HHS HealthBeat (April 08, 2008)

Tough gymnastics

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Gymnastics is far from risk-free. Researchers who looked at national data on kids say gymnastics results in about 27,000 injuries a year that wind up in emergency rooms.

The most common – 44 percent – were strains and sprains, most commonly in gymnasts ages 12 to 17. Fractures and dislocations were diagnosed about 30 percent of the time, most commonly in gymnasts ages 6 to 11.

Lara McKenzie at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio:

``We may be able to prevent and reduce the number of gymnastics-related injuries if we were to establish a uniform set of rules and regulations for gymnasts, trainers and coaches.’’  (10 seconds)

The study was in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal Pediatrics. One researcher received funds from a training program supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: April, 07 2008