48
CPSC NEISS Data 2005–2024

Exercise (activity Or Apparel, W/o Equip)

Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.

Sports Protective Equipment & Gear · CPSC Code 3299

Stable over 5 years

The verdict

Exercise (activity Or Apparel, W/o Equip) carry a danger score of 48/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 267,294 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.

48/100
danger score (moderate risk)
267,294
ER visits per year (avg)
7.9%
end in hospital admission
15-24
most-injured age group

Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 3299 - last data year 2024.

PlainSafety danger score

0/100100/10048/100
PlainSafety danger score

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 48/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip) - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume267,294 ER visits/yr
  • Severity (hospitalization rate)7.9%
  • Fatality rate0.10%
  • 5-year trend-7%

See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Exercise (activity Or Apparel, W/o Equip) (CPSC product code 3299, in the Sports Protective Equipment & Gear category) generate an estimated 267,294 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 5.3M ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 48/100 for this category (moderate risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2017 (353,818 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (139,467 estimated visits).

The single most common ER diagnosis for exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip) is other to the upper trunk, accounting for approximately 597,028 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by strain, sprain to the ankle (464,002 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1.0M cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 7.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.10%) result in fatality.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.

267,294
Injuries / Year
7.9%
Hospitalization Rate
0.10%
Fatality Rate

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

100K150K200K250K300K350K400K 20052008201120142017202020232024 352K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Exercise (activity Or Apparel, W/o Equip), CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 11,750 8,858 20,608
5-14 239,570 238,473 478,120
15-24 577,130 463,891 1.0M
25-34 524,566 450,526 975,189
35-44 397,538 382,003 779,611
45-54 328,984 350,522 679,583
55-64 266,253 289,075 555,383
65-74 219,911 235,353 455,292
75+ 169,902 190,830 360,732

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Upper Trunk Other 597,028
Ankle Strain, Sprain 464,002
Lower Trunk Strain, Sprain 322,161
Lower Trunk Other 318,663
Knee Strain, Sprain 282,488
All Parts Body Other 281,689
Knee Other 228,117
Head Internal Injury 125,156
Upper Trunk Strain, Sprain 122,227
Lower Leg Other 117,738
Shoulder Strain, Sprain 115,952
Foot Other 113,812
Lower Leg Strain, Sprain 109,929
Foot Strain, Sprain 108,670
Ankle Fracture 84,710

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 89.4% (4.8M)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 7.6% (407,976)
Left Without Being Seen 1.6% (83,277)
Held For Observation 0.7% (36,099)
Treated And Transferred 0.7% (35,565)
Fatality Incl. Doa, Died In Er 0.1% (5,534)
Unknown, Not Stated 0.0% (551)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 40 · Female · Neck · Other · 2024

40YOF PRESENTS TO ED FOR NECK PAIN AND ARM PAIN AFTER FALL WHILE RUNNING ON 1/4. HAD PAIN IN NECK, HEADCAHE AND LEFT UPPER ARM. DURING FALL SLID ALNDING PRIMARILY ON RT HIP AND POSSIBLY HANDS. ABLE TO GET UP AND DO REMAINING 3 MILES W/O ISSUE. FELT MORE MUSCLE TENSION. DX: MUSCLE SPASM

Age 57 · Male · Knee · Other · 2024

57YOM PRESENTS TO ED FOR KNEE PAIN. PT HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY WORSENED SINCE THEN WITH INCREASED SWELLING. PT NOTES PREVIOUSLY HE WOULD WALK ADN HIS KNEE WOULD DO SIMILAR BUT NOT TO THE EXTENT IT DID. DX: ACUTE PAIN OF RT KNEE. OSTEOARTHRITIS OF RT KNEE. INJURY OF RT KNEE

Age 18 · Male · Shoulder · Strain, Sprain · 2024

18YOM WAS RUNNING AND IT FELT LIKE HIS LEFT SHOULDER POPPED OUT OF SOCKET DX: ACROMIOCLAVICULAR SEPARATION

Age 74 · Male · Upper Trunk · Other · 2024

74YOM WAS DOING SQUATS AND DEVELOPED CHEST PAIN DX: CHEST PAIN

Age 16 · Male · Head · Other · 2024

16YOM PATIENT WAS AT THE GYM, PERFORMING DIPS AND FELT A POP SENSATION AT THE TOP OF HIS HEAD, REPORTS A HEADACHE, WAS NOT HIT IN THE HEAD OR INJURY DX: ACUTE NONINTRACTRABLE HEADACHE

Age 35 · Male · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

35YOM WAS JOGGING TO A RESTAURANT AND FELL, HAD BEEN USING ETOH, BAL 128, DX HEAD INJURY, ETOH INTOXICATION WITH AMS

Age 50 · Female · Ear · Other · 2024

50YOF SPENDING A LOT OF TIME IN A SWIMMING POOL AND DEVELOP PAIN IN RIGHT EAR DX OTITIS EXTERNA

Age 64 · Female · Knee · Other · 2024

64YOF TWISTED LEFT KNEE WHILE TAKING HER EXERCISE WALK NOW ALL SWOLLEN DX:EFFUSION LEFT KNEE

Age 22 · Male · Upper Leg · Other · 2024

22YOM WITH DOG BITES TO LOWER LEG AND UPPER LEG WHILE JOGGING DX: BITES TO UPPER AND LOWER LEGS

Age 13 · Male · Ankle · Strain, Sprain · 2024

13YOM WAS RUNNING ON THE SIDEWALK WHEN HE STEPPED ON AN UNEVEN SECTION OF THE CONCRETE TWISTING LEFT ANKLE DX: STRAINED ANKLE

Age 31 · Female · Ankle · Strain, Sprain · 2024

31YOF WAS OUT RUNNING IN LOCAL PARK & TWISTED HER LEFT ANKLE , PT SAYS HAS SIGNIFICANT PAIN TO LEFT ANKLE DX LEFT ANKLE PAIN, SPRAIN LEFT ANKLE

Age 86 · Female · Head · Internal Injury · 2024

86YOF, TRIPPED AND FELL WHILE HIKING TODAY STRIKING HEAD WITHOUT LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND HAS NO HISTORY OF BLOOD THINNER, HAS ABRASIONS TO THE FACE, DX: INJURY OF HEAD

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

6/28/2024 · Injury, Seen by Medical Professional · Watchsdv Direct · Nebraska

We ordered several fitness trackers manufactured by Shenzhen Zhongguan Digital Technology Co. Ltd Brand Name: WATCHSDY Model number 226 from Amazon sold by WATCHSDV store for campers to use at a camp for adolescents and young adults with Developmental disabilities. While wearing the watch the first day, one of the campers experienced pain and on removing the watch there was a first degree burn under the area of the watch. Two days later several of the watches began to "melt" while being worn. They were all new watches that week

4/2/2018 · Incident, No Injury · EUKU LLC · Michigan

I purchased the set of hiking poles in December 2017 from a seller on Amazon. I infrequently used them in the winter and have no physical disabilities related to physical movement. On or about March 29, 2018, I grabbed a single stick just to stand up from the couch I was sitting on. The lower segment of the pole separated resulting in component parts falling onto the floor. I examined the intact working pole and discovered that two plastic parts had become broken and disconnected. I contacted the seller through Amazon and explained the problem. I was not looking for a refund or exchange since they had a 30-day warranty and a 1-year limited warranty. At their request, I sent a photograph and explained my concern about safety. I was sent a video link by the company and an admission that the photo showed that the product was defective. My concern is that they are hiking and walking sticks. The reviews on Amazon presents the narratives of people using them that have walking challenges to elderly people that rely on them for balance. The following is the response I was given by this company. "Hi [REDACTED], I apologize that the product that you received seems to be defective and we take damaged product seriously! "I want to let you know that we make sure that all items such as the one we sent you is working perfectly and in good condition before shipping them out. Kindly see steps on how to properly adjust the poles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5VIHyeTXjc.This video tutorial might help. Kindly tighten the screw with the lever closed instead of open. Let me know if you have additional questions, we'll always be happy to assist you. Best, [REDACTED] Montem Outdoor Gear"

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip) on the CPSC website.

Frequently Asked Questions

How dangerous are exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip)?

Based on 20 years of CPSC data, exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip) have a danger score of 48/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 267,294 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.

What are the most common injuries from exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip)?

The most common injury is other to the upper trunk, accounting for approximately 597,028 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip) increasing or decreasing?

Stable over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip) injuries?

The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1.0M cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip)?

Of all ER visits involving exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip), approximately 7.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (92.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with exercise (activity or apparel, w/o equip)?

You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

Safety Guides

What this means for you

Treat the 48/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.

  • See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
  • Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
  • Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls

NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.

Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.