Children Running-Related Injuries on the Rise

Encouraging children and adolescents to run for physical activity and health is good but running-related injuries are not.

The number of running-related injuries suffered by American youngsters aged 6 to 18 increased 34 percent between 1994 and 2007, according to a new study.

During that period, there were an estimated 225,344 such injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments, an average of more than 16,000 per year.

The majority of the running-related injuries were sprains and strains to the lower extremities. Falls accounted for one-third of the injuries and more than half of the injuries occurred at school, said the researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Youngsters aged 6 to 14 were more likely to be injured as a result of a fall and while running at school, while teens aged 15 to 18 were more likely to be injured while running in the street or at a sports and recreation facility.

Education, education and more education is needed here.

While most public schools have cut back on physical education requirements, the amount of childhood obesity has increased. Appropriate diet and exercise MUST be approriately addressed in the schools.