Kidney injuries in football rare, can be serious

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Professional football players run a small risk of suffering a kidney injury, but when they occur, they can be serious, a new study shows.

Researchers found that between 1986 and 2004, there were 52 reported cases of kidney injury in the National Football League -- typically the result of being tackled or colliding with another player.

On average, about three players per season suffer kidney trauma, making the injury uncommon, but still "potentially debilitating," the researchers report in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Over the time period looked at, the most common injury was kidney contusion, or a bruise to the organ, affecting 42 players. This injury took the players out of the game for a couple of weeks.

This was followed by 6 cases of kidney laceration, which took players out of the game for an average of 2 months, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Robert H. Brophy of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Among team sports, football is associated with the most kidney injuries, Brophy told Reuters Health -- bicycling and skiing actually carry a higher risk than team sports, including football.

It's not clear how common kidney injuries are among non-professional football players; Brophy said he is not aware of any studies of college players, and none has specifically looked at high school players.

The low risk seen among NFL players suggests that even athletes with only functioning kidney could consider competing, according to the researchers. But whether this is true of children, or of college athletes, is not clear.

"This is still a debated topic, with no clear, consensus answer,"

Brophy noted. He said that parents of children with only one healthy kidney should talk to their doctor before their child takes up any sport.

SOURCE: American Journal of Sports Medicine, January 2008.