Health & Safety

For the more than 40 to 50 million American adult and children who suffer from the misery and discomfort of allergies, protecting themselves and their families from exposure to the usual suspects-ragweed and pollen-means locking them selves indoors. Unfortunately, this step could actually be causing more harm than good.

Most sports creams contain methyl salicylate, a toxic chemical which, absorbed in large enough amounts through the skin, can result in serious injury or, even in rare cases, in death from poisoning.

Bicycles, basketball, football and roller sports top the list of eight recreational activities with the largest number of musculoskeletal injuries among children ages 5-14 years, a study shows.

That their child might be a victim of a sexual predator while participating in sports is every parent's nightmare.  Unfortunately sexual abuse of young players has occurred in youth sports leagues of all kinds, as well as with individual coaches in individual youth sports. Here's advice on how to protect athletes from becoming victims.

The politics of prevention and the barriers to preventive efforts - whether it is in sports medicine, heart disease, cancer, or terrorism - are similar. Over the past seventeen years, I have found that the single greatest barrier to preventive efforts is the fact that we are taught throughout our educational system to be reactive rather than being proactive.

According to recent estimates, over 82,000 people will seek medical treatment this coming year for injuries suffered while skiing, 62,000 will be injured playing hockey, 37,000 snowboarding, and 25,000 while sledding. Over 270,000 Americans are expected to visit hospital emergency rooms after suffering winter sports-related injuries this year. Most are preventable.

Several years ago, my triplet sons tried out for the travel soccer club in our town. Two of my sons were wait-listed for no apparent reason, along with over sixty other boys who had previously been in the program.

When kids return to school, it is imperative that we get our families' house in order as it relates to recreational and organized sports activities. Over 12 million student athletes between ages 5 and 22 will sustain a sports-related injury this year. Students will lose twenty million school days as a result of an injury related either to sports or recreational activities.

Shatterproof goggles and face shields can reduce the number of eye injuries in children playing in sports such as baseball, basketball and other sports