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“The key to addressing a problem is to understand the problem. Datalys Center is an invaluable resource that provides broad-based access to data that will enable the sports medicine community to make progress in the treatment and prevention of sports- and exercise-related injuries.”
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Jim Whitehead
Executive Vice President, American College of
Sports Medicine |
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| Complete and reliable information about sports injuries provides researchers, sports organizations and the sports medicine community with a play-by-play regarding the nature of sports and exercise injuries—and how to prevent and more effectively treat them. This information is a critical prerequisite for being able to conduct meaningful scientific research that can be translated into effective programs, policies, rules and education—in order to prevent, mitigate and treat sports and exercise injuries. The mission of Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention is to translate that information into better prevention, and public health and sports medicine outcomes. |
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| As America’s passion for sport grows, recreation- and exercise-related injuries are also rising. Reported clinical data reveal the prevalence of such injuries: |
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1 in 5 emergency room visits—or 3.65 million emergency room visits per year—are the result of participation in sports, recreation or exercise. (The CDC Injury Research Agenda) |
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Approximately 715,000 sports and recreation injuries occur each year in school settings (The CDC Injury Research Agenda); while high school athletes alone account for an estimated 2 million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations annually. (MMWR weekly) |
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Injuries to children younger than 15, involving 29 popular sports, cost the U.S. public more than $49 billion per year. (The Consumer Products Safety Commission) |
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| Not surprisingly, the rising prevalence and expense of sport and exercise injuries have increased the public’s attention toward sports injuries. For example, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) included sports injuries as an area of focus in its most recent Injury Research Agenda. Beyond the injuried athletes themselves, sports injuries have a significant impact on the following: parents; coaches; teams; athletic governing bodies; health care professionals, including athletic trainers; secondary schools; colleges and universities; and manufacturers of sports-related products. |
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| In addition, there are clear linkages between physical activity and public health, such as adolescent obesity and cardiovascular disease. |
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