Many high school athletes go throughout their entire sports careers without ever experiencing injuries.
Yet, high school athletes account for an estimated 2 million injuries and 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The most common high school sports injuries are strains, sprains and knee injuries.
“I made a tackle and my foot was landed on awkwardly at the bottom of the pile,” said RJ Ybarra (12).
During our high school’s football game against Templeton, Ybarra tore ligaments in his ankle causing him to sit out for the rest of the game.
As a senior he has tried to play every game since then, even though his ankle may worsen due to not being fully healed.
“Having to watch from the sidelines is hard for me because of the love I have for the game but also knowing that I can’t play because of an injury,” said Ybarra.
Many high school athletes try to ignore their doctor’s instructions and continue to play through their injuries.
Ignoring doctor’s instructions can cause injuries to get worse. Injuries are supposed to be fully healed before continuing to perform in any physical activity.
“I was fortunate that my injury wasn’t as serious as some of the injuries other athletes get,” said Ybarra.
Many high school athletes deal with injuries that can cause them to miss an entire season, or prevent them from ever doing sports ever again Common season ending injuries for many high school athletes are knee injuries. Ligament tears are very serious injuries that can cause an athlete to not be active for months. Without proper treatment it is almost impossible to lead a normal life again.