Play-and-Pay: Sports and Injuries

August 17, 2009

Hospital Injuries Reveal the Most Dangerous Recreational Sports

Hospital emergency rooms reveal a lot about the riskiness of certain activities. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System maintained by the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates the number of injuries U.S. hospitals will see in a year that are attributable to a particular activity and its equipment. Here are some results for 2008. Notably absent are skiing, auto racing and hunting injuries. One question: what were all those injured bowlers doing?

2008 Injuries Attributable to Sport Activity and its Equipment

Sport	Injuries
Bicycling	503,832
Football	478,802
Soccer	199,475
Baseball	159,832
Skateboarding	149,577
Weightlifting	79,027
Playground Climbing	79,020
Swimming	73,782
Horseback Riding	73,328
Fishing	72,501
Snowboarding	59,301
Volleyball	56,230
Rollerblading	41,035
Golf	37,872
Hockey	29,031
Sledding	23,896
Tennis	23,646
Bowling	21,150
Ice Skating	19,944
Track & Field	19,019
Boxing	18,321
Lacrosse	17,679
Baseball	14,749
Snowmobiling	12,460
Water Skiing	8,719
Diving	8,367
Squash/Racquetball	6,547
Camping	5,018
Mountain Climbing	3,386
Billiards	4,163
Horseshoes	2,332
Pogo Stick	2,283
Tetherball	2,126
Table Tennis	1,978
Scuba Diving	1,477