Two Sports Commonly Send
People to the Emergency Room

(HealthScout) -- The next time you're shooting hoops or riding your bicycle, here's a little something to think about: These two sports send more people to the emergency room than any others, according to new figures from government researchers.

In fact, as many as 3.7 million sports-minded Americans go from the playing fields to the emergency room every year, say the researchers.

Of that number, 2.6 million, or two-thirds, involve people between the ages of 5 and 24. That's more than 7,000 hospital visits for sports injuries every day.

"Protecting our children from injuries is the key," says Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement released today. "Helmets, the right equipment, better safety practices and instruction can all help reduce these preventable and oftentimes serious injuries. Participation in sports and recreation games and activities should lead to better health and greater physical fitness, not a visit to the emergency department."

The researchers were quick to note that the figures don't necessarily mean these sports are the most dangerous, but the figures may just reflect the fact that so many more people are taking part in certain pastimes.

The CDC survey, which tallied sports-related admissions at nearly 500 emergency rooms at U.S. hospitals between 1997 and 1998, appears in this month's Annals of Emergency Medicine.

People between the ages of 5 and 24 account for 68 percent of sports-related emergency room admissions, the study shows, and sports injuries make up nearly a quarter of all hospital visits for this age group. Nearly 140,000 injuries occur on the playground.

Basketball and cycling account for some 900,000 injuries a year, the most of any activity, the study shows. Football and baseball make up 250,000 each, while the other major sport, soccer, is to blame for another 100,000 emergency room visits.

Compared with other injuries, sports injuries are more likely to involve the brain, skull and extremities. They're also more likely to lead to fractures, sprains or strains that require orthopedic care.

Ice skating, roller skating and skate boarding together account for 150,000 injuries annually, followed by gymnastics and cheerleading, at 146,000. Water and snow sports, including skiing and snowboarding, are implicated in 200,000 injuries combined.

"Sometimes you can't avoid an incident, but what you can avoid is having it be a serious injury or [one] leading to death," says Dr. Catharine Burt, chief of the ambulatory care statistics branch of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, and co-author of the study.

While helmets are an obvious way to guard against head trauma while riding or skating, even team sports have room for improvement when it comes to safety, Burt says. Little league baseball groups, for example, have considered softer balls, breakaway bases and more protective headgear, she says, and each of these could cut down on injuries in the sport.

Talk to your child's coach about safety and make sure your child is equipped to meet the physical buffeting he or she will take in a sport.

To learn more about sports injuries and how to avoid them, check out Thomas Jefferson University.

You can also visit the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation.

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