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Pediatricians Say Boxing Not Safe for Kids & Teenagers

Our Chicago brain injury attorneys were interested to read about a statement that was just issued by the American Academy of Pediatricians, in which they stated that the group did not consider boxing a safe sport for children or teenagers to play. According to CBS News, the leading pediatricians found that boxing was a sport that had a very high rate of concussions, and that because of the risk of concussions in the sport that it was not safe for younger people to play. The group also believes that even the use of head protection does not eliminate the risk of concussions, and that the sport is not safe for kids or teenagers even when they use head protection for boxing.

The reason that the risk of repetitive concussions is a worry for pediatricians is that there is a great deal of scientific evidence that repetitive concussions can lead to severe and permanent brain injuries later in life. Many former athletes have developed later in life brain injuries after being involved in sports where they suffered from multiple blows to the head. Following any blow to the head, everyone needs to be thoroughly checked out by a doctor to see if they suffered from a concussion, or another type of head injury, and any athlete that suffers from a hit should only be allowed to go back on the field, ring, or court once they have been cleared by a doctor who has determined that it is safe for them to return to play. If a victim of a blow to the head gets right back in the game, when their body did not have time to recover fully, there is a much higher risk that another hit could leave that person with a severe or permanent brain injury.

Pediatricians worry about this problem with sports and head injuries even more so with children and teenagers. The reason for this heightened concern with concussions in children is that because younger people’s brains are not as fully developed as older individuals and can be much more susceptible to head and brain damage. Because of the level of brain development in younger people, the damage from concussions can be more severe and the healing time for the body to completely recover post concussion is often much longer than it would be for an adult.

The combination of the danger that multiple concussions can have on children or teenagers with the high risk of head hits associated with boxing, is what led pediatricians to release the statement that, according to them, boxing is not considered a safe sport for children and teenagers. Many boxing advocates feel that boxing can be a good outlet for younger people and that the risks associated with the sport are not strong enough of a reason to entirely discourage kids and teenagers from boxing. If you or a loved one have a child that has suffered a brain injury from receiving a hit to the head and then being sent right back out to play without receiving medical clearance, please contact our Illinois personal injury attorneys to discuss the options available.