Sports Safety - Injury Statistics and Incidence Rates

In the United States, about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries each year, which cause some loss of time of participation, are experienced by the participants. Almost one-third of all injuries incurred in childhood are sports-related injuries. By far, the most common injuries are sprains and strains.

Obviously, some sports are more dangerous than others. For example, contact sports such as football can be expected to result in a higher number of injuries than a non-contact sport such as swimming. However, all types of sports have a potential for injury, whether from the trauma of contact with other players or from overuse or misuse of a body part.

The following statistics are the latest available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):

Injury rates:

• More than 3.5 million children ages 14 and under get hurt annually playing sports or participating in recreational activities.
  
  
• Although death from a sports injury is rare, the leading cause of death from a sports-related injury is a brain injury.
  
  
• Sports and recreational activities contribute to approximately 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among American children.
  
  
• Almost 50 percent of head injuries sustained in sports or recreational activities occur during bicycling, skateboarding, or skating incidents.
  
  
• More than 775,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries each year. Most of the injuries occurred as a result of falls, being struck by an object, collisions, and overexertion during unorganized or informal sports activities.

Where and when:

• Playground, sports, and bicycle-related injuries occur most often among young children, between the ages of five and 9 years old.
  
  
• The highest rates of injury occur in sports that involve contact and collisions.
  
  
• More severe injuries occur in individual sports and recreational activities.
  
  
• Most organized sports-related injuries (62 percent) occur during practice.

Types of sports and recreational activities:

Consider the most recent statistics from the SAFE KIDS Campaign:

• basketball
  More than 207,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for basketball-related injuries.
  
  
• baseball and softball
  Nearly 117,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for baseball-related injuries. Baseball also has the highest fatality rate among sports for children ages 5 to 14, with three to four children dying from baseball injuries each year.
  
  
• bicycling
  Nearly 275,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries.
  
  
• football
  Almost 188,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for football-related injuries.
  
  
• ice skating
  Nearly 14,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for ice skating-related injuries.
  
  
• in-line skating/roller skating
  Nearly 65,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for in-line skating-related injuries.
  
  
• skateboarding
  More than 60,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for skateboarding-related injuries.
  
  
• sledding
  More than 13,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for sledding-related injuries.
  
  
• snow skiing/snowboarding
  More than 41,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for snow boarding and snow skiing-related injuries.
  
  
• soccer
  About 76,000 children ages five to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for soccer-related injuries.
  
  
• trampolines
  Nearly 75,000 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for trampoline-related injuries.

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