• 31
  • January
    2012

If data from another state is any indicator, it may be time for Missouri to begin worrying about its student athletes. According to the information, approximately 60 high school athletes have been treated for spinal cord injuries between 1993 and 2011.

One individual, a 16-year-old teen, was recently injured during a junior varsity hockey game late last year, and is no longer expected to be able to walk. His paralysis came after being checked in the back, forcing him to collide head first with the boards, severing his spinal cord.

Another injured athlete no longer has feeling in her legs. The parents of the 18-year-old girl say that she was checked into the boards, but according to league officials, there was no contact because checking is forbidden in girls' hockey.

A neurological spine surgeon underscored the importance of safety in young athletes by stating that teenagers are more susceptible to these sorts of injuries because of their underdeveloped neck. Even so, the average age of people who receive spinal cord injuries is 31.

Many of them fall between the ages of 16 and 28, and in the state, until recently, motor vehicle accidents were the top cause of this potentially catastrophic injury. Now, sports -- some of which ride a fine line between athleticism and violence -- are the major reason behind these injuries for teens there. Nationally, motor vehicle accidents remain the major cause of spinal cord injuries for all age groups.

Spinal cord injuries can have varying levels of severity, but according to some, even victims of the least-severe injuries can lose the use of a hand. Safety should be a top concern for anyone who is at risk of this sort of injury.

But no matter the severity, someone who sustains a spinal cord injury through no fault of their own should have the right to hold accountable the person responsible for the injury.

Source: Pioneer Press, "Spinal-cord injuries hit teen athletes hardest," MaryJo Webster and Brian Murphy, Jan. 15, 2012