Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Meeting the Global Demand of Sports Safety

The Intersection of Science and Policy in Sports Safety

  • Current Opinion
  • Meeting the Global Demand of Sports Safety
  • Published:
Sports Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sports and physical activity are transforming, and being transformed by, the societies in which they are practised. From the perspectives of both competitive and non-competitive sports, the complexity of their integration into today’s society has led to neither sports federations nor governments being able to manage the safety problem alone. In other words, these agencies, whilst promoting sport and physical activity, deliver policy and practices in an uncoordinated way that largely ignores the need for a concurrent overall policy for sports safety.

This article reviews and analyses the possibility of developing an overall sports safety policy from a global viewpoint. Firstly, we describe the role of sports in today’s societies and the context within which much sport is delivered. We then discuss global issues related to injury prevention and safety in sports, with practical relevance to this important sector, including an analysis of critical policy issues necessary for the future development of the area and significant safety gains for all. We argue that there is a need to establish the sports injury problem as a critical component of general global health policy agendas, and to introduce sports safety as a mandatory component of all sustainable sports organizations.

We conclude that the establishment of an explicit intersection between science and policy making is necessary for the future development of sports and the necessary safety gains required for all participants around the world. The Safe Sports International safety promotion programme is outlined as an example of an international organization active within this arena.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Table I
Table II
Table III
Table IV

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Burdette HL, Whitaker RC. Resurrecting free play in young children: looking beyond fitness and fatness to attention, affiliation, and affect. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2005 Jan; 159 (1):46–50

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Finch C, Owen N, Price R. Current injury or disability as a barrier to being more physically active. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001; 33 (5): 778–82

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Institute of Medicine (IOM).Preventing childhood obesity:health in the balance. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2005

    Google Scholar 

  4. Pellegrini AD, Smith PK. Physical activity play: the nature and function of a neglected aspect of play. Child Dev 1998; 69: 577–98

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Alpert BS, Wilmore JH. Physical activity and blood pressure in adolescents. Pediatr Exerc Sci 1994; 6: 381–405

    Google Scholar 

  6. Fox KR. Childhood obesity and the role of physical activity. J Royal Soc Health 2003; 124: 34–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Murphy S. The cheers and the tears: a healthy alternative to the dark side of youth sports today. San Francisco (CA): RJossey Bass Publishers, 1999

    Google Scholar 

  8. Sahlins M. Stone age economics. Chicago (IL): Aldine-Ather-ton, 1972

    Google Scholar 

  9. Huizinga J. Homo Ludens: a study of the play element in culture. Boston (MA): Beacon Press, 1950

    Google Scholar 

  10. Apter MJ. A structural-phenomenology of play. In: Kerr JH, Apter MJ, editors. Adult play: a reversal theory approach. Amsterdam: Swets and Zietlinger, 1991: 15

    Google Scholar 

  11. Keating JW. Sportsmanship as a moral category. In: Morgan WJ, Meier KV, editors. Philosophic inquiry in sports. Champaign (IL): Human Kinetics Press, 1995: 144–51

    Google Scholar 

  12. Gratton C, Taylor P. Economics of sport and recreation.London: E and FN Spon, 2000

    Google Scholar 

  13. European Commission. The European model of sport: consultation document of DG X. Brussels: European Commission. 1999

    Google Scholar 

  14. WHO. Safety and safety promotion: conceptual and operational aspects. Québec (QC): WHO, 1998

    Google Scholar 

  15. Finch C, McGrath A. SportSafe Australia: a national sports safety framework. A report prepared for the Australian Sports Sports Commission, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  16. Lurie Y. The ontology of sports injuries and professional medical ethics. In: Loland S, Skirstad B, Waddinton I, editors. Pain and injury in sport. London: Routledge, 2006: 200-10

  17. Orchard W, Newman D, Stretch R, et al. Methods for injury surveillance in international cricket. Br J Sports Med Apr 2005; 39: 22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Fuller CW, Ekstrand J, Junge A, et al. Consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures in studies of football (soccer) injuries. Br J Sports Med 2006 Mar; 40 (3): 193–201

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Finch C. An overview of some definitional issues for sports injury surveillance. Sports Med 1997; 24 (3): 157–63

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Roderick M, Waddington I, Parker G. Playing hurt: managing injuries in English professional football. Int Review Sociology Sport 2000; 35: 165–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hawkins RD, Fuller CW. A prospective epidemiological study of injuries in four English professional football clubs. Br J Sports Med 1999 Jun; 33 (3): 196–203

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Boden BP. Direct catastrophic injury in sports. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2005 Nov; 13 (7): 445–54

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Robinson P, White LM. The biomechanics and imaging of soccer injuries. Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2005 Dec; 9 (4): 397–420

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Turner AP, Barlow JH, Heathcote-Elliott C. Long term health impact of playing professional football in the United Kingdom. Br J Sports Med 2000 Oct; 34 (5): 332–6

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Nicholl JP, Coleman P, Brazier JE. Health and healthcare costs and benefits of exercise. PharmacoEconomics 1994; 5: 109–22

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Hagberg LA, Lindholm L. Cost-effectiveness of health care based interventions aimed at improving physical activity. Scand J Public Health. 2006; 34 (6): 641–53

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Lindqvist KS, Timpka T, Bjurulf P. Injuries during leisure physical activity in a Swedish municipality. Scand J Soc Med 1996 Dec; 24 (4): 282–92

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Schneider S, Seither B, Tonges S, et al. Sports injuries: population based representative data on incidence, diagnosis, sequelae, and high risk groups. Br J Sports Med 2006 Apr; 40 (4):334–9

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Goulet C, Hamel D. A population-based study on sport and recreational activity injuries in Qúebec in 2004 [abstract].Safety 2006: 8th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion; 2006 Apr 2–5; Durban

    Google Scholar 

  30. Conn JM, Annest JL, Gilchrist J. Sports and recreation related injury episodes in the US population, 1997-99. Inj Prev 2003 Jun; 9 (2): 117–23

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Finch C, Cassell E. The public health impact of injury during sport and active recreation. J Sci Med Sport 2006 Dec; 9 (6): 490–7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Nilsen P, Hudson DS, Kullberg A, et al. Making sense of safety. Inj Prev 2004 Apr; 10 (2): 71–3

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Bringer JD, Brackenridge CH, Johnston LH. The name of the game: a review of sexual exploitation of females in sport. Curr Womens Health Rep 2001 Dec; 1 (3): 225–31

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Demorest RA, Landry GL. Prevention of pediatric sports injuries. Curr Sports Med Rep 2003 Dec; 2 (6): 337–43

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Cassas KJ, Cassettari-Wayhs A. Childhood and adolescent sports-related overuse injuries. Am Fam Physician 2006 Mar 15; 73 (6): 1014–22

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Dollard MD, Pontell D, Hallivis R. Preconditioning principles for preventing sports injuries in adolescents and children. Clin Podiatr Med Surg 2006 Jan; 23 (1): 191–207

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Leglise M. The protection of young people involved in high level sport. Strasbourg: Committee for the Development of Sports, Council of Europe, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  38. Ryan J. Little girls in pretty boxes: the making of and breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters. New York: Doubleday 1995

    Google Scholar 

  39. Donnely P. Child labour, sport labour: applying child labour laws to sport. Int Rev Sociology Sport 1997; 32: 389–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. International Labour Organisation (ILO). C138 Minimum Age Convention, 1973 [online]. Available from URL: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm[Accessed 2008 Jul 25]

  41. David P. Human rights in youth sports. A critical review of children’s rights in competitive sports. New York: Routledge, 2004

    Google Scholar 

  42. Sport England, NSPCC. Strategy for safeguarding children and young people in sport [online]. Available from URL: http://http://www.sportengland.org/child__protection__cpsu_strat_2006_to2012_pdf.pdf [Accessed 2008 25 Jul]

  43. Regalado SO. Latin players on the cheap: professional baseball recruitment in Latin America and the neo-colonist tradition. Indiana J Global Legal Stud 2000; 8: 9–20

    Google Scholar 

  44. Breton M, Villegas JL. Away games: the life and time of Latin ball. Albuquerque (NM): University of New Mexico Press, 1999

    Google Scholar 

  45. Guilianotti R. Built in by the two Valeras: the rise and fall of football culture and national identity in Uruguay. Cult Sport Soc 1999; 2: 134–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. United Nations. General Assembly. Resolution 58/5. Sports as a means to promote education, health, development, and peace. New York: United Nations, 2003

    Google Scholar 

  47. Guilianotti R, Robertson R. The globalization of football: a study in the glocalization of the ‘serious life.’ Br J Sociology 2004; 55: 545–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Timpka T, Ekstrand J, Svanstrom L. From sports injury prevention to safety promotion in sports. Sports Med. 2006; 36 (9): 733–45

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Finch C. A new framework for research leading to sports injury prevention. J Sci Med Sport 2006; 9 (1-2): 3–9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Eime R, Owen N, Finch C. Protective eyewear promotion:applying principles of behaviour change in the design of a squash injury prevention programme. Sports Med 2004; 34 (10): 629–38

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Michener JA. Sports in America. New York: Random House, 1976

    Google Scholar 

  52. Dunning E. The dynamics of sports consumption. In: Sport matters: sociological studies of sport, violence, and civilization. London: Routledge, 1999: 106–29

    Google Scholar 

  53. Manzenreiter W, Horne J. Public policy, sports investments, and regional development initiatives in Japan. In: Nauright J, Schimmel KS, editors. The political economy of sports. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005: 152–82

    Google Scholar 

  54. Walsh AJ, Guilianotti R. This sporting mammon: a normative critique of the commodification of sport. J Philosophy Sport 2001; 28: 53–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Yammine K. A policy for sports injury prevention in Lebanon [abstract]. Safety 2006: 8th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion; 2006 Apr 2–5; Durban

    Google Scholar 

  56. Bahr R, Krosshaug T. Understanding injury mechanisms: a key component of preventing injuries in sport. Br J Sports Med 2005; 39: 324–9

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. van Mechelen W. To count or not to count sports injuries? What is the question? Br J Sports Med 1998; 32: 297–8

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Jackson S, Perkins F, Khandor E, et al. Integrated health promotion strategies: a contribution to tackling current and future heath challenges. Health Promot Int 2006; 21 Suppl. 1: 75–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Allison L. Sport and Politics. In: Allison L, editor. The politics of sport. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986: 17–21

    Google Scholar 

  60. Régnier G, Sicard C, Goulet C. Economic impact of a regulation imposing full-face protectors on adult recreational hockey players. Int J Consumer Safety 1995 2: 191–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Oliver TR, Paul-Shaheen P. Translating ideas into actions:entrepreneurial leadership in state health care reforms. Health Polit Policy Law 1997 22: 721–88

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Morone JA. Enemies of the people: the moral dimensions to public health. Health Polit Policy Law 1997; 22: 993–1020

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Young K. Violence, risk and liability in male sports culture. Sociology Sports J 1993; 10: 373–96

    Google Scholar 

  64. Boufous S, Finch C, Bauman A. Parental safety concerns: a barrier to sport and physical activity in children? Aust N Z J Public Health 2004; 28 (5): 482–6

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Schneider A, Ingram H. Social construction of target populations: implications for politics and policy. Am Polit Sci Rev 1993; 87: 334–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Van den Hove S. A rationale for science-policy interfaces. Futures 2007; 39: 807–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Timpka T, Lindqvist K. Evidence based prevention of acute injuries during physical exercise in a WHO safe community. Br J Sports Med 2001 Feb; 35 (1): 20–7

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Regnier G, Goulet C. The Quebec Sports Safety Board: a governmental agency dedicated to the prevention of sports and recreational injuries. Inj Prev 1995 Sep; 1 (3): 141–5

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Oliver TR. The politics of public health policy. Annu Rev Public Health. 2006; 27: 195–233

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Grierson T, van Dijk MW, Dozois E, et al. Using the Internet to build community capacity for healthy public policy. Health Promot Pract. 2006 Jan; 7 (1): 13–22

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Irestig M, Hallberg N, Eriksson H, et al. Peer-to-peer computing in health-promoting voluntary organizations: a system design analysis. J Med Syst 2005 Oct; 29 (5): 425–40

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Funtowicz S, Ravetz J. Science for the post-normal age. Futures 1993; 25 (7): 735–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Kingdon JW. Agendas, alternatives, and public policies. Boston (MA): Little & Brown, 1984

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The Board of Safe Sports International also includes Professor JoonPil Cho, Ajou University, South Korea (representing Asia), and Professor Leif Svanström, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (representing the Safe Communities movement). T. Timpka is supported by a research grant from Linköping University, and C. Finch is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Principal Researcher Fellowship from the Government of Australia. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Health, Section of Social Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Linköping University, SE−581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Toomas Timpka

  2. School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences, University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Caroline F. Finch

  3. Department of Physical Education, Laval University, Qúebec City, Qúebec, Canada

    Claude Goulet

  4. Sports Science Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Tim Noakes

  5. Lebanese Association for Sports Injury Prevention and, Antonine University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Kaissar Yammine

Authors
  1. Toomas Timpka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Caroline F. Finch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Claude Goulet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tim Noakes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kaissar Yammine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toomas Timpka.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Timpka, T., Finch, C.F., Goulet, C. et al. Meeting the Global Demand of Sports Safety. Sports Med 38, 795–805 (2008). https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838100-00001

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838100-00001

Keywords

Search

Navigation