Injury in the Adolescent Athlete

A comprehensive examination of the factors that contribute to injury in the adolescent athlete in the United States.

This paper provides a scholarly review of the relevant literature to identify those factors that contribute to the incidence of injuries among adolescent athletes, as well as what steps can be taken to mediate them.

Outline
Psychological Factors Influencing Injury
Impact of Economic Status of the Community
Impact of Economic Status of the Athlete?s Family
Factors That Influence Rehabilitation of the Adolescent Athlete
“Participation in high school sports has grown steadily over the past 30 years and continues to rise today. According to Dr. N. L. Weaver and his colleagues at St. Louis University’s Health Communication Research Laboratory, during the 1998-1999 school year over 360,000 collegiate athletes and almost 6.5 million high school athletes participated in sports. These authors report that this expansion has been accompanied by an increased awareness of the injury problem associated with participation in adolescent sports. In fact, estimates are that one-third of high school athletes will sustain some type of an injury during a sports season serious enough to result in time lost from participation.”