According to a study published in journal Pediatrics, kids are showing up in emergency rooms with injuries from gym class at more than double the rate of ten years ago.
While the rate doubled, the number of injuries yearly shot up by 150 percent, from 1977 to 2007.
Dr. Lara McKenzie of National Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, the lead researcher on the study, told that lack of supervision and school nurses may be part of the reason behind a 150 percent jump in physical education related injuries.
But whatever the cause behind the trend, McKenzie was quick to add, the benefits of participating in PE far outweigh any risks.
McKenzie and her team looked at data from the US Consumer Products Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which tracks sports and recreation-related injuries treated at a nationally representative sample of about 100 US hospital emergency departments.
Source: Reuters
