A new study shows that football and wrestling account for most ofthe mild head injuries among 10 high school sports. Nothing unusualin that finding, because the players are in grueling physical contactwith other athletes. The surprise was that girls' soccer ranked No.3 in head injuries.
As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association,the study tracked 1,219 injuries at 235 high schools nationwide overthree years. Football players accounted for 773 of those injuries,or more than 63 percent of the cases. Wrestlers had 10 percent ofthe head injuries, followed by female soccer players with 6 percent.
The study focused on injuries that were serious enough for thestudent athlete to be removed from play and evaluated. Injuriesamong football players get the most attention, but head injuries canand do occur in every sport, including girls' soccer.
Soccer has become one of the most popular sports for girls since1996, when the U.S. women's team won its first Olympic gold medal.This new research should not scare off any girl interested in playingthe most popular game in the world. If future studies show anincrease in head injuries, soccer players can do as football playersand wrestlers do: Start wearing a protective helmet.
No one lives a life without hazards. The benefits of team sports,often cited as a reason for success by executives, outweigh thechances of serious injury from soccer. The potential for injuryshould not be magnified to the point that it robs girls of therewards of sports.
