US Pharm. 2006;6:16.

Each year in the United States, an estimated 30 million children and adolescents participate in organized sports, and approximately 150 million adults participate in some type of non-work-related physical activity. Although these activities have numerous health benefits, they also involve a risk of acute or chronic injury.

Incidence
The CDC has analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–All Injury Program. In 2001, about 4.3 million sports- and recreation-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments (EDs), comprising 16% of all unintentional injury-related ED visits.

Types of sports- and recreation-related activities in which persons were engaged when injured varied by age and sex. For boys and girls 9 years and younger, most injuries involved playgrounds and bicycles, with scooter- and trampoline-related injuries ranking among the top seven types. For males ages 10 to 19 years, injuries from football, basketball, and bicycles were most common. For females in this age range, basketball-related injuries ranked highest. For people ages 20 to 24 years, basketball- and bicycle-related injuries ranked among the three leading types of injuries. Basketball-related injuries ranked highest for men ages 25 to 44 years. Exercise (weight lifting, aerobics, stretching, walking, jogging, and running) was the leading injury-related activity for women 20 years and older and ranked among the top four types of injuries for men in this age-group.


The most common injury diagnoses were strains/sprains (29.1%), fractures (20.5%), contusions/abrasions (20.1%), and lacerations (13.8%). The body parts injured most frequently were ankles (12.1%), fingers (9.5%), face (9.2%), head (8.2%), and knees (8.1%). Overall, 2.3% of people with sports- and recreation-related injuries were hospitalized.

Medical Expenditures
According to the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the National Health Accounts, injury-related medical expenditures were $117 billion in 2000, about 10% of the total U.S. medical expenditures. A total of 16.3% of people (44.7 million) in the U.S. reported requiring treatment for at least one injury. The percentage was higher for males (17.3%) than for females (15.4%). By age-group, the percentage of those reporting treatment for injury ranged from 11.9% for children younger than 10 years to 17.9% for persons ages 10 to 19 years. Among those older than 45, a greater percentage of males reported treatment for an injury.

In 2000, $117.2 billion was spent treating injuries among the U.S. population. Injury-attributable medical expenditures in the U.S. population were higher for males ($59.8 billion) than females ($57.4 billion). The greatest injury-attributable medical expenditures ($23.3 billion) were for women ages 45 to 64 years.

The true economic burden of injuries is likely greater than reported amounts, as these numbers do not include the value of life lost to premature mortality, insurance costs, property damage, litigation, decreased quality of life, and diminished functional capacity.

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