Leaders in healthcare, wellness, safety and fitness came together to launch the STOP Sports Injuries campaign. The campaign will educate athletes, parents, trainers, coaches and healthcare providers about the rapid increase in youth sports injuries, the necessary steps to help reverse the trend and the need to keep young athletes healthy.

STOP Sports Injuries campaign highlights include teaching proper prevention techniques, discussing the need for open communication between everyone involved in young athletes’ lives, and encouraging those affected to take The Pledge to become advocates for sports safety and take the preventative measures to keep kids in the game for life.

Sports injuries among young athletes are on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high school athletes alone account for an estimated 2 million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations every year.

“Regardless of whether the athlete is a professional, an amateur, an Olympian or a young recreational athlete, the number of sports injuries is increasing — but the escalation of injuries in kids is the most alarming,” said Dr. James Andrews, president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and STOP Sports Injuries Co-Campaign Chair. “Armed with the correct information and tools, today’s young athletes can remain healthy, play safe and stay in the game for life.”

Orthopaedic surgeons are currently seeing two trends: a rapid rise in the number of youth sports injuries and a drop in the age of young athletes with overuse injuries. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, every year more than 3.5 million children age 14 and younger are treated for sports injuries.

“The increasing number of youth sports injuries affects everyone involved in a young athlete’s life — coaches, parents, trainers and healthcare providers. We created the STOP Sports Injuries campaign to raise awareness about the problem and provide accurate information to keep the lines of communication open and ensure that young athletes stay healthy, stay on the field and stay out of the operating room,” continued Andrews.

The high rate of youth sports injuries is fueled by an increase in overuse and trauma injuries and a lack of attention paid to proper injury prevention. According to the CDC, more than half of all sports injuries in children are preventable.

The STOP Sports Injuries campaign will feature public service announcements, a website with information about sport specific injuries, and The Pledge for athletes, parents, coaches, and healthcare providers to support. The campaign website and pledge are available at www.stopsportsinjuries.org.

Supporting the STOP Sports Injuries campaign are the country’s leading sports medicine organizations, along with professional athletes and business leaders who have signed on as members of the campaign’s Council of Champions. This Council will help raise awareness about this growing epidemic of youth sports injuries. Some of the founding members of the Council include former Olympic champions Christie Rampone, Eric Heiden and Bonnie Blair; professional golfer Jack Nicklaus; NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr; MLB baseball player John Smoltz; NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long; and Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford.

Council of Champions members and national launch spokesmen John Smoltz and Sam Bradford are familiar with the effects of sports injuries.

“My recent shoulder injury highlighted the importance of injury prevention, recovery, and communicating with my coaches, trainers and healthcare providers,” said Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. “I joined the STOP Sports Injuries campaign to share my experiences and encourage young athletes to join this important cause. It is important for kids to know that it is fun to play organized or recreational sports, but it’s even more important for them to stay healthy while they play.”

“As a baseball player and a father, preventing sports injuries to both me and my children is a priority. Having seen the benefits of good health and the setbacks of injury, we need to create a stronger awareness of the importance of proper techniques, open lines of communication, and encouraging safe play with athletes. This will keep young athletes healthy and in the game,” said John Smoltz, former Major League Baseball (MLB) player. “The STOP Sports Injuries campaign sets out to give parents and athletes important tools to accomplish these goals and reduce youth sports injuries.”

Healthcare organizations that are partnering on the campaign include the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, National Athletic Trainers’ Association, National Strength and Conditioning Association and SAFE Kids USA.

“The goal of this initiative is to slow, and eventually halt, the rising rate of injuries in young athletes so that these kids can become healthy adults who enjoy exercise, camaraderie and physical health for life. We support the STOP Sports Injuries campaign because when the parents, trainers, coaches and healthcare providers have the best information about injury prevention and treatment they all can work together — and with the athlete — to keep him or her safe,” said John J. Callaghan, MD, president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics and its Council on Sports Medicine & Fitness is involved in the STOP Sports Injuries campaign because we believe this is a great way to get injury prevention information to the people that matter most, mainly the coaches and parents. In working with the other partner organizations as well, the campaign will have an established infrastructure on many levels to allow this important information to reach the intended target audience,” said Andrew J.M. Gregory, MD, FAAP, FACSM, Executive Committee member, American Academy of Pediatrics.

“AMSSM is committed to injury prevention and the STOP Sports Injuries campaign is a perfect opportunity to join with other interested organizations to promote safe youth sports activity,” said Kim Harmon, MD, President of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.

“The NATA is proud to support the STOP Sports Injury campaign. Prevention is the number one priority of athletic trainers! This initiative is a perfect complement to our injury prevention strategies and programs and will help ensure the health and safety of young athletes,” said Marjorie J. Albohm, MS, ATC, President, National Athletic Trainers’ Association.

“The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) develops and presents the most advanced information regarding strength training and conditioning practices, and central to its mission is bridging the gap between the scientist and the practitioner in the field. The STOP Sports Injuries campaign fits directly with the mission of the NSCA since proper strength and conditioning practices play a major role in sports injury prevention. The NSCA is honored to contribute and collaborate with other organizations in the STOP Sports Injuries campaign to prevent athletic overuse and trauma injuries in youth,” said John P. McCarthy, PhD, PT, FACSM, CSCS, NSCA Board of Directors and Sports Medicine Professional member, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“We all want our kids to be active and healthy — but this means keeping them safe too. We have joined the STOP Sports Injuries campaign to stem the growing tide of sports-related injuries seen in our youth today. Together we will reach parents, coaches and the young players themselves to ensure that they stay active, healthy — and free from injury,” said Mitch Stoller, president, SAFE Kids USA.

The STOP Sports Injuries campaign was first initiated by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and includes a comprehensive public outreach program focused on the importance of sports safety-specifically relating to overuse and trauma injuries. The initiative not only raises awareness and provides education on injury reduction, but also highlights how playing safe and smart can enhance and extend a child’s athletic career, improve teamwork, reduce obesity rates and create a lifelong love of exercise and healthy activity. The campaign’s message underscores the problems of youth overuse and trauma injuries and emphasizes the expertise of our coalition of experts, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Athletic Trainers’ Association, National Strength and Conditioning Association, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and SAFE Kids USA.

A new survey conducted by the American Legacy Foundation(R) (Legacy) finds that the majority (63 percent) of sports fans surveyed are current or former smokers and 76 percent of them have smoked while watching or attending sporting events. The study examines whether sports fans were exposed to secondhand smoke while watching sports; smoked while watching sports at certain venues; or whether those who quit smoking relapsed while watching a game. The survey also examined whether watching sports was a trigger for fans who smoke.

The survey also indicated that 60 percent of sports fans have been exposed to secondhand smoke in the past year while watching or attending sporting events and that 36 percent of sports fans who smoke or used to smoke are extremely or very tempted to smoke while viewing sporting events in their own homes. When the score of the game is close, nearly one third are extremely or very tempted to light up.

Starting this week and through the winter, many smokers will be exposed to new quit smoking messages through the EX(R) national smoking cessation campaign. Legacy, along with the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation (NATC), announced today that the next round of new ads in its two-year old EX campaign are now being featured during FOX Sports’ broadcast of Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series (ALCS) and World Series. The campaign’s new ad debut includes traditional 30-second in-game commercials, as well as new virtual home plate signage that will be seen during live action.

The placement of the ads during the ALCS and World Series is the first of several that will appear in different sports venues through the winter, including “Bassmasters” programming on ESPN2 and national radio programming on Sporting News Radio. The ads are now prominently featured during ALCS games on FOX and will run in various formats through January to encourage smokers to visit www.BecomeAnEX.org for a free comprehensive plan to “re-learn life without cigarettes.”

“For years, tobacco industry advertisements were prominently displayed during sporting events, circumventing the federal ban on tobacco advertising on television,” said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, Legacy’s president and CEO. “Through EX, we hope to help fans who smoke to beat this addiction with a free, easy-to-follow three-step plan to quit smoking.”

These new ads may also help to counter the images of players who use smokeless tobacco — both snuff and chew — whom fans of professional baseball are accustomed to seeing. Eight million Americans 12 and older use smokeless tobacco products and annually one million more begin using them. Adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers.

Released just prior to Lung Cancer Awareness Month and the Great American Smoke Out in November, a critical time to help the 43 million Americans who smoke to finally quit, these findings indicate a high proportion of smokers among sports fans surveyed (34 percent). Eighty-four percent of sports fans who are current smokers reported that they smoke cigarettes while watching or attending sporting events.

The NATC encourages fans who smoke to use the EX quit plan, a two-year old collaborative of state and national public health groups spearheaded by Legacy. This is the second phase of EX advertising and promotions which are designed to help smokers “re-learn” life without cigarettes.

EX is more than an advertising campaign. It provides evidence-based tools to help smokers quit, including information that can help them prepare for a quit attempt by 1) “Re-learning” their thinking on the behavioral aspects of smoking and how different smoking triggers can be overcome with practice and preparation; 2) “Re-learning” their knowledge of addiction and how medications can increase their chances for quitting success; and 3) “Re-learning” their ideas of how support from friends and family members can play a critical role in quitting.

Because social support is so important, EX has supplemented its online quitting plan at www.BecomeAnEX.org with a virtual community for smokers who want to convene and collaborate on their successes and challenges in the difficult quit process. Since March 2008, when the program first debuted, more than a million people have visited www.BecomeAnEX.org for help re-learning life without cigarettes. More than 14,000 smokers have joined the online community, forming nearly 300 customized support groups. EX tools were designed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and with input from former and current smokers who have lived with this struggle, in order to provide smokers with a realistic approach with evidence-based research.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, most smokers in America — 70 percent — want to quit, but in 2000, only about five percent were successful in quitting long-term. Quitting smoking is ultimately one of the single most important lifestyle changes one can make to improve and extend their lives. Tobacco-related disease is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States; smokers therefore need to be armed with all the available information to make the best, most informed choices about the smoking cessation resources available to them.

EX(R) is a collaborative public health campaign presented by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation, a partnership of the nation’s leading public health organizations and states. The campaign helps smokers prepare to quit and guides them to useful resources that foster successful quit attempts including the EX plan, a free personalized quit plan available on the campaign’s Web site www.BecomeAnEX.org. EX is the culmination of several years of research and testing, combining an understanding of the power of nicotine addiction with messages that resonate with and motivate smokers toward behavior change. The EX approach is peer to peer and focuses on “re-learning life without cigarettes” by encouraging smokers to think differently about the process of quitting. The campaign, which began airing nationwide in March 2008, includes television, radio, online AND out-of-home advertising. The EX Web site helps smokers create their own individual plan to quit and connects them to a virtual community of other smokers where they can share stories and strategies about quitting. Founding members of the NATC include numerous states and the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the National Cancer Institute, the American Legacy Foundation, C-Change, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and clinical partner, the Mayo Clinic.

This survey was conducted using Opinion Research Corporation’s online CARAVAN on October 8-9, 2009 among a sample of 1,027 adults comprising 482 men and 545 women 18 years of age and older. Completed interviews are weighted by four variables: age, sex, geographic region, and race, to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population, 18 years of age and older. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. The data have been weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the 18+ population. Because the sample is based on those who initially self-selected for participation, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. “Sports fans” were defined as anyone who watched sporting events, including college and professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey, NASCAR racing, golf, tennis, bowling, and fishing on a regular basis.

Source: American Legacy Foundation

“Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can happen any time and anywhere, even impacting seemingly healthy athletes, young adults, and those without any known signs of heart disease,” said Dr. Vince Mosesso, medical director for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA). “Our sympathies are extended to the families of the three Detroit runners, and we will defer to the local medical examiner for conclusive reports on the cause of death, but the collapse of three runners in one race only heightens the importance of greater public education and awareness about sudden cardiac arrest.”

Mosesso said that nearly 300,000 U.S. deaths are attributed to SCA each year, resulting in the collapse of an American about once every two minutes. While early bystander and immediate CPR and AED use have been shown to significantly improve survival, still many SCA victims do not receive treatment fast enough and the overall survival rate remains tragically low at eight percent.

He urged the public to remember these basic facts about sudden cardiac arrest:

– SCA is different than a heart attack, and involves an electrical disruption of the heart that results in a very rapid but extremely weak heart beat, prohibiting the heart from circulating blood and oxygen to the body (as compared to a pumping malfunction from a blocked artery that is often the cause of a heart attack)
– SCA requires immediate CPR and often the shock of a defibrillator to restore the heart’s natural rhythm
– A previous heart attack, coronary artery disease and a family history of sudden death or unexplained syncope (fainting) are among the risk factors that should always be shared with a personal physician, as well as other risk factors such as obesity, smoking and diabetes
– Implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) provide round-the-clock protection for more than a million Americans identified as at risk of SCA.

www.suddencardiacarrest.org

Source: Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association