In the U.S., more than 3.5 million youth sports injuries occur in children and teens each year. In fact, almost one-third of all injuries incurred in childhood are sports-related injuries, according to Stanford Children’s Health.

However, just in case you think there’s a “safe” sport, there's actually not one that is totally safe. In fact, on this list from PropertyCasualty360.com, basketball and bicycle riding cause more injuries than football, according to 2013 statistics based on injuries treated at hospital emergency rooms.

Are you the parent of a youth, middle school or high school football player who’s looking for more tips or resources? Check out our Parent Guide, Parents 101 course, nutritious recipes and more.

Here are some more interesting facts from Johns Hopkins Medicine about youth sports injuries:

• The most injuries occur in sports that involve contact and collisions.

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• More severe injuries happen during individual sports and recreational activities.
• Most organized sports-related injuries (62 percent) occur during practice.

 

The most common sports injuries according to WebMD are:

• Ankle sprain. I saw one of these almost every year during 22 years of being a sports mom.
• Groin pull. Yep, saw my son suffered this in football.
• Hamstring strain. Yes to two of my three kids.
• Shin splints. Yes, to all three kids.
• Knee injury: ACL tear. Fortunately no to any of my kids, but my son-in-law tore his ACL while scrimmaging with the team he coaches.
• Tennis elbow. Yes, to all three kids.

 

Basically, the only way to totally prevent injuries to kids in sports and in recreation is to wrap them in bubble wrap and lock them in the house!

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How to recover from a youth sports injury

Follow the doctor’s orders. It takes patience and time to wait it out. Here’s a few tips to keep in mind as your child struggles with being forced out of the game.

Set realistic goals. Setting milestones and working to reach them will encourage your child to keep being patient and keep working on recovery. Talk to your child’s physician about the rate of recovery for their age and injury, and ask for exercises that you and your child can work on together at home.

Be sure your children are doing their part. As you encourage your children’s recovery, be sure they are accepting responsibility and working toward getting better. Once you’ve set goals, it’s up to your children to meet them, with a little encouragement of course. Those recovery milestones will come sooner for your children if they put in the time and effort to reach them.

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Stay involved with the team.  Even injured, your children are still part of the team. It may be very hard for them to sit on the bench and watch, but it will be good for them to cheer for the team, celebrate victories and suffer losses. Staying involved will keep your children connected to the team and prevent them from feelings of self-pity and isolation.

Although injuries often look like setbacks, they in themselves give your young athlete an opportunity to learn patience, persistence and strength. No parent wants to see their child injured, but remember that learning from injuries is just as much a part of the journey as playing in the game.

Janis B. Meredith is a parenting coach. She provides resources to help parents raise champions. Learn more about how she can help parents Raise Champions.