Date of Graduation

6-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Health, Human Performance and Recreation

Advisor/Mentor

Jones, Ches

Committee Member

Hammig, Bart

Abstract

Playground games play a very vital role in child development, but they have been shown to present significant risks of injury, particularly concussion injuries. Supervisors of playground games or recreational sports may lack comprehensive knowledge of concussion protocols, potentially resulting in undiagnosed pediatric concussion, which can be critical to the child’s long-term health. This study aims to identify which playground games or recreational sports pose the highest risk for injury, specifically concussions, and highlights the importance of concussion prevention training for all school personnel to minimize potential health risks for children. The methodology involved the identification of injuries from playground and recreational activities in children aged 5 to 18 years old using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) operated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. A nine-year dataset was analyzed under a specific narrative to identify mechanisms of injury. The most frequent injuries resulting from playground and recreational activities included fractures (25.4%), strains and sprains (24.8%), contusions (12.6%), internal organ injuries (7.4%) and concussions (6.4%). Particularly for concussion injuries, 52% occurred during dodgeball and 32% during kickball. The primary mechanisms of injury identified were being struck by an object or another player (63.7%) and falls (26.7%). After analyzing the results, it is evident that implementing concussion protocols and prevention training for school personnel is indispensable. Although concussions did not rank as the leading injury, the 6.4% incidence rate still represents a significant number of children affected by this injury in these activities. Incorporating concussion protocols and training would increase supervisors’ awareness and understanding of the risks that may significantly reduce the likelihood of long-term health consequences in children.

Keywords

Concussions; playground sports; playground games; youth

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