Sports injuries are caused by sudden trauma or repetitive stress during athletic activities. Sports injuries can affect bones or ligaments, muscles, or tendons. Adults are less likely to suffer sports injuries than are children, who are more likely to hurt themselves because they:

• have immature reflexes
• can't recognize and judge risks
• aren't very coordinated

Each year, about 3.2 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are injured while participating in athletic activities, accounting for 40% of all sports injuries. In fact, as many as 20% of children who play sports get hurt, and about one fourth of their injuries are considered to be serious. More than 775,000 boys and girls under age 14 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries.

Injury rates are highest for athletes who play contact sports, but the most serious injuries are associated with individual activities. In any case, most of these childhood sports injuries...