Barnes-Jewish Sports Medicine Expert Offers Soccer Safety Tips

September 7, 2007, ST. LOUIS – With scores of children and young adults preparing for soccer this fall, doctors are offering advice on keeping kids free of soccer injuries.

Overall, doctors say soccer is among the safest sports, but precautions should be taken to maximize safety.

"Soccer certainly has a much lower injury rate than a lot of other sports and so it''s a very healthy, safe sport for kids to play," says Rob Brophy, MD, sports medicine specialist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "That being said, anytime you''re involved with sports you''re going to have injuries."

And more injuries than one might think. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons estimates a half-million soccer injuries treated annually.

Dr. Brophy, who sees patients at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Outpatient Orthopedic Center in Chesterfield, says ankle, groin injuries and sports hernias are very common among young athletes, but women face a particular threat.

"One of the biggest things really is ACL injuries, particularly in female players and especially in girls getting up in the high school or college level," says Dr. Brophy. "They have a much higher risk of injuring their ACL than their male counterparts."

Those injuries focus more on teenage athletes. Dr. Brophy says younger players aren''t at as high risk.

"Most kids playing club soccer are not going to have a lot of major injuries," he says. "They may occasionally bump their head or have a little collision, but the younger kids do very well and it tends to be a very safe sport."

Still, the Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says some tips to prevent soccer injuries are:

• Wear shin guards to help protect lower legs.
• Wear shoes with molded cleats or ribbed soles.
• Always take time to warm up and stretch.

Dr. Brophy adds another risk factor that''s also common in the hustle and bustle of American lives.

"That seems to be a problem with kids today where they''re on three different teams or they''re doing multiple sports on a lot of different teams," he says. "Also, you don''t want your kids to get overuse injuries which can affect their growth plates, that can give them stress fractures to their bones."

And Dr. Brophy knows a bit about soccer. Before he went to medical school, he was a professional soccer player who led the California Jaguars to a 1996 championship in the United States Inter-Regional Soccer League.

To find out more about preventing soccer and other sports-related injuries, Dr. Brophy will have a free lecture to the community, Tuesday, September 18 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Outpatient Orthopedic Center in Chesterfield (14532 South Outer Forty Drive).

For more information or to register, call 314-TOP-DOCS (867-3627).