Study shows the impact of sports, childhood injuries

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Friday night lights are expected to shine bright again tonight, and if you have younger children, you might be heading off to weekend baseball and soccer games.

With more kids playing, it's no surprise there are more injuries. A report from Stanford University Health shows that, of the 30 million kids participating in sports, 3.5 million of them under the age of 14 are hurt annually.

Concussions make up 27% of those injuries.

Local orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Greg Folsom, who is also the team doctor for the Minnesota United, says the other problem today is kids are more into sport specialties, meaning they play one sport, all year round.

That means extra wear and tear on those knees and ankles.

"As bodies are growing, muscles are developing, that's probably not the best strategy if you want to keep up with your sport, if you want to get better at your sports," Folsom said.

Folsom says kids need to listen to their bodies and not play through the pain. An ACL injury now left untreated could lead to more problems down the road, including arthritis. 

Folsom says about 50% of teen sports injuries are due to overuse.