Throughout both the United States and countries throughout the world the competitive nature of children has been displayed through sports.High school sports have been prominent in the U.S. for many years but something that has been altered during this time is the injury rate. Injuries are increasing in high school sports along with the severity of these injuries at an alarming rate. Despite all high schools having athletic trainers and professionals to treat injuries sometimes they can be hidden or incorrectly treated. What are the physical and psychological effects of injuries on high school athletes in the United States over the last 25 years? With the knowledge that injuries are increasing in high school sports, viewing the physical and psychological effects of these injuries is crucial. It will allow for injuries to be treated in the best and most efficient ways possible and for mental health of athletes to remain in the highest possible condition to improve quality of life.

America has a rich history of using youth athletics to develop an individual into a well rounded and in shaped member of society. Hence the reason why high school sports have been a staple in American society for well over 50 years. Almost every high school field is now equipped with Artificial Turf in order to solve the problem of field care and maintenance. Along with field improvements, high school tracks have almost all been resurfaced or reconstructed. Although equipment and field conditions have improved drastically and the involvement and support for has also grown, so has the number and severity of injuries in high school athletics. “Immediate Care of a Sport Injury”, states “Correct response ranged from 65%-90% to four scenarios: commonly presenting yet potentially serious management problems.”(Abernethy, V). This number is a significant improvement from the origins of high school sports when it wasn’t uncommon for players to play with fractured bones or a dislocated shoulder in order to appear “tough” in front of teammates and coaches.This statistic also shows that with this increase in sport injuries, many athletic trainers have also improved their skills in order to treat both common and serious injuries in athletes. Athletic trainers have increasingly become one of the most important personal in a staff due to their ability to not only treat injuries on sight, but their increased knowledge and ability to help rehab injuries and speed the recovery process without rushing the athlete back too early. “Diagnostic tools for ACL tears” claims  “Common activities associated with ACL injury include skiing (accounting for approximately 100,000 ACL injuries each year) and football.” (Brodzik, Frank A., and Gordon Huie). This source shows that one of the most talked about sports when the topic of serious injury; is in fact a leading cause in one of the most devastating injuries. This is another statistic from a credible journal that helps prove that the amount of ACL tears in high school athletics is increasing at an alarming rate and the physical effects of these injuries must be observed and dealt with along with the physiological effects.

Although safety precautions and athleticism along with the skill of athletes has increased; so has the amount and severity of sports related injuries. Some critics even call for the removal or a reform of certain rules in contact sports that could almost completely change the way the game would be played. Another argument that is often made against the fact that the way injuries occur and are treated on the physical and psychological levels is that often coaches and teammates push players to hard. Society views that in contact sports a player who sustains an injury is viewed as “weak” by players and coaches and that often an athletic trainers and coaches would rush star players back onto the field before they are fully healed. “Many athletes feel obligated to play through injuries ranging from a concussion to an ankle sprain because the feel if they don’t, they will be viewed as weak and that they let down their teammates” (Playing through it). This is one of the biggest talking points in high school sports is just how far athletes are pushed to both perform for their players and coaches but the crazy amounts of pressure that is placed on them by themselves.

  Critics often argue that high school sports often actually have more of a downside than benefits to the average high school student athlete. An article  “Sports-Related Injuries Among High School Athletes” states statistics and random samples from various schools provides accurate and unbiased data that helps prove the increase in high school sports injuries in the U.S. One of the biggest claims against the participation in high school sports is the risk of long term injuries especially concussions. Parents are becoming more and more concerned with the risk of future development psychological damage due to contact sports in competition. An article by former collegiate athlete “Coping with injuries from a mental perspective” speaks about the intense care she received while playing at that level; Physically, I was more than taken care of, and I have no doubt that each one of those elaborate and costly contraptions helped me a great deal(Wilson, Lindsey). This helps to prove the fact that at that place in time athletes are receiving all the care that they can and are helped to be kept in the highest physical conditions. But the question of mental health both at the time and in the long run remains an unanswered question. Wilson speaks about the different phases of mental health and thoughts during a time of injury. Loss of identity, fear, increased stress due to chemical changes, and loss of group(Wilson, Lindsey). To address each of these points, Wilson brings up extremely valid points about how the about of awareness toward psychological health of injured athletes is not very high. High school athletes are given all the tools to rehab from any injury and improve their physical form back into top shape, but the mental side effects are often ignored thus slowing the process dramatically. The first point, loss of identity quite simply means an athlete no longer has the same mental state of confidence to play with the same aggression or flare that they once had. This state leads to that player being a shell of their former self and never performing at that high of a level. The next point fear, is quite simply just that. Any athlete coming off an injury will be hesitant to push themselves to certain levels due to that fear of reinjury. Increased stress is simply just the athlete applying huge amounts of pressure to themselves in order to get back to their level of previous performance in order to not let not teammates or coaches. The final point of the mental health stages of injured athletes is the loss of group, or quite simply being an outsider. When not involved with the team for an extended period of time, the whole dynamic that an athlete once knew can complete shift to something new. These 4 points again feed back into one of the biggest counter claims against contact high school sports which is the mental health of these student athletes along with the long term effects on these players. This is one of the main areas for concern for parents, players, and coaches alike and is an area that needs immediate attention to be placed upon.

In today’s society the effects of both physical and psychological after injuries on high school student athletes is one of the most talked about and scrutinized topics in the media. In “1.35 million youths a year have serious sports injuries” author Michelle healy provides an indepth look into what common trends with injuries are occurring and during what activity and at what age. This article helps to prove that physical and psychological health in high school athletes is a topic that seriously must draw more attention. Unless society wants for high school sports to undergo serious rule changes or for athletic participation to decrease, both coaches and athletic trainers must be educated to not only deal with the physical side to injuries but how to help high school athletes remain mentally stable. It has clearly been seen throughout recent years in America that people are becoming more concerned with long term injury effects and the well being of their bodies in the long term.

With the knowledge that injuries are increasing in high school sports, viewing the physical and psychological effects of these injuries is crucial. It will allow for injuries to be treated in the best and most efficient ways possible and for mental health of athletes to remain in the highest possible condition to improve quality of life. The mental and physical health of high school athletes is something that can absolutely be improved through simple education of what methods best help certain individuals. Although it appears to not be a big issue, when not treated correctly these seemingly tiny injuries can not just stem into the athlete’s performance on the field but can begin to affect their social life, family interactions, and school behavior. Growth in knowledge of how to deal with physical and psychological injuries is essential to the well being of our youth.