Sports injuries in childhood.

Participation in youth sports is relatively safe. Injuries become more frequent as the child gets older, bigger, and achieves higher skill levels. At the high school and collegiate levels, football has the highest injury rate followed by wrestling and gymnastics. There is no risk-free sport, and children tend to select the sports they wish to participate in without considering injury rates. Pediatricians should take an active role in injury prevention when covering sporting events as team physicians and as spectators.