NYC Urologists Weigh in on Contact Sports with One Kidney

At University Urology Associates, we understand that while the American Academy of Pediatrics supports youngsters with one kidney who wish to participate in extracurricular contact sports, many physicians and parents are reluctant to give children the green light to play. However, based on information from a new study released by the University of Utah, our dedicated NYC based urologists may be able to help ease parental concern over allowing children who have only one functional kidney to participate in contact sports.

The report compared sport-related kidney injury with sport-related injuries of other organs among high school varsity players participating in contact sports such as football, basketball and soccer. Data analyzed for the evaluation was obtained from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association High School Injury Surveillance Study, which reported the number of organ injuries in over 4.4 million occurrences of one athlete participating in one game or practice, termed "athlete-exposures."

Although 23,666 injuries were reported in the study, 6,921 of those were related to organ systems. Only 18 kidney injuries were cited, none of which were catastrophic or required surgery. When compared to 3,450 knee injuries, 2,069 injuries to the head, neck or spine, 1,219 impacts causing mild brain trauma, 148 injuries involving the eye, and 17 testicle injuries, the data concludes that those children suffering kidney injury while participating in contact sports is significantly low in contrast to other organ injury. The study goes on to comment that kidney injury not associated with sporting activities is far more common, citing motor vehicle crashes as an example.

Extracurricular sports provide important opportunities for both healthy exercise and a sports-related teamwork experiences to help improve fitness and social interaction skills. At University Urology Associates, we encourage parents to contact a urologist so that they can make an informed decision concerning this very important aspect of childhood development. Our renowned NYC urologists are dedicated to answering all questions about urology, including the pros and cons associated with contact sports when a child has only one functioning kidney, so be sure to contact us today!