11 Injury-Prone High School Sports

Track and Field/Cross Country

Track and field injuries mostly occur in the field.

Mueller notes that the most common injuries are in the pole vault and discus--typically when someone is not paying attention and is hit by a throw.

"They shouldn't ever happen," he said.

As for the pole vault, the injury rate has been lessened by promoting protective headgear that can be worn at the high school and college level.

"Some of the track injuries have been prevented when they first started looking at pole vaulting injuries," said Mueller.

A major injury that occurs in the track side of track and field is shin splints.

According to John McDonough, athletic director for Boston Latin School in Boston, Mass., shin splints are common in track and field and cross country athletes.

"A lot of younger, inexperienced runners join the team, and many have never run before," McDonough pointed out. "They wear the wrong footwear, don't know to stretch [before running], and just run with all their might," all reasons for the injuries that occur at the high school level.

To prevent such injuries, several trainers note that it's important to stretch, as well as be well-conditioned.

"Core stabilization helps prevent a lot of injuries," stated Dr. Tim Hosea, chairman of the sports medicine committee for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and associate professor at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

However, those who participate in endurance-type sports such as track and field and cross country running are less likely to be injured because many of the athletes are trained to endure long periods of pain in their sport, noted Hosea.

"Those who participate in aerobic-based, lifelong sports -- those athletes tend to stay in shape later in life," Hosea said.