Soccer-related injuries are on the increase.

There is a need for increased efforts to prevent these injuries…. Music therapy for preterm infants and their parents has been confirmed favorably on infant respiratory rate and maternal anxiety.

 

SOCCER-RELATED INJURIES TREATED IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS: 1990-2014.

by Nicholas A. Smith, etc.

Pediatrics, Vol. 138, n. 4, October 2016, article 17

This presents a retrospective study of soccer-related injuries treated in emergency departments in the United States. Children 7 to 17 years old presenting to emergency departments over the past 25 years were evaluated.

This came to 119,831 cases annually.

 

Patients between ages 12 – 17 years old = 72.7% of injuries. 55.5% of those were male. Injuries most commonly diagnosed were:

• Sprains 6%
• Fractures 2%
• Soft tissue injuries 9%
• Concussions/closed head injuries 3%

The annual head injuries per 10,000 participants increased by 1595.6% from 1990 – 2014.

 

Too often parents express the idea that soccer is a more benign sport than other collision athletic endeavors. Apparently it used to be, but anymore it does not seem so. I do not propose teams should not play soccer, but the same caution must be exercised in protecting our players as other “rough sports”. It should not be considered a benign sport. Efforts to make it safer must be .

 

 

MUSIC THERAPY FOR PRETERM INFANTS AND THEIR PARENTS: A META-ANALYSIS

By LucjaBieleninik, Ph.D., etc.

Pediatrics, Vol. 138, N. 3, September 2016, article 51

This is an interesting article on music therapy in preterm infants during NICU hospitalization and after discharge. It was a giant analytical review article to evaluate the value of music therapy.

Since I am frequently asked about music for the fetus, I thought this might shed objective light on the topic. Well, their conclusion was that there was not enough evidence to confirm or refute any benefits on outcomes.

All I can say is “Let the band play on—it doesn’t seem to hurt”.