Eye injuries in sports, especially youth sports, are worryingly common and often involve activities that most of us probably would not consider risky for eyes, according to a new, nationwide study of emergency room visits related to eye problems among athletes.

The results suggest that anyone involved with youth sports should be vigilant about protecting young people’s eyes, perhaps in part by stocking up on wraparound glasses.

Team sports and other physical activities, while providing many health benefits, also carry an inherent risk of injury. Even experienced athletes can slip, stumble, collide with balls or posts or opponents or teammates or the ground, and in multiple other ways, harm themselves.

The rise in recent years in serious sports injuries, including concussions and tears of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee, has been well documented and unsettling to those of us who are sports parents.