Injuries and Concussions are Common in Lacrosse Players: Study

Risk of concussions and injuries is high among lacrosse players, according to a study.

Lacrosse is a popular American sport with more than 170,000 teens playing the game across the U.S and health experts at Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Nationwide Children's Hospital and Colorado School of Public Health warn the game can cause injuries, sprains, fracture and dislocations in players. Their study recorded a total of 1,406 injuries between 2008 and 2012. Around 20 persons in every 10,000 lacrosse competitions suffered from injuries.

Almost 22 and 38 percent of these injuries were concussions and sprains, respectively. Although the game forbids players to have person-to-person contact, the researchers noted 25 percent of concussion cases occurred because of direct contact in players. Nearly 63 percent of the concussions were caused due to blows from sticks and balls.

"Lacrosse is becoming more and more popular across the United States, and it's a great way for high school students to be active. Still, we see injuries in the sport every day during the season. Our research shows that we need to do more and can do more to prevent those injuries," said Lara B. McKenzie, co-author and assistant professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine in a news release.

The lacrosse players only use protective gears like masks and mouth guards. Wearing sturdy helmets with extra padding can prevent head injuries that are mostly common among boys. The rules are different for boys and girls. It was observed that injuries were more prevalent in male players with 67 percent higher rate of concussions and 36 percent of sprains and strains.

These results emphasize the need to improve safety measures and adopt stricter rules to curb the risk of injuries in lacrosse players. The authors advise lacrosse players to wear proper and well-fitted clothes, do warm-up exercises and stretches before heading to the game. Finally, they add prior arrangements must be made to ensure players receive immediate medical attention and treatment for injuries.

"Concern over concussions in both boys' and girls' lacrosse. Further study will help those working to develop and implement effective injury prevention programs," said Dawn Comstock, study author and professor of Epidemiology for the Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education, and Research (PIPER) program at the Colorado School of Public Health.

More information is available online in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.