Sports Injury Statistics
Updated · Sep 03, 2026
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Editor’s Choice: Sports Injury Statistics
- How Common Are Sports Injuries?
- Most Common Sports Injuries Statistics
- Sports Injury Statistics by Body Part
- Sports Injury Statistics by Sport
- Youth Sports Injury Statistics
- Sports Injury Statistics by Gender
- College and Professional Athlete Injury Statistics
- Sports Concussion Statistics
- Overuse vs. Acute Sports Injury Statistics
- Sports Injury Trends
- Conclusion
Introduction
Sports injuries are quite common and can affect professional, amateur, recreational, and youth athletes. In 2024, 4.4 million people in the US visited emergency departments due to sports-related injuries. Various sports injuries were accountable for approximately 20% of all injury-related pediatric ED visits.
Given that sports injuries aren’t just something that happens to a select few, it’s important to know more about them. You never know when a sports injury might happen, but knowing some stats might help with prevention.
Editor’s Choice: Sports Injury Statistics
- Annually, there are approximately 8.6 million sports-related injuries in the US.
- Approx. 40% of all sports injuries are sustained by children or teenagers, and over 50% of all sports injury-related ED visits are made by young athletes.
- The most commonly injured body parts are ankles, followed by knees, head, face, wrists, and hands.
- The most common type of sports injury is ankle sprain, followed by muscle strains, ankle injuries, and muscle and tendon injuries.
- American football has the highest injury rate, averaging 90 injuries per 1,000 game exposures.
- Female athlete injury rates are 1.5-2.2 times higher than male athlete injury rates in the same sport.
- The injuries caused by overuse account for 40%-50% of all sports injuries.
- In 2024, 4.4 million people visited emergency departments for their sports injuries, which is 51% of total sports injuries.
How Common Are Sports Injuries?
We have already mentioned that sports injuries are quite common, and here are some stats that back up this claim:
- Annually, there are approximately 8.6 million sports injuries, or 34.1 injuries per 1,000 population (age-adjusted rate).
- In 2020, emergency department visits caused by sports and recreation injuries hit their record low of 2.7 million, but by 2024, the number of these visits reached 4.4 million.
- Obviously, athletes are more prone to sports injuries. According to the NCAA ISP data, 50%-55% of student-athletes experience at least one injury during the academic year.
- Competitive athletes are more likely to be injured than recreational ones. Even the same athletes are at a higher risk during competitions than during practice. In high school hockey, concussions are 13 times more likely to occur during the match than during practice.
- The age group with the highest sports injury rate is 15-24 years old.
Most Common Sports Injuries Statistics
Some injuries are more common than others, and this table shows the most frequently reported types of injuries.
| Injury Type | Share/Rate of Sports Injuries |
| Sprains and strains | ~44.3% |
| Fractures | ~3.8% |
| Concussions | ~7.3% |
| Knee injuries | ~13.0% |
| Ankle injuries | ~22.2% |
| Shoulder injuries | ~7.5% |
| Muscle and tendon injuries | ~13.9% |
As you can see, sprains and strains are by far the most common types of sports injuries, followed by ankle injuries. Fractures and concussions are the least common, but these injuries are the most dangerous and can lead to lasting health issues.
Sports Injury Statistics by Body Part
We can also break down sports injury statistics by body parts. Some body parts are more prone to getting injured, and this table shows which parts are mosst at risk:
| Body part | Share/Rate of Sports Injuries |
| Knee | ~13.0% |
| Ankle | ~22.2% |
| Head and face | ~9.8% |
| Shoulder | ~7.5% |
| Wrist and hand | ~8.1% |
| Lower leg | ~6.4% |
| Back | ~4.7% |
Ankles and knees are the most commonly injured body parts, followed by head/face and wrists/hands. This is hardly surprising, as these body parts are the ones that make the most contact with the ball/other players.
Sports Injury Statistics by Sport
Contact sports are the biggest sources of sports injuries, but other sports can lead to injuries as well. Here are sports injury statistics broken down by sport:
| Sport | Injury Number/Rate (per 1,000 athlete exposures) | Most Common Injury |
| Football | ~3.96 | Ankle sprains and concussions |
| Basketball | ~1.54-2.03 | Ankle sprains |
| Soccer | ~1.78-2.65 | Ankle sprains and concussions |
| Cycling | ~4.2 | Upper extremity fractures and abrasions |
| Baseball and softball | ~0.89-1.35 | Head/face injuries and shoulder/arm strains |
| Running | ~1.21-1.45 | Shin splints and lower-leg overuse strains |
| Gymnastics | ~2.10-3.20 | Ankle ligament strains and wrist overuse strains |
| Hockey | ~2.85-3.12 | Concussions and shoulder strains |
Soccer, basketball, football, hockey, and gymnastics have the highest injury rate. However, injury rates vary widely within a single sport. For example, in football, the injury rate is 12.62 (per 1.000 athlete exposures) during a game, and 2.05 during practice.
Youth Sports Injury Statistics
Children and teenagers are the age group that’s involved in sports the most, which is why they account for a huge portion of sports injury statistics:
- Over 3.5 million children and teenagers (5-19 years old) suffer from sports injuries every year.
- Over 50% of all sports injury-related emergency department visits were made by injured young athletes.
- Between 34% and 65% of youth athletes suffer injuries during one season or year.
- The most common youth sports injuries are ankle sprains, muscle strains, concussions, and growth-related overuse problems such as Sever’s disease and Osgood-Schlatter disease.
- The sports and activities responsible for the most injuries are general exercise, football, cycling, and basketball.
- Overuse injuries among young athletes account for almost 50% of sports medicine visits.
- 14%-18% of middle school and high school athletes self-report a sports-related concussion. Young athletes with prior concussion history have a 3-5 times greater chance for experiencing concussions in the future.
Sports Injury Statistics by Gender
Now, you might wonder if sports injury statistics depend on the gender. At first, you might assume that male athletes are prone to more injuries, but let’s take a look at the facts:
- Male athletes are more likely to participate in high-contact sports, which is why male athletes have 4 injuries per 1,000 practices/games, while female athletes have 2.5 injuries per 1,000 practices/games.
- However, when you compare male and female athletes playing the same sport under the same rules, female athletes get injured slightly more often (~3 injuries per 1,000 practices/games) than male athletes (~2 injuries per 1,000 practices/games).
- Female athletes sustain ACL injuries at a 2-8 times higher rate than male athletes, with 80.5% of those injuries ending up in complete ACL tears (compared to male athletes, 68.1% of their ACL injuries ending up in complete ACL tears).
- Female athletes sustain concussions at a 1.5-2.2 times higher rate than male athletes when playing comparable sports.
- There are differences in the most common types of injuries between the genders. Female athletes are more prone to overuse injuries, while male athletes are more prone to acute macro-trauma (fractures, etc.).
College and Professional Athlete Injury Statistics
College and professional athletes play sports on a whole new level. Their injuries might have a much higher impact than the injuries of amateur and recreational athletes. Here are the most important stats:
- NCAA athletes sustain 7-8 injuries per 1,000 practices/games, and injuries are 3 times more likely to occur during the actual game than during practice.
- High-impact professional sports are well-known for injuries. For example, the NFL is averaging approx. 90 injuries per 1,000 games and practices.
- Injuries per athlete exposure are much higher during games than during practices, averaging between 12 and 36 injuries per 1,000 exposures in contact sports.
- Approximately 50% of college athletes and up to 90% of NFL athletes miss at least one game or practice due to their injuries.
- Most injury-prone sports are contact sports such as football, ice hockey, and soccer, but individual sports, such as women’s gymnastics, also have high injury rates.
Sports Concussion Statistics
No sports injury should be neglected or ignored, but concussions take a special place. They are mild traumatic brain injuries that can leave lasting health consequences, especially if left untreated. Unfortunately, concussions are relatively common in contact sports, and here are some important stats:
- 1.6-3.8 million sports-related concussions occur every year, across all age groups, genders, competitive, and recreational groups.
- For male athletes, the sport with the highest concussion rates is football, and for female athletes, soccer is the sport with the most concussions.
- Approximately 200,000-283,000 young athletes (17 and under) visit emergency rooms due to sports-related concussion.
- Female athletes are 1.5-2.2 times more likely to sustain a concussion than male athletes playing the same sports.
- Concussions make up approximately 7% of all reported sports injuries, but that percentage gets much higher when observing contact sports only, and it can get up to 25%.
Overuse vs. Acute Sports Injury Statistics
We can classify all sports injuries in two groups based on how quickly they occur. Acute sports injuries occur suddenly, from one specific trauma, such as a collision or fall. Bone fractures, ankle sprains, and ACL tears are some common examples of acute sports injuries.
Overuse sports injuries develop gradually over time, as a result of repeated microtrauma. Some of the most common overuse sports injuries are tendinitis, shin splints, and stress fractures. The pain from overuse sports injuries is usually dull, while acute injuries cause sharp pain.
Here are some important stats:
- Acute accidents (collisions, falls, bad landings, etc.) account for 50%-60% of all sports injuries,
- Overuse injuries account for 40%-50% of all sports injuries, and they are most likely to occur during endurance and high-repetition activities.
- Some of the sports where overuse injuries are especially common are running, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, and figure skating.
- Contact sports, such as hockey, American football, rugby, and soccer, have higher rates of acute sports injuries.
- Due to their age and growth, youth athletes are prone to overuse injuries, with nearly 50% of all pediatric sports-related injuries coming from overuse.
Interestingly, young athletes who play only one sport are 85% more likely to sustain an overuse injury than their peers who play two or more sports. This happens because, while playing only one sport, young athletes strain the same muscles and body parts over and over again, which leads to the overuse injury.
Young athletes who play two or more sports engage more muscles and different muscle groups and body parts. The strain on these muscles and body parts is distributed more equally, hence the risk of overuse injury is lower.
Sports Injury Trends
Over recent years, sports injuries have been steady, but there are still some interesting trends we should mention:
- Up until 2020, the injuries were on the rise. Then, in 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), the number of sports injuries dropped by 27% because of lockdowns, which sharply reduced sports and other physical activity.
- Since 2021 and to the present day, the number of sports injuries has risen again, as more people exercise and participate in sports.
- Concussion rates are quite steady, but there is a 40%-60% increase in reported concussions, thanks to the higher awareness of how serious this injury can be.
- Due to the rise of early single-sport specialization and year-round club play without enough recovery time, youth sports injuries have increased by approximately 30% in the last 10-15 years.
- Emergency department visits have decreased by 10%-20%, mostly because some sports injuries were treated at urgent care or specialized doctor’s offices.
Conclusion
Sports injuries are relatively common, with 8.6 million injuries occurring annually. That accounts for 34.1 sports injuries per 1,000 people. 4.4 million people visited emergency departments across the US in 2024 for these injuries. The most common injury is an ankle sprain, making the ankle the most commonly injured body part.
High contact sports, such as football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey, have the highest injury numbers and rates. Some individual sports, such as female gymnastics and figure skating, also have relatively high injury rates.
Young athletes are experiencing more injuries than before. This is because they specialize in one sport at a young age, which puts strain on the same muscles and body parts and leads to overuse injuries over time.
Željka Stanić is a writer with more than five years of experience specializing in finance, statistics, and general business topics. She writes helpful and engaging articles that make the complex economic concepts easier to understand. Through her writing, Željka uses a structured and readable approach to ensure that high-level statistics are interesting and compelling to read.
