firm
conclusions. The American Academy
of Pediatrics issued the following recommendation in March 2000: "The
potential for permanent cognitive impairment from heading the ball needs to be
explored further. Currently, there seems to be insufficient published data to
support a recommendation that young soccer players completely refrain from
heading the ball. However, adults
who supervise participants in youth soccer should minimize the use of the
technique of heading the ball until the potential for permanent cognitive
impairment is further delineated.”
In July of 2003 the National Federation of State High School
Associations approved a rule that will allow soccer players to wear a head
guard. Prior to this rule only
goalkeepers could wear such a device.
The National Center will keep abreast of this controversial area.
In 2005
there was another case of a child being struck by the goal post and dying. A 15-year-old male was struck in the
head by a goal post that fell over and struck him in the head. This type of accident should never
happen. The Consumer Product
Safety Commission has stated that there have been at least 34 deaths and 51
injuries from falling soccer goal posts between 1979 and 2008. The latest was an eight year-old boy
who was hit by the goal post cross bar. Most occurred with moveable goalposts
and resulted from errors in moving the structures or anchoring them. Soccer goal posts should be
anchored to the ground and only moved by responsible adults. Players should not
climb on the goal posts or hang on the crossbars.
Field Hockey
In
1988 field hockey was associated with its first catastrophic injury since the
study began in 1982. It was listed
as a serious injury at the college level.
The ball struck the athlete after a free hit. She received a fractured skull, had surgery and has
recovered from the injury. The
1996 data showed two field hockey direct injuries at the high school
level. Both injuries involved
being hit by the ball and resulted in a head and an eye injury. The 1999 data show one non-fatal
injury at the high school level and one serious injury at the college
level. The high school injury
involved the loss of an eye after being hit with the stick during a drill, and
the college injury resulted in a fractured skull after being hit by a
ball. There were no direct
catastrophic injuries in high school or college field hockey during the 2006
season. There have been no
indirect catastrophic injuries in field hockey since the beginning of the study
in 1982.
Water Polo
In
1992-93 high school water polo was associated with its first indirect fatality
and in 1988-89 college water polo had its first indirect fatality. There have been a total of four high
school indirect fatalities in water polo and one at the college level. There were no water polo fatalities in
2006.
Fall Summary
In
summary, high school fall sports in 2006 were associated with 20 direct
catastrophic injuries. All twenty were associated with football. Football had one fatality, fifteen
involved permanent disability, and four were considered serious. For the 25-year period
1982-2006, high school fall sports had 623 direct catastrophic injuries and
603, or 96.8%, were related to football participants. In 2006 high school fall sports were also associated with
twelve football indirect fatalities and two in cross country for a total of
fourteen indirect fatalities. For
the period from 1982-2006 there was a total of 231 indirect fall high school
catastrophic injuries. Two hundred
and thirty of the indirect injuries were fatalities and 171 were related to
football. Fifteen of the indirect
fatalities involved females – six soccer players, one water polo player, and
eight cross-country athletes.
Females were also associated with four direct catastrophic injuries –
three in field hockey and one in soccer
During
the 2006 college fall sports season there were six direct
catastrophic injuries- all in football. For the 25 years, 1982-2006, there were a total of 139
college direct fall sport catastrophic injuries, and 133 were associated with
football. Three were associated
with soccer and three with field hockey.
There were two indirect college fatalities during the fall of 2006 and
they were associated with football.
From 1982 through the 2006 fall season there were a total of 49 college
fall sport indirect catastrophic injuries, and 48 of them were fatalities. Forty-one of the indirect fatalities
were associated with football.
High
school football accounted for the greatest number of direct catastrophic
injuries for the fall sports, but high school football was also associated with
the greatest number of participants.
There are approximately 1,500,000 high school and middle school football
players participating each year.
As illustrated in Table II, the 25-year rate of direct injuries per
100,000 high school and middle school football participants was 0.30
fatalities, 0.75 non-fatal injuries and 0.72 serious injuries. These catastrophic injury rates for
football are higher than those for both cross-country and soccer, but all three
classifications of catastrophic football injuries have an injury rate of less
than one per 100,000 participants.
Table IV shows that the indirect fatality rates for high school
football, soccer and cross country are similar and are also less than one per
100,000 participants. Water polo
rates are higher, but are based on only fifteen years of data, and water polo
has approximately 24,000 male and female participants each year.
College
football has approximately 75,000 participants each year and the direct injury
rate per 100,000 participants is higher than the other fall sports. The rate for the 25-year period
indicated in Table VI, for college football fatalities is less than one per
100,000 participants, but the rate increases to 1.89 per 100,000 for non-fatal
injuries and 4.80 per 100,000 participants for serious injuries.
Indirect
fatality rates are similar in college cross-country and soccer, increase in
football, with water polo being associated with the highest indirect fatality
rate. Based on 19 years of data,
water polo has approximately 1700 participants each year (Table VIII).
There
were four college female athletes receiving a direct catastrophic injury in a
fall sport for this 25-year period of time. There was one non-fatal injury and
two serious injuries in field hockey, and one non-fatal injury in soccer. There were also three female indirect
deaths and all three were in soccer.
Incidence rates are based on 25-year
participation figures received from the National Federation of State High
School Associations and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. (Figure I)
Winter Sports (Tables IX - XVI– Click Data Tables in Left Margin of Home
Page to View Tables)
As
shown in Table IX, high school winter sports were associated with four direct
catastrophic injuries in 2006-2007.Basketball was associated with one serious,
and wrestling had two non-fatal and one serious.
High school winter sports were also associated with three
indirect fatalities during the 2006-2007 school year (Table XI). Basketball was associated
with all three fatalities.
College
winter sports, Tables XIII - XVI, were not associated with any direct
catastrophic injuries during the 2006-2007 school year. During this same time period
there were three indirect fatalities. Two of the indirect fatalities were associated
with basketball, and one in swimming. The swimming fatality was a female.
A
summary of high school winter sports, 1982-1983 – 2006-2007, shows a total of
123 direct catastrophic injuries (8 fatalities, 66 non-fatal, and 49 serious)
and 149 indirect. Wrestling was
associated with 58 or 47.2 % of the direct injuries. Gymnastics was associated with 13, or 10.6%, of the direct
injuries. Basketball was
associated with 19 (15.4%), ice hockey was associated with 19 (15.4%), swimming
was associated with 13 (10.6%) direct injuries, and volleyball one
(0.81%). Basketball accounted for
the greatest number of indirect fatalities with 112, or 75.2%, of the winter
total.
College
winter sports from 1982-1983 – 2006-2007 were associated with a total of 30
direct catastrophic injuries.
Gymnastics was associated with six (20.0%), ice hockey 12 (40.0%),
basketball nine (30.0%), swimming one (3.3%), skiing one (3.3%) and wrestling
one (3.3%). There were also 43
indirect injuries (41 fatalities) during this time period. Twenty-nine, or 67.4%, were associated
with basketball, three in wrestling, two in ice hockey, six in swimming, one in
skiing, one in gymnastics, and one in volleyball.
High
school wrestling accounted for the greatest number of winter sport direct
injuries, but the injury rate per 100,000 participants was less than one for
all three categories. High school
wrestling has averaged approximately 239,000 male and 1,600 female participants
each year. High school basketball
and swimming were also associated with low direct injury rates. As shown in Table X, ice hockey and
gymnastics were associated with the highest injury rates for the winter sports. Gymnastics has averaged approximately
3,800 males and 24,000 female participants during the past twenty-five
years. Ice hockey averages 27,000
male and 2,556t female participants each year. A high percentage of the ice hockey injuries involve a player
being hit by an opposing player, usually from behind, and striking the skate
rink boards with the top of his/her head.
Indirect
high school catastrophic injury rates, as indicated in Table XII, are all below
one per 100,000 participants.
Catastrophic
direct injury rates for college winter sports are higher when compared to high
school figures. Gymnastics had
five non-fatal and one serious injury for the past twenty-five years, but the
injury rate is 20.07 per 100,000 participants for non-fatal male injuries, and
5.35 per 100,000 for female non-fatal injuries. Participation figures show approximately 597 male and 1,493
female gymnastic participants each year.
College
ice hockey was associated with eight serious and four non-fatal injuries in
twenty-five years, but the injury rate is 4.18 per 100,000 male participants
for non-fatal and 7.32 for male serious injuries. There are approximately 3,800 male ice hockey participants
each year. The first female
college ice hockey player received a direct serious injury during the 1999-2000
season. The serious injury rate
for females was 6.49 injuries per 100,000 participants and females averaged
approximately 616 participants per year for the past 25 years. Swimming non-fatal
incidence rates were not as high as gymnastics or ice hockey, but could be
totally eliminated if swimmers would not use the racing dive into the shallow
end of pools during practice or meets.
In fact there has not been a direct injury in college swimming since the
one non-fatal injury in 1982-1983.
College
wrestling had only one direct catastrophic injury from the fall of 1982 to the
spring of 2007. For this period of
time there were 169,043 participants in college wrestling for an average of
approximately 6761 per year. The
injury rate for this twenty-five year period of time was 0.59 per 100,000
participants. College skiing has
approximately 580 female participants each year and the one fatality in
1989-1990 produced an eighteen-year injury rate of 6.89 per 100,000
participants. This was the only skiing direct fatality since the study was
initiated.
Injury
rates for male college indirect fatalities were high when compared to the high
school rates. Basketball had an
injury rate of 6.99 fatalities per 100,000 male participants, skiing 6.11, ice
hockey 1.05, and swimming 2.57. The year 1997-98 was the first year there were
any indirect fatalities in wrestling. There were three deaths due to heat
stroke associated with wrestlers trying to make weight for a match. The
indirect injury rate for wrestling was 1.77 per 100,000 participants.
The female indirect injury rate for basketball was 0.96 per
100,000 participants, 0.60 per 100,000 for volleyball, 0.45 for swimming and
2.68 for gymnastics.
Spring Sports (Tables XVII – XXIV – Click Data Tables in Left Margin of
Home Page to View Tables)
High
school spring sports were associated with five direct catastrophic injuries in
2007. There were three
catastrophic injuries in baseball, one in lacrosse, and one in track. High school spring sports were
also associated with seven indirect fatalities in 2007. Three of the indirect
fatalities were in lacrosse and four in track.
College
spring sports were not associated with any direct catastrophic injuries in
2007. - There were
also no indirect fatalities in college spring sports.
From
1983 through 2007, high school spring sports were associated with 118 direct
catastrophic injuries (Table XVII).
Thirty-three were listed as fatalities, 39 as catastrophic non-fatal and
46 as serious. Baseball accounted
for 47, track 59, lacrosse nine, and softball three. Injury rates were less than one per 100,000 participants for
each sport in all categories. There
were seven direct injuries to females in track, three in softball, and one in
lacrosse. There were also 59
indirect fatalities in high school spring sports during this time span (Table
XIX). Thirty-four were related to
track, 14 in baseball, seven in lacrosse and three in
tennis. There was also one serious
indirect injury in golf. Six of the
indirect fatalities involved female track athletes.
As
illustrated in Table XXI, college spring sports were associated with 35 direct
catastrophic injuries from 1983 to 2007.
Eleven of these injuries resulted in fatalities, 13 were listed as
non-fatal and 11 were listed as serious.
Baseball accounted for twelve injuries, lacrosse eleven, track ten,
softball one, and equestrian one.
College females were associated with two non-fatal injuries in lacrosse,
one in track, and one fatality in equestrian. Table XXIII shows that there were also ten indirect
fatalities in college spring sports during this time. Two indirect fatalities were associated with tennis; one was
associated with track, two in baseball, three in rowing, and two in
lacrosse. There was one female
fatality in tennis.
Injury
rates for high school spring sport direct injuries were low as illustrated in
Table XVIII. Baseball
participation reveals an average of approximately 417,000 male players and 900
female players each year, track 506,000 males and 409,000 females, and tennis
139,000 males and 145,000 females.
The baseball figures do not include the 310,000 female softball
participants each year (plus 1,100 males). Lacrosse has approximately 31,000 male and 21,000 female
participants each year. Injury
rates, as shown in Table XX, for high school indirect injuries are also low.
College
spring sports, Table XXII, are related to low injury rates for direct injuries,
with the exception of equestrian and men’s lacrosse. Men's lacrosse had four fatalities, three non-fatal and two
serious injuries and the injury rates were higher than the other college spring
sports. Female lacrosse players were associated with two non-fatal injuries and
female track (pole vault) was associated with one non-fatal injury. Equestrian was associated with a female
fatality. Participation figures
reveal approximately 5,696 men and 3,972 women lacrosse players each year. The 1991 and 2003 injuries were to
female lacrosse players.
Rates
for indirect college fatalities in baseball, tennis, and track are low with
lacrosse being slightly higher.
There were two indirect tennis fatalities, one-male and one female, but
participation figures are low. Men
average approximately 7,600 and women 7,800 participants each year. Rowing had the highest indirect injury
rate at 25.65 injuries per 100,000 male participants and 0.00 for female
participants. There are
approximately 1,950 male rowers and 6,700 female rowers each year. (Table
XXIV)
Discussion
Football
is associated with the greatest number of catastrophic injuries for all sports,
but the incidence of injury per 100,000 participants is higher in both
gymnastics and ice hockey. There
have been dramatic reductions in the number of football fatalities and non-fatal
catastrophic injuries since 1976 and the 1990 data illustrated an historic
decrease in football fatalities to zero.
This is a great accomplishment when compared to the 36 fatalities in
1968. This dramatic reduction can
be directly related to data collected by the American Football Coaches
Association Committee on Football Injuries (1931-2007) and the recommendations
that were based on that data. Non-fatal football injuries, permanent disability, decreased to one
for college football in 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2005. There was a dramatic reduction in high
school football from 13 in 1990 and 1993 to six in 2002 and five in 2005. There
was an increase to eleven in 1995 and 1996, and 14 in 1997. The 2006 data shows
15 non-fatal injuries (head and neck combined) and one fatality in high school
football. The 15 non-fatal
injuries is the highest number since the 1989 season when there were 18. Fifteen is a dramatic increase
over the six high school non-fatal injuries in 2005. Permanent disability injuries in football have seen dramatic
reductions when compared to the data from the late 1960's and early 1970's, but
a continued effort must be made to eliminate these injuries. In addition, there were four serious
injuries in high school football in 2006.
All of the serious cases involved head or neck injuries and in a number
of these cases excellent medical care saved the athlete from permanent
disability or death. College
football in 2006 was associated with a total of six catastrophic injuries –
zero fatalities, two non-fatal, and four serious.
Football
catastrophic injuries may never be totally eliminated, but progress has been
made. Emphasis should again be
focused on the preventive measures that received credit for the initial
reduction of injuries.
1.
The 1976 rule change which prohibited
initial contact with the head in blocking and tackling. There must be continued emphasis in
this area by coaches and officials.
2.
The NOCSAE football helmet standard
that went into effect at the college level in 1978 and at the high school level
in 1980. There should be continued research in helmet safety.
3.
Improved medical care of the injured
athlete. An emphasis on placing
certified athletic trainers in all high schools and colleges. There should be a
written emergency plan for catastrophic injuries both at the high school and
college levels.
4.
Improved coaching technique when
teaching the fundamental skills of blocking and tackling.
Keeping
the head out of blocking and tackling!
A
major concern in football fatalities has been the number of indirect deaths due
to heat stroke, both at the college and high school levels. During the past ten years there have
been 25 heat stroke deaths in football.
This number is unacceptable since heat stroke deaths are preventable
with the proper precautions. Every
effort should be made to continuously educate coaches concerning the proper
procedures and precautions when practicing or playing in the heat. In the Annual Survey of Football Injury
Research – 1931-2006 there are recommendations for safety during football
activity in hot weather. New
regulations by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for volunteer
summer conditioning programs and pre-season football practice went into effect
during the 2003 season and it will be very interesting to see how they effect
heat related injuries at the college level.
It
should be noted that from 1979 to 2008, according to the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, there have been 34 deaths and 51 injuries from movable
soccer goals. The most recent case
involved an eight year-old male playing on a soccer goal when it tipped over and hit his head,
causing his death. There has been
one fatality in this study, which involved a college athlete hanging on a
soccer goal and the goal falling and striking the victim's head.
On May 4,
1999, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the soccer goal industry
announced the development of a new safety standard that will reduce the risk of
soccer goal tip-over. The ‘Provisional Safety Standard and Performance
Specification for Soccer Goals” (ASTM-PS-75-99) requires that movable soccer
goals, except very lightweight goals, not tip over when the goal is weighted in
a downward or horizontal direction.
The standard also specifies warning labels must be attached to the goal,
such as: “Warning: Always anchor goal.
Unsecured goal can fall over causing serious injury or death.” For a free copy of: “Guidelines for Movable Soccer Goal
Safety,” send a postcard to CPSC, Washington, DC 20207. Also available online: http: cpsc.gov.
A
Loss Control Bulletin from K & K Insurance Group, Inc., Fort Wayne, IN,
suggests the following safeguards:
1.
Keep soccer goals supervised and
anchored.
2.
Never permit hanging or climbing on a
soccer goal.
3.
Always stand to the rear or side of the
goal when moving it - NEVER to the front.
4.
Stabilize the goal as best suits the
playing surface, but in a manner that does not create other hazards to players.
5.
Develop and follow a plan for periodic
inspection and maintenance (e.g., dry rot, joints hooks).
6.
Advise all field maintenance persons to
re-anchor the goal if moved for mowing the grass or other purposes.
7.
Remove goals from field no longer in
use for the soccer program as the season progresses.
8.
Secure goals well from unauthorized
access when stored.
9.
Educate and remind all players and
adult supervisors about the past tragedies of soccer goal fatalities.
There
is also a list of guidelines available for movable soccer goal safety and
warning labels. To obtain a copy contact the following:
The Coalition to Promote Soccer Goal Safety
C/O Soccer Industry Council of America
North Palm Beach, FL 33408
High
school wrestling, gymnastics, ice hockey, baseball and track should receive
close attention. Wrestling has
been associated with 58 direct catastrophic injuries during the past
twenty-five years. Due to the fact
that college wrestling was only associated with one catastrophic injury during
this same time period, continued research should be focused on the high school
level. High school wrestling
coaches should be experienced in the teaching of the proper skills of wrestling
and should attend coaching clinics to keep up-dated on new teaching techniques
and safety measures. They should also
have experience and training in the proper conditioning of their athletes. These measures are important in all
sports, but there are a number of contact sports, like wrestling, where the
experience and training of the coach is of the utmost importance. Full speed wrestling in physical
education classes is a questionable practice unless there is proper time for
conditioning and the teaching of skills.
The physical education teacher should also have expertise in the
teaching of wrestling skills. It
should also be emphasized that wrestling coaches need to be aware of the
dangers associated with athletes making weight. Improper weight reduction can lead to serious injuries and
death. During the 1997-1998 academic year there were three college wrestlers that
died while trying to make weight for a match. All three died of heat stroke
complications. These were the first wrestling deaths associated with weight
reduction; however, there is no information on the number of wrestlers who had
medical problems associated with weight loss, but recovered. All three of these
wrestlers were trying to lose large amounts of weight in a short period of
time. All three were also working out in areas of high heat, and were all
wearing sweat clothes or rubber suits. Making weight has always been a part of
the wrestling culture, but it is dangerous and life threatening. New rule
changes went into effect for the 1998-99 high school and college seasons, and
hopefully, making weight will be a thing of the past and will never result in
the deaths of young high school or college athletes. A significant rule change approved by the NFHS Board of
Directors in April 2005, states that in 2006-07 stronger guidelines
discouraging rapid weight loss will take effect. The revised rule includes a specific gravity not to exceed
1.025, a body fat assessment no lower than 7 percent (males)/12 percent
(females) and a monitored, weekly weight loss plan not to exceed 1.5% a week.
There is
also a national trend for an increased number of females participating in
wrestling. In 2006-2007 there were 5,048 females in high school wrestling.
Men’s
and women’s gymnastics and ice hockey were associated with higher injury rates
at both the high school and college levels. Gymnastics needs additional study at both levels of
competition. Both levels have seen a dramatic participation reduction and this
trend may continue with the major emphasis being in private clubs. Lacrosse also had a higher injury rate
at the college level.
Ice
hockey injuries are low in numbers but the injury rate per 100,000 participants
is high when compared to other sports.
Ice hockey catastrophic injuries usually occur when an athlete is struck from behind by an opponent, slides across
the ice in a prone position, and makes contact with the crown of his/her head
and the boards surrounding the rink.
The results are usually fractured cervical vertebrae with
paralysis. Research in Canada has
revealed high catastrophic injury rates with similar results. After an in-depth study of ice hockey
catastrophic injuries in Canada, Dr. Charles Tator has made the following
recommendations concerning prevention:
2.
Improve strength of neck muscles.
3.
Educate players concerning risk of neck
injuries.
4.
Continued epidemiological research.
Catastrophic
injuries in swimming were all directly related to the racing dive in the
shallow end of pools. There has been a major effort by both schools and
colleges to make the racing dive safer and the catastrophic injury data support
that effort. There has not been a college injury for the past 24 years. High school swimming has been
associated with 13 catastrophic injuries and the racing dive in the shallow end
of the pool has been involved in all cases. It is a fact that the swimming community has been made aware
of the problem with the racing dive into the shallow end of the pool, and
hopefully along with rule changes and coach’s awareness, the number of direct
catastrophic injuries in swimming will be reduced. The competitive racing start has changed and now
involves the swimmer getting more depth when entering the water. Practicing or starting competition in
the deep end of the pool or being extremely cautious could eliminate catastrophic
injuries caused by the swimmer striking his/her head on the bottom of the
pool. The National Federation of
State High School Associations Swimming and Diving Rules Book (Rule 2-7-2)
states that in pools with water depth less than three and one-half feet at the
starting end, swimmers will have to start the race in the water. The rules read that in four
feet or more of water, swimmers may use a starting platform up to a maximum of
30 inches above the water, and the pool depth shall be measured for a distance
of 16 feet, 5 inches from the end wall.
Between three and one-half and less than four feet, swimmers start from
the pool deck or in the water The National Collegiate Athletic Association
and USA Swimming have or are in the process of moving standards for use of
starting blocks to a minimum depth of five feet. In April 1995 the National Federation revised rule 2-7-2,
which now states that starting platforms shall be securely attached to the
deck/wall in pools with water depth of four feet or more in the starting
end. If they are not, they shall
not be used and deck or in-water starts will be required. These new rules point
out the importance of constant data collection and analysis. Rules and equipment changes for safety
reasons must be based on reliable injury data. The National Center has not received any information
concerning high school or college direct catastrophic swimming injuries during
the 2006-2007 season.
High
school spring sports have been associated with low incidence rates during the
past twenty-five years, but baseball was associated with 47 direct catastrophic
injuries and track 59. A majority of the baseball injuries have been caused by the
head first slide or by being struck with a thrown or batted ball. If the
headfirst slide is going to be used, proper instruction should be
involved. Proper protection for
batting practice should be provided for the batting practice pitcher and he/she
should always wear a helmet. This should
also be true for the batting practice coach. During the 2007 baseball season
three high school pitchers were stuck in the head with batted balls. One pitcher recovered, one injury was
non-fatal at the time of this writing, and one died. One injury took place in a
scrimmage game, one in batting practice, and one in a batting cage. A new rule in fast pitch softball will
require players to wear batting helmets equipped with NOCSAE approved
facemasks/guards. The rule went
into effect January 1, 2006.
The
pole vault was associated with a majority of the fatal track injuries. There have been 18 high school and
college fatal pole-vaulting injuries from 1983 to 2006. This includes the high school coach who
was demonstrating in 1998, bounced out of the pit, struck his head on concrete,
and died. In addition to the fatalities there were also eleven permanent
disability (8 high school and 3 college) and seven serious injuries (5 high
school, one college, and one middle school). All 36 of these accidents involved the vaulter bouncing out
of or landing out of the pit area. The three pole vaulting deaths in 1983 were
a major concern and immediate measures were taken by the
National Federation of State High School Associations. Beginning with the 1987 season all
individual units in the pole vault landing area had to include a common cover
or pad extending over all sections of the pit.
In
2001 there was a pole vaulting injury to a female
college athlete. The athlete was
vaulting indoors, bounced out of the pit, and hit her head on the floor. She had an epidural hematoma and a posterior
skull fracture. At the time of the
accident it was not possible to determine the extent of any long-term
disability. There was one pole
vaulting injury in 2005 and none in 2006 and 2007
Whenever
there is a pole vaulting death there are more
proponents of eliminating the event.
The crux of the opposition appears to be the potential liability and
also the lack of qualified coaches to teach the pole vault. Additional
recommendations in the 1991 rule book included
stabilizing the pole-vault standards so they cannot fall into the pit, pad the
standards, remove all hazards from around the pit area, and control traffic
along the approach. Obvious
hazards like concrete or other hard materials around the pit should be eliminated. In the National Federation of State High
Schools Track and Field Rules Book, Section 4, Article10, it states as
follows: Hard or unyielding
surfaces, such as but not limited to concrete, metal, wood or asphalt around
the landing pad, or between the planting box and the landing pad, shall be padded
or cushioned with a minimum of two (2) inches of dense foam or other suitable
material. It is also recommended
that any excess material such as asphalt or concrete that extends out from
beneath the landing pad be removed.
Due
to the numbers of pole vaulting injuries there have
also been a number of recommendations stating that pole vaulters should wear
helmets. The National Federation
of State High School Associations has made the following statement concerning pole
vaulting helmet use: The NFHS has been asked if it would be permissible for
high school students to wear some type of helmet while pole vaulting and they
stated that it would be permissible for an athlete to wear a helmet of his/her
choosing without violating the NFHS rules. A helmet designed exclusively for pole vault, the KDMax, was
released in October 2004. Six
state high school associations already require some type of helmet for pole
vaulters, and 30 states indicated on the 2004 NFHS track and field survey that
they would support mandatory helmet use if a national standard were in
place. In the NCAA helmets will
continue to be an option for pole vaulters.
It has been estimated that there are
approximately 25,000 high school pole vaulters
annually. If this number were
correct, the catastrophic injury rate for high school pole
vaulters would be higher than any of the sports included in the
research. High school coaches and
officials should be aware of the National Federation rules pertaining to the
pole vault.
There
have also been 23 accidents in high school track involving participants being
struck by a thrown discus, shot put or javelin. In 1992, a female athlete was struck by a thrown discus in
practice and died. In 1993, a
track manager was struck in the neck by a javelin, but he was lucky and
completely recovered from the accident.
In 1994, a female track athlete was struck in the face by a javelin and
will recover. In 1995, a male athlete was struck in the head by a shot put during
warm-ups and had a fractured skull.
In 1997, a male athlete was struck by a discus and died. In 1998 a female athlete was struck by
a discus and died, and a male athlete was struck in the head by a shot-put and recovered. In 1999 a male athlete was struck by a
javelin and a female athlete was struck by a discus. In 2000 a junior high school athlete
was struck in the head by a discus and has permanent disability. In 2001 a high school athlete was
struck in the cheek with a javelin during practice. In 2002 there were three athletes struck by a shot putt and
one by a discus. In 2002 there was
also a coach that was struck by a shot putt. In 2004 a male track athlete was
hit in the head with a shot putt and was in critical condition. In 2005 a track athlete was impaled
with a javelin in the shoulder. In
2006 a male track athlete was hit in the head with a javelin that went four
inches into his brain. He was very
lucky and recovered. In 2007 a
female track athlete was struck in the ankle by a javelin and needed a bone
graft. There have also
been spectators struck by the discus during high school meets. On June 23, 2005, a 77
year old official died after being struck in the head by a shot put
while athletes were practicing for the US championships. Safety precautions must be stressed for
these events in both practice and competitive meets with the result being the
elimination of this type of accident.
The National Federation of State High School Associations put a new rule
in for the 1993 track season that fenced off the back and sides of the discus
circle to help eliminate this type of accident. Good risk management should eliminate these types of
accidents. These types of injuries are not acceptable and should never happen.
The
fatality in high school lacrosse during the 1987 season was associated with a
player using his head to strike the opponent. He struck the opponent with the top or crown of his
helmet. This technique is
prohibited by the lacrosse rules and should be strictly enforced. In 2002 a high school lacrosse player
was also blocking and suffered permanent paralysis. Lacrosse has been a fairly
safe sport when considering the fact that high school lacrosse has been
involved with nine direct catastrophic injuries in twenty-five years. A possible new area of concern is the
recent lacrosse deaths being associated with players being struck in the chest
with the ball and causing death (commotio cordis). There have been seven cases (6 deaths) (two high school, one
high school club, three college, and one lacrosse summer camp) in the past nine
years. The most recent commotio cordis death happened when the player was
struck in the chest with the opponents stick. Currently there is research being funded by the National
Operating Committee for Standards in Athletic Equipment that is studying chest
protectors to help reduce commotio cordis fatalities. The lacrosse community
will have to keep a close watch on these types of deaths and possibly carry out
in-depth evaluations of these injuries.
There
was a female college lacrosse player in 1993 that was hit in the eye with a
ball and had permanent vision damage.
In the spring of 2004 protective eyewear was required for all high
school participants in states that follow NFHS rules, and for all competitors
at the NCAA championships. In 2005,
the requirement was extended to the entire season for all NCAA teams. Early reports indicate a major
reduction in eye injuries for female lacrosse players.
College
spring sports are also associated with a low injury incidence. Injury rates are slightly higher in
lacrosse but the participation figures are so low that even one injury will
increase the incidence rate dramatically.
It is important to point out that there have been nine
college male and two female lacrosse catastrophic injuries during the
past twenty-five years. The
college death in 2005 involved a male player being struck in the neck by a
ball. In a college club lacrosse
game on October 15, 2005, there was a non-fatal catastrophic injury to a male
participant. He was hit with a
point blank range shot off of his helmet.
The injury was a subdural hematoma and the athlete had surgery. There have been questions concerning
the particular helmet the player was wearing at the time. There were no direct or indirect
college lacrosse injuries in the 2006-2007 school year. It should be mentioned that there is
general concern about concussion injuries in lacrosse, and according to a study
from Temple University, female lacrosse players have the highest percentage of
concussions during a game, followed by women’s soccer.
For
the twenty-five year period from the fall of 1982 through the spring of 2007
there have been 1068 direct catastrophic injuries in high school and college
sports. High school sports were
associated with 149 fatalities, 369 non-fatal and 346 serious injuries for a
total of 864. College sports
accounted for 22 fatalities, 63 non-fatal and 119 serious injuries for a total
of 204. During this same
twenty-five year period of time there have been a total of 541 indirect injuries
and all but eleven resulted in death.
Four hundred and thirty-nine of the indirect injuries were at the high
school level and 102 were at the college level. It should be noted that high school annual athletic
participation (for sports with catastrophic injuries) for 2006-2007 includes
approximately 7,445,742, athletes (4,605,347 males and 2,840,395 females). National Collegiate Athletic
Association participation (for those sports with catastrophic injuries) for
2006-2007 was 404,728athletes. There were 245,512 males and 159,216 females.
During
the twenty- five year period from the fall of 1982
through the spring of 2007 there have been 147,115,293 high school athletes
participating in the sports covered by this report. Using these participation numbers would give a high school
direct catastrophic injury rate of 0.59 per 100,000 participants. The indirect injury rate is 0.30 per
100,000 participants. If both direct
and indirect injuries were combined the injury rate would be 0.89 per
100,000. This means that
approximately one high school athlete out of every 100,000 participating would
receive some type of catastrophic injury.
The combined fatality rate would be 0.39 per 100,000, the non-fatal rate
0.25, and the serious rate 0.24.
During
this same time period there were approximately 8,029,283 college participants
with a total direct catastrophic injury rate of 2.54 per 100,000
participants. The indirect injury
rate is 1.27 per 100,000 participants.
If both indirect and direct injuries were combined the injury rate would
be 3.81. The combined fatality
rate would be 1.51, the non-fatal rate 0.81, and the serious rate 1.49.
Female Catastrophic Injuries
There
have been a total of 112 direct and 60 indirect catastrophic injuries to high
school and college female athletes from 1982-83 – 2006-2007, which includes
cheerleading. Eighty of these were
direct injuries at the high school level and 32 at the college level. The 80 high school direct injuries
included nine in gymnastics, 44 in cheerleading, five in swimming, four in
basketball, seven in track, three in softball, three in field hockey, two in
ice hockey, one in lacrosse, one in soccer, and one in volleyball. The 50 high school indirect fatalities included
twelve in basketball, eight in swimming, six in track, six in soccer, eight in
cross country, two in volleyball, one in water polo, and seven in
cheerleading. The 32 college
direct injuries were associated with cheerleading (19), gymnastics (2), field
hockey (3), soccer (1), skiing (1), ice hockey (1), track (pole vault)(1),
equestrian (1), softball (1), and lacrosse (2). The ten college indirect fatalities included one in tennis,
three in basketball, three in soccer, one in gymnastics, one in swimming, and
one in volleyball. Catastrophic injuries
to female athletes have increased over the years. As an example, in 1982-83 there was one female catastrophic
injury and during the past 25 years there has been an average of 6.94 per year.
A major factor in this increase has been the change in cheerleading activity,
which now involves gymnastic type stunts.
If these cheerleading activities are not taught by a competent coach and
keep increasing in difficulty, catastrophic injuries will continue to be a part
of cheerleading. High school cheerleading accounted for 55.0% of all high
school direct catastrophic injuries to female athletes (two males not included)
and 59.4% at the college level (four males not included). Of the 112 direct catastrophic injuries
to high school and college female athletes from 1982-83 – 2006-2007,
cheerleading was related to 63 or 56.3%.
The cheerleading numbers have been updated from previous reports and
male cheerleaders were not included. Read the special section on cheerleading.
Athletic
administrators and coaches should place equal emphasis on injury prevention in
both female and male athletics.
Injury prevention recommendations are made for both male and female
athletes.
Athletic
catastrophic injuries may never be totally eliminated, but with reliable injury
data collection systems and constant analysis of the data these injuries can be
dramatically reduced.
TABLE 1
HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE DIRECT CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
1982-83 – 2006-07
|
SPORT Cheerleading* Gymnastics Track Swimming Basketball Ice Hockey Field Hockey Softball Lacrosse Soccer Volleyball TOTAL |
FATALITY 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 |
NON-FATALITY 13 6 1 4 1 0 3 2 0 1 1 32 |
SERIOUS 29 3 5 1 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 44 |
TOTAL 44 9 7 5 4 2 3 3 1 1 1 80 |
* Cheerleading does not include two males
TABLE 2
HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE
INDIRECT CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
1982-83 – 2006-07
|
SPORT Basketball Swimming Cheerleading Cross Country Soccer Track Volleyball Water Polo TOTAL |
FATALITY 11 7 7 8 6 6 1 1 47 |
NON-FATALITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 |
SERIOUS 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 |
TOTAL 12 8 7 8 6 6 2 1 50 |
TABLE 3
COLLEGE FEMALE DIRECT
CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
1982-82 – 2006-07
|
SPORT Cheerleading* Field Hockey Lacrosse Gymnastics Equestrian Soccer Ice Hockey Skiing Track (PV) Softball TOTAL |
FATALITY 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 |
NON-FATALITY 5 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 12 |
SERIOUS 13 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 17 |
TOTAL 19 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 32 |
*Cheerleading does not include four males
TABLE 4
COLLEGE FEMALE
INDIRECT CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
1982-83 – 2006-07
|
SPORT Soccer Basketball Tennis Volleyball Gymnastics Swimming TOTAL |
FATALITY 3 3 1 1 1 1 10 |
NON-FATALITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
SERIOUS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
TOTAL 3 3 1 1 1 1 10 |
Recommendations for Prevention
2. All personnel concerned with training athletes should
emphasize proper, gradual and
complete physical
conditioning in order to provide the athlete with optimal readiness for
the rigors of the
sport.
3. Every school should strive to have a certified athletic
trainer who is a regular member of the faculty and is adequately prepared and
qualified. There should be a written
emergency procedure plan to deal with the possibility of a catastrophic injury.
4. There should be an emphasis on
employing well-trained athletic personnel, providing
excellent facilities
and securing the safest and best equipment available.
6. Coaches should know and have the ability to teach the proper
fundamental skills of the
sport. This recommendation includes all
sports, not only football. The
proper
fundamentals
of blocking and tackling should be emphasized to help reduce head and
neck
injuries in football. Keep the head out of blocking and tackling.
7. There should
be continued safety research in athletics (rules, facilities, equipment).
8. Strict
enforcement of the rules of the game by both coaches and game officials will
help
reduce serious injuries.
9. When an
athlete has experienced or shown signs of head trauma (loss of consciousness,
visual disturbance, headache, inability to walk
correctly, obvious disorientation, memory
loss) he/she should receive immediate medical
attention and should not be allowed to
return to practice or game without permission
from the proper medical authorities.
It is
important for a physician to observe the head
injured athlete for several days following
the injury. Coaches should encourage athletes to let them know if they
have any of the
above mentioned symptoms (that can’t be seen by
others, such as headaches) and why it is
important.
10. Athletes
and their parents should be warned of the risks of injuries.
11. Coaches
should not be hired if they do not have the training and experience needed to
teach
the skills of the sport and to properly train and develop the athletes for
competition.
12. Weight loss
in wrestling to make weight for a match can be dangerous and cause serious
injury
or death. Coaches should be aware
of safety precautions and rules associated
with
this practice.
***SPECIAL NOTE***
All
of the information has been thoroughly checked and the data cleaned. Some of the numbers in Tables I - XXIV
have been changed due to this process.
All of the data in this report now meet the stated definition of injury
for high school and college sports.
It is important to note that information is constantly being updated due
to the fact that catastrophic injury information may not always reach the
center in time to be included in the current final report. The report includes data that is
reported to the NCCSIR by the NCAA, the NFHS, a national newspaper clipping
service, colleagues, coaches, and athletic trainers. There may be additional catastrophic injuries that are not
reported to the Center.
References
1.
TATOR CH, EDMONDS VE: National Survey of Spinal Injuries in
Hockey Players, Canada Medical Association 1984; 130: 875-880.
CASE
STUDIES
FOOTBALL
High school and college case studies in
football are not duplicated for this report. They are included in the football reports on the www site –
www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi
HIGH SCHOOL
CROSS COUNTRY
A 16 year-old high school junior died
during a practice session on October 6, 2006. He had just completed running a warm-up mile and was walking
off the track when he collapsed.
Cause of death was related to a congenital heart problem.
A 16 year-old high school female
collapsed and died on August 15, 2006.
She collapsed shortly after the start of practice. Cause of death was a congenital heart
defect. CPR was given to the
victim by the coaches and paramedics, but she did not respond. A defibrillator was not available.
SOCCER
NONE
FIELD
HOCKEY
COLLEGE
NONE
ICE
HOCKEY
HIGH SCHOOL
NONE
SWIMMING
A 19 year-old female college swimmer
was found unconscious at the bottom of the pool during a practice session on
12/16/06. Circumstances and cause
of death were not clear at the time of this writing. It was noted that the swimmer did have epilepsy. The swimmer was not feeling well during
the practice and was told to get out of the water. No one saw her re-enter or fall into the water until she was
seen at the bottom of the pool.
BASKETBALL
HIGH SCHOOL
A 14 year-old eighth grader collapsed
while playing in a middle school game in the fall of 2006. The athlete died and the autopsy was
inconclusive. The school did not
have an automated external defibrillator, but the victim was given CPR.
An 18 year-old high school basketball
player collapsed and died during a practice session on 11/29/06. Death was heart related. The victim’s mother died of a genetic
heart condition in November 2007.
A 15 year old
high school ninth grader collapsed during a practice session on 12/6/06 and
died on 12/13/06. Cause of death
was a heart infection which resulted in a coma and
loss of brain function.
A 17 year-old high school basketball
player was undercut while going for a layup during a game in January 2007. He hit his head on the floor with the
result being a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain. He had surgery and a full recovery was
expected.
UPDATE 2003 – Athlete was playing in a
freshman game and was undercut going for a rebound. The accident took place in December of 2003. He fractured his lower spine and had
eight hours of surgery in August of 2004.
He has recovered and is playing football again.
COLLEGE
A college freshman collapsed in the
locker room during halftime of a game on February 14, 2007. He died later at the hospital. An automated external defibrillator was
on the campus but no one knew where it was. Cause of death was heart related.
A 21 year-old college basketball player
collapsed during conditioning drills in October of 2006. He died later at the hospital. A preliminary autopsy showed a ruptured
blood vessel to the heart. He
received CPR on-site until the ambulance arrived.
HIGH SCHOOL
A high school junior wrestler was
injured in a match on January 12, 2007.
He landed on his head and injured his neck when taken down. He was in the hospital and had
paralysis from the chest down.
A high school wrestler fractured a
cervical vertebra during a match 0n January 28, 2007. His opponent performed a barrel roll and drove the victim’s
head into the mat. He had a full
recovery.
A 17 year old
high school wrestler was injured during a match on March 10, 2007. He fractured cervical vertebrae 5-6 and
had surgery. He was injured when
taken down to the mat onto his head.
At the present time he is paralyzed and is not expected to walk again.
LACROSSE
HIGH SCHOOL
A 14 year-old eighth grade lacrosse
player collapsed during a non-contact drill and later died at the
hospital. No other information was
available.
An 18 year-old high school lacrosse
player was hit in the chest by a hard shot on May 7, 2007. He was a defensive
player and the shot hit him in the left lateral chest. He immediately
collapsed, was not breathing, but did have a pulse on the initial first aid
evaluation. Coaches tried to start
CPR but could not get the mouth open.
With CPR player coughed and spit out blood, started breathing, and
seemed to feel fine. Was down for
5 to 6 minutes. Diagnosed with
heart and lung contusion. Player
has recovered.
A 14 year-old high school lacrosse
player died from what was first believed to be a ball to the head during
pre-game activity. He died of a
cerebral artery aneurysm with no indication that he was struck with a lacrosse
ball.
A 15 year-old high school lacrosse
player collapsed during running drills and later died. Cause of death was cardiac sudden
death.
A high school club lacrosse player died
of commotion cordis after being hit with a legal stick check to the chest. Commotio cordis is a sudden disturbance
of the heart’s electrical rhythm usually caused by a blunt impact to the
chest. The accident took place on
11/28/06 and he died on 11/30/06.
BASEBALL
HIGH SCHOOL
A 14 year-old high school baseball
player was hit in the head by a line drive off of a metal bat. He was pitching varsity
batting practice. Injuries included a fractured skull and bleeding in
the brain. He was behind a safety
screen at the time of the accident.
At the present time he has impaired ability to speak and recovery is
incomplete. Recovery is expected
in the future.
A high school baseball player was
injured on January 1, 2007 while pitching in a scrimmage game. He was hit in the right temple by a
line drive and received a fractured skull, fractured bone behind the eye,
fractured cheek bone, and a blood clot. He is recovering, but will have to wear
protective face/head gear when he returns to play. Bat was metal.
A 17 year-old high school baseball
player was injured on February 23, 2007 and died on February 25, 2007, after
being hit by a line drive while pitching to a teammate in a batting cage. The ball was hit from another batting
cage and went through both nets and hit the victim in the back of the head.
TRACK
HIGH SCHOOL
A 13 year-old female seventh grader
became ill at track practice, collapsed, and later died of cardiac arrhythmia.
A high school track athlete collapsed
during practice in April 2007 and later died. His death was thought to be heart related.
A high school track athlete was struck
by lightning shortly before a track meet.
He was 18 years old. Coaches
and others tried to revive him, but he died by the time he reached the
hospital.
An 18 year-old track athlete collapsed
and died while running sprints with other athletes during practice. He did have asthma, but the cause of
death was unknown.
A javelin impaled a 14 year-old female
track athlete during a meet. She
was going to get her javelin after a throw and was hit in the ankle by another
thrower’s javelin. She was walking outside the danger area when hit. She required a bone graft, but will recover.
VOLLEYBALL
HIGH SCHOOL
NONE
GOLF
HIGH SCHOOL
NONE
FIELD HOCKEY
HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE
COLLEGE – 2006
UPDATE
A 12 year-old female was playing in a
non-school traveling softball team practice when she was hit in the head by a
ground ball. She was unconscious
after being hit, and never regained consciousness.
TENNIS
HIGH SCHOOL AND
COLLEGE
NONE
WATER
POLO
HIGH SCHOOL AND
COLLEGE
NONE
GYMNASTICS
HIGH SCHOOL AND
COLLEGE
NONE
ROWING
HIGH SCHOOL AND
COLLEGE
NONE
EQUESTRIAN
HIGH SCHOOL AND
COLLEGE
NONE
Special Section on Cheerleading
The
Consumer Product Safety Commission reported an estimated 4,954
hospital emergency room visits in 1980 caused by cheerleading
injuries. By 1986 the number had
increased to 6,911, in 1994 the number increased to approximately 16,000, in
1999 the number increased to 21,906, and in 2004 the number increased to
28,414. Granted, the number of
cheerleaders has also increased dramatically during this time frame. It is important to stress that
catastrophic injuries have also been a part of cheerleading during the last 25
years and coaches and administrators should be aware of the situation.
The
National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research has been collecting
cheerleading catastrophic injury data during the past twenty-five years,
1982-83 – 2006-2007 (see Tables 5 and 6). There was one high school
cheerleading catastrophic injury during the 2006-2007 school year. The athlete fractured cervical
vertebrae six and seven, and had surgery.
College
cheerleaders were involved in two accidents during 2006-2007. Both cheerleaders fractured cervical
vertebrae during a routine and had a full recovery.
Following
is a sample review of the data:
1.
In the early 1980's a female college cheerleader fractured
her skull after falling from a human pyramid. She recovered and returned to cheerleading after several
weeks in the hospital.
2.
In 1983 two female college cheerleaders
received concussions within a period of five days in the same gymnasium. One struck her head on the floor after
falling from a pyramid and the second cheerleader struck her head on the floor
after falling backward from the shoulders of a male partner.
3.
In the summer of 1984 a female high
school cheerleader was injured at practice when she fell from a pyramid. She was partially paralyzed.
4.
A male college cheerleader was injured
in a tumbling accident during a basketball game in December 1983. He fractured and dislocated several
cervical vertebrae and was paralyzed.
He received his injuries after diving over a mini-trampoline and several
cheerleaders. The stunt is called
a dive into a forward roll. He has
made progress and can now walk unaided for several blocks and is able to feed
himself.
5.
In 1985 a female high school
cheerleader was paralyzed from the chest down after attempting a back flip off
the back of another cheerleader.
6.
In 1985 a female college cheerleader
fractured her skull after a fall from the top of a pyramid striking her head on
the gym floor. She was in critical
condition for a period of time but has made progress and is back in
school. She is now involved in
occupational therapy.
7.
A male college cheerleader was
paralyzed after a fall in practice.
He was attempting a front flip from a mini-trampoline. He dislocated several cervical
vertebrae and is now quadriplegic.
8.
In 1986 a female college cheerleader
fell from a pyramid and was knocked unconscious after striking the floor. Her status was unknown at the time of
this writing.
9.
In 1986 a college female cheerleader
died from injuries suffered in a cheerleading accident. She suffered multiple skull fractures
and massive brain damage after falling from the top of a pyramid type stunt and
striking her head on the gym floor.
10.In 1987 a
17-year-old high school cheerleader fell from a pyramid. She was tossed into the air by two
other cheerleaders and was supposed to flip backwards and land on the shoulders
of two other girls. Her spinal
cord was not severed but she is paralyzed from the waist down.
11.During
the 1987-1988 school year a female cheerleader suffered a fractured collarbone,
a damaged eardrum and a basal skull fracture. She was practicing a pyramid and was six feet off the gym
floor with no spotters. She has
suffered partial hearing loss and has to wear special glasses for reading.
12.In
January 1988 a female cheerleader fell from a pyramid and landed on her face
and shoulder. She suffered a
fractured collarbone and head injuries.
She was in a light coma in the hospital but complete recovery is
expected.
13.In
January 1989 a high school cheerleader fractured a cervical vertebra after
falling from a mount in practice. She will recover with no permanent
disability.
14.On July
11, 1989 a 16-year-old high school cheerleader fractured a cervical vertebra
and is quadriplegic. She slipped
while doing a series of back flips on damp grass.
15.On March
10, 1990 a female high school cheerleader was thrown into the
air by two other cheerleaders.
She fell to the floor onto her neck and was in the hospital for one
week. The routine was called a
basket toss. She has recovered and
is back in school.
16.On March
1, 1990 a 21-year-old male college cheerleader was injured at practice. In attempting to do a back flip he hit
his head against a wall. He was
taken to the hospital by ambulance.
He has since recovered and the injuries were not serious.
17.In June
of 1991 a 15-year-old cheerleader suffered injuries to the head. She was struck in the head by her
falling partner and also after striking the ground. The injury took place in a cheerleading camp. The cheerleader was taken to the hospital
but her condition is not known at this time.
18.A middle
school cheerleader was injured in October 1991 and died the next week. She fell from a double level
cheerleading stance during practice.
She hit her head on the gym floor.
19.A
20-year-old college cheerleader suffered a head injury while practicing a
cheerleading stunt in which she was thrown into the air but was not caught by
her teammates. She landed on the
gym floor. She was in critical
condition but has been upgraded to serious and is expected to recover.
20.In May of
1992 a college cheerleader was doing a tumbling sequence when she landed on her
back and fractured T-12. The
practice was not supervised. There
was a complete recovery.
21.A high
school cheerleader was injured during a basketball game doing a back handspring
tuck. She hit her head on the
floor. She had surgery to remove a
blood clot. Her condition is not
known at this time.
22.A high
school cheerleader was tossed in the air during a routine, was not caught, and
fell hitting her face on the basketball floor. She remained motionless for approximately 30 minutes. She is expected to recover. The
accident happened in December 1993.
23.A high
school cheerleader fell and hit her head on the basketball floor while being
lifted by the feet by two other cheerleaders. She was taken to the hospital for observation and is
expected to recover. The accident
happened in December 1993.
24.A college
cheerleader was doing a tumbling run when he lost control and fell on his
head. He fractured a cervical vertebra
and is expected to recover. The
accident happened in August 1994.
25.A college
cheerleader was injured in a cheerleading competition in April 1994. She struck another cheerleader while
doing a backflip and fell to the floor.
She suffered a fractured cervical vertebra and is expected to recover.
26.A female
college cheerleader received a fractured skull during warm-ups for a
performance of stunts for a Christmas parade. She was injured in a four man back
tuck basket toss. She landed on
her head. There was no permanent
disability, but she was in rehabilitation for memory. The injury occurred in November 1994.
27.A high
school cheerleader was kicked in the face by a teammate who was falling from
the top of a pyramid. The injured
cheerleader suffered convulsions and was transported to the hospital. She was
in stable condition and was expected to recover. The injury occurred in January 1995.
28.A high
school cheerleader received a closed head injury in March 1995 during a basket
toss stunt. She landed on a hard rubberized basketball court. There was no permanent disability.
29.A college
cheerleader was paralyzed in April 1995 after being injured while performing a
double flip during a basket toss.
At the present time she is quadriplegic.
30.A high
school cheerleader was injured during a stunt when a fellow cheerleader fell on
her head. She has had permanent
medical problems since the accident.
This was an update from November 1993.
31.In 1997,
a high school cheerleader suffered a 15-foot fall. She had spinal cord trauma and is paralyzed. No other information was available.
32.A college
cheerleader was injured in 1997 during a tumbling routine and is now
quadriplegic. She was attempting a
back handspring into a single back tuck during practice and landed on her head.
33.In 1997,
two cheerleaders collapsed and died - one during a game and one in
tryouts. Cause of death was heart
related.
34.A high
school junior
cheerleader was doing a warm-up for a stunt in a state cheerleading
competition. The stunt involved the cheerleader doing a flip off the hands of a
teammate into the arms of several teammates. The teammates failed to catch her
and she landed on her back. She suffered a fractured elbow, a concussion, and a
back injury that later required spinal fusion. She was not able to return to
school and had to be tutored her final high school years. (This case was a 1992
update)
35.On
September 11, 1998 a 17-year-old high school cheerleader was cheering at a
football game. She attempted a
back flip, slipped on wet artificial turf, and landed on her head. She had spinal cord shock and temporary
paralysis. Recovery was going to
take approximately six months.
36.A
17-year-old high school cheerleader was injured in practice while practicing a
pyramid formation. She fell and
bruised her spinal column. She has
recovered from the injury and is back cheering.
37.A
14-year-old high school cheerleader was injured while doing a dance routine at
practice. She slipped on some
water, fell and hit her head, and was taken to the hospital. She was in intensive care but has
recovered.
38.A middle
school cheerleader fell during a stunt while practicing with her squad before a
game. She injured the ligaments around her spinal cord and was placed in a halo
brace. She is prohibited from
participating in contact sports, but will recover.
39.While
cheerleading at a basketball game the athlete collided with a player chasing a
loose ball. She received a
fractured skull and had a blood clot removed. Full recovery was expected.
40.Squad was
practicing a new stunt and the athlete was up in an extension of her partner’s
arm when she fell and landed on her head.
She had a fractured skull and was on a ventilator for 12 hours. Full recovery was expected.
41.Athlete
was on the third level of a pyramid during practice and fell on her head. She had a fractured skull and full
recovery was expected.
42.During
the 2001-2002 academic year three high school cheerleaders and one college
cheerleader had catastrophic injuries.
All four involved fractured skulls.
43.In August
of 2005 a 14 year-old female high school cheerleader died after being thrown
into the air and landing chest down in the arms of her teammates. She died of a
lacerated spleen caused by blunt abdominal trauma.
44.A 16
year-old high school female cheerleader suffered spinal shock on 9/24/05 after
fall onto her back from the shoulders of a teammate. She had a full recovery.
45.A 14 year old high school female cheerleader fell on her head
during a cheerleading stunt on October 27, 2005, and was taken to the
hospital. No other information was
available.
46.A college
female cheerleader fractured a cervical vertebra and suffered a concussion on
March 5, 2006, performing a stunt during a basketball game. She fell 15 feet
onto her head. A recovery was
expected.
47.A male 18
year-old high school cheerleader landed on his neck after performing a standing
back tuck on September 12, 2005.
It was during a practice session.
The injury was a fractured cervical vertebra and he is recovering. He was 6’ 2” tall and weighed 215
pounds.
48.A 14
year-old female high school cheerleader suffered a fractured skull on November
15, 2005, when her teammates did not catch her during a stunt. She has recovered.
49.A female
high school cheerleader fractured her skull on January 2, 2006, during a basket
toss in the school cafeteria. She
landed on her head and was taken to the hospital. She has recovered.
50.A 14
year-old female high school cheerleader collapsed and died during a
cheerleading practice. She
collapsed after being the flyer on a basket toss. Cause of death was cardiac arrest. A defibrillator was used after the accident.
51.In 2002 a
16 year-old male high school cheerleader was injured during a practice session.
He fractured a cervical vertebra and is quadriplegic.
52.In
January 2007 a 15 year-old high school cheerleader was performing a double
front flip into a cushioned landing when she took an odd bounce and landed on
her neck. She had damage to cervical vertebrae 6-7 and had a five
hour surgery. She has a
permanent titanium plate and screws along her spine. She has recovered, but
will not participate in cheering again.
53.An 18
year-old college cheerleader fractured her neck in two places when she fell
head first from a height of about 15 feet. She was a flyer during
practice. She had a halo brace
bolted to her skull for two months.
She has recovered, but will not cheer again and her movements are highly
restricted.
54.In March
of 2007 a college cheerleader fractured her neck, had a concussion, and bruised
a lung after falling 15 feet from a pyramid during a basketball game. She lost
her balance and fell to the floor.
Cheerleading
has changed dramatically in the past twenty-five years and now has two
distinctive purposes; 1) of a service-oriented leader of Cheer on the sideline;
and 2) as a highly skilled competing athlete. A number of schools, both high schools and colleges, across
the country have limited the types of stunts that can be attempted by their
cheerleaders. Rules and safety
guidelines now apply to both practice and competition. As already stated in this report, high
school and college cheerleaders account for over one-half of the catastrophic
injuries to female athletes.
Inexperienced and untrained coaches should not attempt to teach stunts
with a higher level of difficulty than their team is capable of achieving or
they have the knowledge and ability to teach.
The
basic question that has to be asked is what is the role of the
cheerleader? Approximately 20-25
states have a state championship for competitive cheer and it is not clear how
many states consider cheerleading a sport. The 2006-2007 high school participation survey shows 95,177
females. There were also 2,147
male cheerleaders. College participation numbers are hard to find since
cheerleading is not an NCAA sport.
Is cheerleading an activity that leads the spectators in cheers or is it
a sport? If the answer is to
entertain the crowd and to be in competition with other cheerleading squads,
then there must be safety guidelines initiated. Following are a list of sample guidelines that may help
prevent cheerleading injuries:
1.
Cheerleaders should have medical
examinations before they are allowed to participate. Included would be a complete medical history.
2.
Cheerleaders
should be trained by a qualified coach
with training in gymnastics and partner
stunting. This person should also be trained in the proper methods for
spotting and other safety factors.
3.
Cheerleaders should be exposed to
proper conditioning programs and trained in proper spotting techniques.
4.
Cheerleaders should receive proper
training before attempting gymnastic and partner type stunts and should not
attempt stunts they are not capable of completing. A qualification system demonstrating mastery of stunts is
recommended.
5.
Coaches should supervise all practice
sessions in a safe facility.
6.
Mini-trampolines and flips or falls off
of pyramids and shoulders should be prohibited.
7.
Pyramids over two high should not be
performed. Two high pyramids
should not be performed without mats and other safety precautions.
8.
If it is not possible to have a
physician or certified athletic trainer at games and practice sessions,
emergency procedures must be provided.
The emergency procedure should be in writing and available to all staff
and athletes.
9.
There should be continued research
concerning safety in cheerleading.
10.When a
cheerleader has experienced or shown signs of head trauma (loss of
consciousness, visual disturbances, headache, inability to walk correctly,
obvious disorientation, memory loss) she/he should receive immediate medical
attention and should not be allowed to practice or cheer without permission
from the proper medical authorities.
11.Cheerleading
coaches should have some type of safety certification. The American Association of
Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors offers this certification.
According
to the National Federation of State High School Associations, a primary purpose
of sideline spirit groups (dance, pom, drill or cheer) is to serve as support
groups for the interscholastic athletic programs within the school. A primary purpose for competitive
spirit groups is to represent the school in organized competition. In January of 1993, 18 rules revisions
were adopted for spirit groups.
One of the major rules prohibits tumbling over, under, or through
anything (people or equipment). All
of the other rules were adopted to enhance the safety of the participants.
Today, emphasis is placed not only on the stunting athlete, but also on the
base and the spotter. Proper
conditioning and attentiveness will help minimize the risk involved in a competition. Information concerning these new rules
and updates are available from the National Federation of State High School
Associations in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The contact person is Susan Loomis.
On July
1, 2006, the Missouri State High School Activities Association no longer
sanctioned cheerleaders to take part in regional or state competitions. The association will maintain
jurisdiction over sideline cheerleading at school athletic events. Squads that want to compete must do so
as a club. In the fall of 2007 the
South Dakota High School Activities Association will sanction competitive
cheerleading and dance, and compete for state championships. The decision was made from a student
interest survey, and female four top sports were cheer, dance, softball, and
soccer.
In July
2006 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Varsity Brands
have formed an alliance to enhance cheerleading safety at NCAA institutions by
creating the College Cheerleading Safety Initiative. An important part of this program is the safety program
developed by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and
Administrators (AACCA). The latest
addition of the AACCA Cheerleading Safety Manual was published in 2006 and is
very informative for college coaches.
All college coaches should have a copy of this safety manual and be
familiar with its contents.
In 2005
the NCAA Insurance program stated that 25% of money spent on student athlete
injuries resulted from cheerleading.
The rate of cheerleaders to football players is 12 to 100.
It is the
opinion of the authors that following cheerleading rules and safety manual
guidelines that are written by cheerleading experts is an excellent way to help
prevent cheerleading injuries. The
new restrictions can be found on the AACCA web site www.aacca.org. The web site
also has safety measures for high school cheerleading and other safety
information. There is also a
publication on the website called “A Parents Guide to Cheerleading Safety”
which offers the five top questions parents should be asking when their child
joins a school cheerleading squad.
DIRECT INJURIES
1982-83 – 2006-2007
|
SPORT 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1987 1987-1988 1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 TOTAL |
FATALITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 |
NON-FATALITY 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 2 0 0 0 14 |
SERIOUS 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 3 3 0 2 2 2 2 5 1 30 |
TOTAL 0 0 1 1 0 3 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 2 0 3 3 0 5 3 4 2 6 1 46 |
** INCLUDES TWO MALE CHEERLEADERS
TABLE 6
COLLEGE CHEERLEADING
1982-83 – 2006-2007
|
SPORT 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1987 1987-1988 1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 TOTAL |
FATALITY 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 |
NON-FATALITY 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 7 |
SERIOUS 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 15 |
TOTAL 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 2 23 |
In 2008 the National
Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (NCCSIR) was contacted by Ms.
Kimberly Archie, Director of the National Cheer Safety Foundation. The National Cheer Safety Foundation
was created by parents for parents, and is interested in cheer safety and the
collection of cheerleading injury data. Cheer injuries can be reported to www.cheerinjuryreport.com.
Jessica Smith, a college cheerleader who had a serious injury while
cheering, is the National Spokesperson.
The
Foundation was interested in collecting cheerleading injury data from across
the United States and was interested in collaborating with the NCCSIR. The NCCSIR was interested in working
with the Foundation since it is always an asset to get as much injury data as
possible for all sports from all sources.
Ms. Archie sent me an initial list of 86 cheerleading injuries, of which
NCCSIR had only a small number.
After going through the list, a decision was made to include 33 of the
injuries and to combine them with the NCCSIR data. A recommendation was also
made to the Foundation as to the kinds of data that should be collected for
catastrophic cheerleading injuries in the future. It is expected that future data will meet all of the
requirements. As an example, the
NCCSIR did not include concussion injuries unless they were severe brain
injuries and created ongoing medical problems. The Center also did not include
injuries that could not be verified. Catastrophic injuries as defined by the
NCCSIR can be found in the introduction to this report.
The
following Table (Table 7) illustrates the high school and college injuries that
were accepted from the Foundation:
TABLE 7
CHEERLEADING CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
DATA FROM NATIONAL CHEER SAFETY FOUNDATION
1982 – 2007
|
LEVEL High School College TOTAL |
FATALITIES 0 0 0 |
DISABILITY 8 4 12 |
SERIOUS 15 3 18 |
TOTAL 23 7 30 |
If
the high school and college injury data from the National Cheer Safety
Foundation were combined with the high school and college cheerleading injury
data collected by the NCCSIR, the results would be as illustrated in the
following tables (Tables 8-9):
TABLE 8
CHEERLEADING CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
HIGH SCHOOL COMBINED DATA
1882-1983 - 2006-2007
|
SPORT 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1987 1987-1988 1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 TOTAL |
FATALITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 |
NON-FATALITY 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 4 2 3 0 0 0 22 |
SERIOUS 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 1 1 0 5 4 1 3 2 3 4 9 2 45 |
TOTAL 0 0 2 1 1 3 1 2 2 2 1 2 4 1 2 1 5 4 2 7 4 6 1 0 2 69 |
TABLE 9
CHEERLEADING CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
COLLEGE COMBINED DATA
1982 – 2007
|
SPORT 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1987 1987-1988 1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 TOTAL |
FATALITY 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 |
NON-FATALITY 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 11 |
SERIOUS 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 18 |
TOTAL 2 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 2 1 1 1 1 3 0 2 0 1 3 30 |
Table
10 illustrates high school female catastrophic injuries for the past 25 years,
but the table now includes the combined cheerleading injury data from the
National Cheer Safety Foundation and the NCCSIR. In the original table (Table
1) high school cheerleading accounted for 55.0% of all high school female sports
catastrophic injuries. In Table
10, high school cheerleading accounts for 65.1% of all female high school
sports catastrophic injuries.
TABLE 10
HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE DIRECT CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
1982-83 – 2006-07
|
SPORT Cheerleading* Gymnastics Track Swimming Basketball Ice Hockey Field Hockey Softball Lacrosse Soccer Volleyball TOTAL |
FATALITY 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 |
NON-FATALITY 21 6 1 4 1 0 3 2 0 1 1 40 |
SERIOUS 44 3 5 1 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 59 |
TOTAL 67 9 7 5 4 2 3 3 1 1 1 103 |
*Cheerleading combined data with Cheer Safety Foundation and
NCCSIR
Table 11 illustrates college female
catastrophic injuries for all sports for the past 25 years, but the table now
includes the combined cheerleading injury data from the National Cheer Safety
Foundation and the NCCSIR. In the
original table (Table 3) college cheerleading accounted for 59.4% of all
college female sports catastrophic injuries. In Table 11, college cheerleading accounts for 66.7% of all
college female sports catastrophic injuries.
TABLE 11
COLLEGE FEMALE DIRECT
CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
1982-82 – 2006-07
|
SPORT Cheerleading* Gymnastics Track Swimming Basketball Ice Hockey Field Hockey Softball Lacrosse Soccer TOTAL |
FATALITY 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 |
NON-FATALITY 9 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 16 |
SERIOUS 16 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 20 |
TOTAL 26 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 39 |
*Cheerleading combined data with Cheer Safety Foundation and
NCCSIR
The
NCCSIR will continue to share data with the National Cheer Safety Foundation,
and in future reports the cheerleading and female catastrophic injury tables
will be combined into single tables.