Sporting Violence: The Injuries

And even young children are suffering from torn ACLs due to an over-emphasis in sports these days (Neegaard, 2008)!

At the elite levels in gymnastics—a sport that evokes celebrated images of Mary Lou Retton and Kerri Strug among mainstream Americans—women and girls suffer from ankle, wrist, and back injuries, many of which are chronic. Said one study of gymnastics, “as the skill level increases, the load during the workout will also increase, providing more opportunity for chronic injuries” (Meeusen & Borms, 1992, p. 337). 

In fact, one woman I interviewed who's transitioned from gymnastics to MMA says that, although both sports are dangerous, gymnastics was a far more risky sport (Avila, 2008). Even cheerleading can be extraordinarily dangerous.

“Of 104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college athletes from 1982 to 2005—head and spinal trauma that occasionally led to death—more than half resulted from cheerleading” (Pennington, 2007). 

And let’s not forget boxing. Those who recently witnessed Manny Pacquiao pummel David Diaz into virtual unconsciousness for nine rounds must know the vicious brutality of many boxing matches (Mayeda, 2008). However, even matches that do not end via some form of knockout can have horrible lasting effects.

Due to the constant head strikes in competition and practice, 17 percent of all professional boxers end up “punch drunk” (with chronic traumatic brain injury) in their elder years (Lewis, 2006). Not to mention the fact a handful of boxers consistently die each year during or immediately after a match (Newfield, 2001). 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge sports fan, and I can see how some may read this piece as a scathing critique of our sporting culture. It’s just that, having been a competitive athlete through college, I have seen the risks.

Some may argue these risks are outweighed by the benefits sports bring to our society by way of promoting pro-social values and providing entertainment. Furthermore, people get injured doing all kinds of fun activities. It is simply important to view both sides of the coin. 

Violence is exhibited in many forms. Sporting injuries are merely one manifestation of violence that our society readily accepts and too often celebrates. In 2003, approximately 205,000 children between the ages of 5 and 14 had to go to an emergency room for an injury sustained while playing basketball, and 185,000 for an injury while playing football (Hospitals & Health Networks, 2006).

To say our society does not value the inherent physical violence of some sports would be remiss. It is critical that parents, coaches, administrators, and athletes know the risks that accompany strapping on a helmet, lacing up athletic shoes, and putting on combat sport gloves prior to competition.

Injury prevention means preparing for the risks beforehand. And, to be frank, we need to value athletes’ health more than we value the violence permeating our sporting world.

David Mayeda, PhD, is lead author of Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society, the first political book on mixed martial arts, based on in-depth interviews with 40 mixed martial artists, including Randy Couture, “Rampage” Jackson, Dan Henderson, Guy Mezger, Chris Leben, Antonio McKee, Frank Trigg, and Travis Lutter. The book’s Forward is written by Jason “MayheM” Miller. 

Part two, "Sporting Violence: The Coaches and Parents," will be posted Wednesday.

Non-Internet References: 

Arendt, E.A., Agel, J., & Dick, R. (1999). Anterior cruciate ligament injury patterns among collegiate men and women. Journal of Athletic Training, 34 (2), 86-92.

Fackelmann, K. (2004 October 7). Girls’ knee injuries have later consequences. USA Today, p. 9D. 

Hospitals & Health Networks. (2006). Youth sports: a trip to the injured lists? H&HN: Hospitals & Health Networks, 80 (9), 22-22. 

Lewis, R. (2006). Why haven’t we banned boxing? Neurology, 6 (23), 5-6. 

Meeusen, R., & Borms, J. (1992). Gymnastics injuries. Sports Med, 13 (5), 337-356. 

Newfield, J. (2001 November 12). The shame of boxing. The Nation, p. 13-22.

Schwarz, A. (2007a May 31). An answer to help clear his fog. The New York Times, p. D7. 

Schwarz, A. (2007b October 2). Girls are often neglected victims of concussions. The New York Times, p. A1, A20. 

Sokolove, M. (2008). Warrior Girls: Protecting Our Daughters Against the Injury Epidemic in Women’s Sports. New York: Simon & Schuster. 

(Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports)

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