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Head and Neck Injury Prevention

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Head and Neck Injuries in Young Athletes

Part of the book series: Contemporary Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine ((PASM))

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Abstract

In high school athletics, concussion comprises more than 10 % of sport-related injuries [1]. Approximately 7 % of paraplegia or quadriplegia cases occur during sport participation [2]. More than a third of life-threatening injuries to the head and neck sustained by children are sport-related, and 12 % of those sustained by adults are sport-related [3]. This includes nearly a quarter of cervical spine fractures sustained by children [3]. Therefore, seeking out proactive methods for preventing head and neck injuries sustained during sports is crucial to preserving the safety of young athletes. Although the prevention of head and neck injuries has proven a difficult task, substantial gains have been made over the last 50 years. Although there are no empirically proven methods to eliminate head and neck injury risk, researchers have employed various intervention programs and treatment protocols in order to investigate the best ways to keep athletes safe. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to briefly review the mechanism and epidemiology of common head and neck injuries sustained during sports participation and discuss various proposed methods for preventing those injuries.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics, Boston Children’s Hospital, 9 Hope Ave, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA

    David Howell PhD & William P. Meehan III MD

  2. The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, MA, USA

    David Howell PhD & William P. Meehan III MD

Authors
  1. David Howell PhD
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  2. William P. Meehan III MD
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Correspondence to David Howell PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Sports Medicine, Childrens Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Michael O'Brien

  2. The Micheli Center for Sports Injur , Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

    William P. Meehan III

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Howell, D., Meehan, W.P. (2016). Head and Neck Injury Prevention. In: O'Brien, M., Meehan III, W. (eds) Head and Neck Injuries in Young Athletes. Contemporary Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23549-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23549-3_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23548-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23549-3

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