Sports are a fun way to get exercise and maintain a balanced, healthy life. All sports come with some risk factors, but many games’ safety hazards are overlooked. 

When thinking about what is the most dangerous sport, football is almost always thought of first. This is because it is a full contact sport and can lead to head injuries, broken bones, torn muscles, torn ligaments, and more. 

However, this is sometimes due to cheap hits that can be avoided if players are taught the proper ways to tackle. 

Research shows that soccer is also very risky because of all of the head injuries that can result from playing. When players go for the ball, they often use their head to try to score and pass it to another player. However, if multiple players go for the ball at the same time, they could collide resulting in concussions and other injuries. The most common injuries in soccer are ACL tears, ankle sprains, concussions and more.

Another sport that causes a high amount of injuries is hockey. Although it is not as popular in the south, many athletes play the game. In hockey, players have a similar goal as soccer, but they are on ice, and playing with a rubber puck. When players hit the puck, it can reach high speeds up to one hundred and five miles per hour. Getting hit with this puck can cause a lot of injuries like fractured skulls, broken noses, broken bones, and eye injuries. The sharp skates hockey players wear are also very dangerous. The blades on the skates can easily slash into skin resulting in the need for stitches and more. 

Basketball and volleyball are also very dangerous sports due to all the jumping involved. When athletes jump and go for the ball, they often land awkwardly causing ACL injuries, broken bones, and torn tendons. On other occasions players can often fall on their arms resulting in fractures and breaks, and they can also land on their heads, leading to concussions.  

Head Trainer Alison Perry explained typical injuries she sees among athletes. Although Ms. Perry sees the most injuries in football, they are only minor injuries caused by collisions. Other injuries she sees are from overuse; like shin splints, and non contact injuries; like strained muscles. 

Furthermore, Ms. Perry shared that the most common injury she sees is shoulder, knee and ankle sprains. 

“I would say boys’ lacrosse is my second most injured sport when it comes to major acute injuries like broken bones or major sprains. Basketball, soccer and track & field also have serious injuries,” she explained.

As for season ending injuries, Ms. Perry described seeing ACL tears in sports that involve sports with pivoting, contact and jumping.

 Ms. Perry has been a trainer at Roswell for nine years and said, “In my nine years so far at RHS, I probably have less than ten season-ending injuries a year across all sports.”

 She also has seen tears in the shoulder that occur in football, lacrosse, baseball and volleyball. Ms. Perry shared that broken arms, forearms and collarbones are also a very common injury, “I’ve seen these injuries in almost every sport at RHS.” 

Even though football may be a full contact sport, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is the most dangerous.