By Laura Hoxworth

chh@heraldsun.com; 918-1035

CHAPEL HILL -- Accidents happen.

Bruises, sprains, concussions and even the occasional broken bone. For most people, these are an unavoidable part of an active life.

But not according to scientists at UNC's Injury Control and Research Center.

Founded in 1987, the UNC center is one of 11 such organizations in the U.S. At each one, scientists from a wide spectrum of disciplines work to discover how to prevent and control injuries ranging from domestic violence to workplace accidents.

They work to identify and address critical knowledge gaps in injury risk and protection through research, teaching and service activities.

The center, now in its 22nd year, is one of the oldest in the U.S. Its main offices are in the Bank of America building on East Franklin Street.

Director Carol Runyan defines injury as "trauma to the body that is the result of a transfer of energy in amounts that are too great of force or distributed in a way that the body can't sustain."

Injuries can be unintentional, such as car crashes, falls and drowning, or intentional, such as homicide and suicide. Car crashes are the leading cause of death among injuries.

In the U.S. alone, about 150,000 people die of injuries each year, resulting in more years of life lost before age 65 than any other single health problem, according to the center's Web site. The annual health and social costs associated with injuries exceed $180 billion, second only to heart disease.

"Most injuries are preventable," Runyan says. "We're just not making the effort because we think of them as uncontrollable."

The center studies all types of injuries but focuses on four: sports and recreation injury, violence, injury in the home environment and occupational injury.

New funding

Since 1987, the center has funded more than 185 research projects.

Soon it will add five more with the help of $4.8 million in renewed funding from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, which has been funding the UNC center since it was founded in 1987.

The largest of the new projects is on violence prevention in Latino families and relationships. The others are on knee injuries in athletes, safety on college campuses, reducing falls in older adults and the relationship between the availability of alcohol and domestic violence.

The $4.8 million, which will be spread over five years, is divided among the projects based on each project's budget, said J'Ingrid Mathis, assistant director for planning and communications.

"Without CDC funding, the projects would need to locate funds from other sources," Mathis said. "While there is a potential for locating additional funding, given the funding climate and the competitiveness of grant-seeking, it would be a challenge for these projects to find adequate funding support."

Gail Hayes, senior press officer of the CDC, said the roughly $940,000 given to the UNC center in 2009 is the same amount that each injury center across the country received.

But Runyan said the amount is low compared with the roughly $2 million that other centers in the U.S., such as those that study cancer and heart disease, often receive annually.

"That seems like a whole lot of money, but it's a very small amount compared to the funding that other centers get," Runyan said.

Knee injury project

Troy Blackburn, director of the motor control laboratory and assistant professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at UNC, is leading the new project on knee injuries.

It will study athletes to find out if hamstring stiffness contributes to unstable joints, a leading cause of knee injuries in athletes. Since hamstring stiffness can be altered with stretches and training, the long-term goal of the study is to help prevent knee injuries, he said.

The two-year study started gathering data in August and is projected to end in the summer of 2011. Total cost will be slightly less than $140,000.

Blackburn, who joined the UNC faculty in 2006, began studying knee injuries almost 10 years ago as a graduate student.

"The grant is very necessary," he said. "It allows me to support a doctoral student."

Besides paying for a doctoral student's help, Blackburn said the money will go toward compensating participants and buying essential supplies.

Though the project is just getting started, Blackburn said he is excited about its potential to help prevent knee injuries.

"I thought my research could have a great impact on quality of life and decreasing health care costs," he said.

More than research

Though the center is largely focused on research, Runyan, who helped develop the center in the '80s, said it sets itself apart from other injury centers in the way it approaches research.

"When we think about research, we think about it in a very applied way," Runyan said. "I think we have always had a special emphasis on translating research into practice. That's always been one of our greatest strengths."

Runyan also said the center has strong connections to the student body at UNC and a strong program to teach graduate students about injury prevention.

Many UNC students take courses at the center or work mentored jobs to learn more about the field of injury prevention.

In light of recent tragedies such as the death of former student body president Eve Carson, the center is also beginning a new project on campus violence and will be surveying students to find out how they perceive safety on campus.

Through its work in injury prevention and research, Runyan said the center makes important progress in an under-recognized field.

"My son refers to me as a safety nerd," Runyan said. "That's what I have to cope with -- the perception that people who are concerned with safety are just nerds."

"It's a huge, huge public health problem that isn't receiving the level of public support it needs," she added.