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Facts + Statistics: Sports injuries

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Sports injuries

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), in 2022 exercise equipment accounted for an estimated 445,642 injuries, the most in any sports and recreation category.

Sports Injuries By Number Of Injuries, 2022

 

      Number of injuries by age   
Sport, activity or equipment Injuries (1) Younger than 5  5 to 14  15 to 24  25 to 64  65 and older 
Exercise, exercise equipment 445,642 6,662 36,769 91,013 229,640 81,558
Bicycles and accessories 405,411 13,297 91,089 50,863 195,030 55,132
Basketball 313,924 1,216 109,696 143,773 57,413 1,825
Football 265,747 581 145,499 100,760 18,527 381
ATV's, mopeds, minibikes, etc. 242,347 3,688 42,069 61,065 122,941 12,584
Skateboards, scooters, hoverboards 230,506 8,513 64,439 61,546 88,328 7,680
Playground equipment 208,257 53,585 136,267 6,978 9,740 1,687
Swimming, pools, equipment 187,465 21,893 80,356 28,091 43,604 13,521
Soccer 179,284 1,313 80,540 68,602 27,997 832
Baseball, softball 136,874 2,560 61,336 39,981 29,232 3,765
Trampolines 123,014 32,186 70,400 10,805 9,366 257
Skating (excl. In-line) 76,505 356 31,816 14,117 28,278 1,938
Lacrosse, rugby, misc. ball games 66,882 455 20,252 20,142 15,334 10,699
Snowskiing, snowboarding 66,633 173 12,493 24,298 26,267 3,402
Golf 60,897 1,729 9,166 5,080 21,108 23,815
Fishing 57,257 1,204 10,711 8,169 27,733 9,439
Volleyball 50,643 82 16,923 25,461 7,151 1,027
Horseback 46,577 644 8,462 10,003 22,958 4,511
Hockey 37,893 186 10,967 16,469 9,494 778
Martial arts 30,113 22 9,288 8,336 11,969 496
Beach, picnic, camping equipment 25,935 2,144 3,900 2,624 11,868 5,399
Track and field activities, equipment 22,591 78 9,504 9,413 3,180 416
Racquet sports 21,730 196 2,901 3,627 7,384 7,621
Water skiing, tubing, surfing 21,180 81 2,792 6,207 10,969 1,131
Boxing 17,445 63 2,017 8,545 6,784 36
Toboggans, sleds, snow discs, etc. 14,040 1,436 6,136 2,635 3,261 572
Nonpowder guns, BB'S, pellets 11,603 519 3,286 3,443 3,869 487

(1) Treated in hospital emergency departments.

Source: National Safety Council analysis of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission NEISS data. National Safety Council. Injury Facts®.

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Bicycle crashes

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1,105 pedalcyclists were killed in 2022, a 2.6 percent increase from 2021. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles. In 37 percent of all fatal crashes with pedal cyclists in 2022, alcohol was involved—either via the motor vehicle driver or the cyclist. That same year, 83 percent of fatal pedalcyclist crashes happened in urban areas.

Total Motor Vehicle and Pedalcyclist Fatalities, 2013-2022 (1)

 

Year Total Pedalcyclist Pedalcyclists as a
percent of
total fatalities
2013 32,893 749 2.3%
2014 32,744 729 2.2
2015 35,484 829 2.3
2016 37,806 853 2.3
2017 37,473 806 2.2
2018 36,835 871 2.4
2019 36,355 859 2.4
2020 39,007 948 2.4
2021 43,230 976 2.3
2022 (2) 42,514 1,105 2.6

(1) Pedalcyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles.
(2) Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Pedalcyclists Killed And Fatality Rates By Age, 2022 (1)

 

Age group Killed Population Fatality rate per
100,000 population
Under 5 5 18,538,353 0.03
5 to 9 14 20,009,195 0.07
10 to 14 37 20,889,839 0.18
Children (14 and under) 56 59,437,387 0.09
15 to 20 46 26,073,798 0.18
21 to 24 33 18,267,773 0.18
25 to 29 72 22,193,164 0.32
30 to 34 67 23,308,136 0.29
35 to 39 79 22,267,949 0.35
40 to 44 95 21,427,416 0.44
45 to 49 82 19,624,098 0.42
50 to 54 95 20,807,547 0.46
55 to 59 125 20,967,014 0.60
60-64 128 21,118,423 0.61
65-69 86 18,631,422 0.46
70 to 74 61 15,157,017 0.40
75 to 79 32 10,861,000 0.29
80 and over 27 13,145,413 0.21
Seniors (65 and over) 206 57,794,852 0.36
Total (2) 1,105 333,287,557 0.33

(1) Pedalcyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.
(2) Includes pedalcyclists of unknown age.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities, Pedalcyclist Fatalities, And Fatality Rates By State, 2022 (1)

 

    Pedalcyclists 
 State  Resident population
(000)		 Total traffic
fatalities 		  Fatalities  Percent of total
traffic fatalities		 Fatalities  
100,000 population
Alabama 5,074 988 14 1.4% 0.28
Alaska 734 82 2 2.40 0.27
Arizona 7,359 1,302 50 3.80 0.68
Arkansas 3,046 643 6 0.90 0.20
California 39,029 4,428 177 4.00 0.45
Colorado 5,840 764 15 2.00 0.26
Connecticut 3,626 359 3 0.80 0.08
Delaware 1,018 162 6 3.70 0.59
District of Columbia 672 32 3 9.40 0.45
Florida 22,245 3,530 222 6.30 1.00
Georgia 10,913 1,797 29 1.60 0.27
Hawaii 1,440 116 7 6.00 0.49
Idaho 1,939 215 4 1.90 0.21
Illinois 12,582 1,268 35 2.80 0.28
Indiana 6,833 949 16 1.70 0.23
Iowa 3,201 338 4 1.20 0.12
Kansas 2,937 410 7 1.70 0.24
Kentucky 4,512 744 14 1.90 0.31
Louisiana 4,590 906 45 5.00 0.98
Maine 1,385 182 2 1.10 0.14
Maryland 6,165 564 10 1.80 0.16
Massachusetts 6,982 434 9 2.10 0.13
Michigan 10,034 1,124 36 3.20 0.36
Minnesota 5,717 444 6 1.40 0.10
Mississippi 2,940 703 17 2.40 0.58
Missouri 6,178 1,057 11 1.00 0.18
Montana 1,123 213 2 0.90 0.18
Nebraska 1,968 244 0 (2) (3)
Nevada 3,178 416 15 3.60 0.47
New Hampshire 1,395 146 3 2.10 0.22
New Jersey 9,262 685 18 2.60 0.19
New Mexico 2,113 466 4 0.90 0.19
New York 19,677 1,175 50 4.30 0.25
New Carolina 10,699 1,630 22 1.30 0.21
New Dakota 779 98 1 1.00 0.13
Ohio 11,756 1,275 8 0.60 0.07
Oklahoma 4,020 710 15 2.10 0.37
Oregon 4,240 601 13 2.20 0.31
Pennsylvania 12,972 1,179 15 1.30 0.12
Rhode Island 1,094 52 0 (2) (3)
South Carolina 5,283 1,094 25 2.30 0.47
South Dakota 910 137 3 2.20 0.33
Tennessee 7,051 1,314 15 1.10 0.21
Texas 30,030 4,408 91 2.10 0.30
Utah 3,381 319 15 4.70 0.44
Vermont 647 76 1 1.30 0.15
Virginia 8,684 1,008 11 1.10 0.13
Washington 7,786 733 11 1.50 0.14
West Virginia 1,775 264 2 0.80 0.11
Wisconsin 5,893 596 14 2.30 0.24
Wyoming 581 134 1 0.70 0.17
U.S. Total 333,288 42,514 1,105 2.60% 0.33

(1) Bicyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as pedalcyclists, which are bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.
(2) Less than 0.01 percent.
(3) Less than 0.01 per 100,000 population.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Total Traffic Fatalities And Pedalcyclist Traffic Fatalities And Fatality Rates By City, 2022 (1)

 

      Pedalcyclists Fatality rate per 100,000 population 
City (2) Resident
population		 Total traffic
fatalities		 Fatalities As a percent
of total
traffic fatalities		 Total Pedalcyclist Pedalcyclist
rank (3)
New York, NY 8,335,897 238 20 8.4% 2.86 0.24 28
Los Angeles, CA 3,822,238 354 20 5.6 9.26 0.52 13
Chicago, IL 2,665,039 192 10 5.2 7.20 0.38 22
Houston, TX 2,302,878 323 11 3.4 14.03 0.48 16
Phoenix, AZ 1,644,409 311 19 6.1 18.91 1.16 3
Philadelphia, PA 1,567,258 142 3 2.1 9.06 0.19 29
San Antonio, TX 1,472,909 203 8 3.9 13.78 0.54 12
San Diego, CA 1,381,162 118 2 1.7 8.54 0.14 33
Dallas, TX 1,299,544 228 5 2.2 17.54 0.38 21
Austin, TX 974,447 119 1 0.8 12.21 0.10 35
Jacksonville, FL 971,319 149 5 3.4 15.34 0.51 15
San Jose, CA 971,233 63 4 6.3 6.49 0.41 18
Fort Worth, TX 956,709 121 5 4.1 12.65 0.52 14
Columbus, OH 907,971 93 1 1.1 10.24 0.11 34
Charlotte, NC 897,720 102 0 (4) 11.36 (5) 36
Indianapolis, IN 880,621 134 3 2.2 15.22 0.34 23
San Francisco, CA 808,437 42 0 (4) 5.20 (5) 36
Seattle, WA 749,256 39 3 7.7 5.21 0.40 19
Denver, CO 713,252 74 4 5.4 10.38 0.56 11
Oklahoma City, OK 694,800 88 5 5.7 12.67 0.72 8
Nashville, TN 683,622 112 2 1.8 16.38 0.29 27
El Paso, TX 677,456 71 2 2.8 10.48 0.30 26
Washington, DC 671,803 32 3 9.4 4.76 0.45 17
Las Vegas, NV 656,274 51 2 3.9 7.77 0.30 25
Boston, MA 650,706 24 1 4.2 3.69 0.15 32
Portland, OR 635,067 62 4 6.5 9.76 0.63 9
Louisville, KY 624,444 119 6 5.0 19.06 0.96 6
Memphis, TN 621,056 228 2 0.9 36.71 0.32 24
Detroit, MI 620,376 121 7 5.8 19.50 1.13 4
Baltimore, MD 569,931 46 1 2.2 8.07 0.18 31
Milwaukee, WI 563,305 85 5 5.9 15.09 0.89 7
Albuquerque, NM 561,008 101 1 1.0 18.00 0.18 30
Tucson, AZ 546,574 142 9 6.3 25.98 1.65 1
Fresno, CA 545,567 65 6 9.2 11.91 1.10 5
Sacramento, CA 528,001 77 7 9.1 14.58 1.33 2
Mesa, AZ 512,498 66 3 4.5 12.88 0.59 10
Kansas City, MO 509,297 86 2 2.3 16.89 0.39 20

(1) Ranked by city population. Pedalcyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.
(2) Population of 500,000 or more.
(3) Cities with the same pedalcyclist fatality rate per million population receive the same rank.
(4) Less than 0.01 percent.
(5) Less than 0.01 per 100,000 population.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Watercraft accidents

In 2022, the number of recreational watercraft accidents and fatalities decreased from 2021. Florida, California, and Texas remain the top three states for recreational watercraft accidents and deaths, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Recreational Watercraft Accidents, 2018-2022 (1)

 

  Accidents Fatalities    
Year Total Involving
alcohol
use (2)		 Total Involving
alcohol
use (2)		 Injuries Property
damage
($ millions)
2018 4,145 309 633 119 2,511 $46
2019 4,168 330 613 128 2,559 55
2020 5,265 353 767 130 3,191 63
2021 4,439 330 658 110 2,641 68
2022 4,040 270 636 108 2,222 63

(1) Includes accidents involving $2,000 or more in property damage. Includes U.S. territories and offshore accidents.
(2) The use of alcohol by a boat's occupants was a direct or indirect cause of the accident.

Source: U.S. Department Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard.

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OHV accidents

Children under the age of 16 accounted for 29 percent of all people injured in accidents involving off-highway vehicles (OHVs) in 2021, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

OHV-Related Deaths And Injuries, 2017-2021 (1)

 

  Estimated number of deaths Estimated number of injuries (2)
    Younger than 16   Younger than 16
Year Total Number Percent
of total		 Total Number Percent
of total
2017 749 115 15% 108,100 28,400 26%
2018 682 73 10 95,000 24,900 26
2019 747 95 13 96,000 25,800 27
2020 NA NA NA 112,300 30,500 27
2021 NA NA NA 106,600 30,500 29

(1) Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) including All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV); Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROV); and Utility-Terrain Vehicles (UTV)
(2) Emergency room-treated.

NA=Data not available.

Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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