Handball (activity, Apparel Or Equipment)
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 & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1282
Down 58% over 5 years
The verdict
Handball (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 30/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 2,381 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 58% over the last five years.
- 30/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 2,381
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1282 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 30/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for handball (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume2,381 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.2%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-58%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Handball (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 1282, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 2,381 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 47,619 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 30/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 58% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2015 (4,103 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (663 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for handball (activity, apparel or equipment) is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 5,209 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by strain, sprain to the knee (2,577 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 17,410 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 3.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how handball (activity, apparel or equipment) 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.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
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 | 6 | 16 | |
| 5-14 | 8,215 | 5,614 | |
| 15-24 | 14,019 | 3,391 | |
| 25-34 | 5,853 | 918 | |
| 35-44 | 4,487 | 465 | |
| 45-54 | 2,048 | 488 | |
| 55-64 | 867 | 62 | |
| 65-74 | 633 | 190 | |
| 75+ | 343 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Finger | Strain, Sprain | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Wrist | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Other | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Wrist | Fracture | |
| Shoulder | Dislocation | |
| Lower Trunk | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
19YOM REPORTS HE WAS PLAYING HANDBALL AND WHEN HE THREW THE BALL HE FELT HIS SHOULDER POP OUT OF PLACE. DX SHOULDER DISLOCATION
43YOM PATIENT STATES HE WAS PLAYING HANDBALL WHEN HE HIT HIS RIGHT SHOULDER ON THE GROUND DX: ACUTE PAIN OF RIGHT SHOULDER
23YOF PRESENTS WITH LEFT ANKLE PAIN AFTER PLAYING HANDBALL A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO DX: ANKLE FRACTURE
33 YOM WAS PLAYING HANDBALL AT THE JAIL WHEN THE BALL STRUCK HIM IN THE LEFT EYE. DX HYPHEMA, VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE
16YOM WAS PLAYING HANDBALL AT SCHOOL AND JAMMED LEFT FIFTH FINGER DX: FRACTURED FINGER
23YOM WITH LOW BACK PAIN SINCE YESTERDAY AFTER RUNNING AND PLAYING HANDBALL DX; ACUTE BILATERAL LOW BACK PAIN WITH RIGHT SIDED SCIATICA
18YOM PRESENTS WITH PAINFUL KNEE, PATIENT STATES RUNNING ALONG CONCRETE PLAYING HANDBALL WHEN HIS KNEE BUCKLED CAUSING HIM TO FALL. DX: RIGHT KNEE PAIN
21YOM, ACCIDENTALLY TWISTED HIS ANKLE PLAYING HANDBALL DX: SPRAIN OF LEFT ANKLE
15YOF PRESENTS AFTER SHE WAS PLAYING HANDBALL TODAY AND WHILE RUNNING AROUND SHE LOST HER BALANCE AND TWISTED LEFT ANKLE AND FELL CATCHING HER FALL WITH HER RIGHT WRIST. DX: FALL, ANKLE PAIN, WRIST PAIN
18YOF, PLAYING HANDBALL JUMPED IN THE AIR AND LANDED ONTO TWISTED ANKLE, DX: AVULSION FRACTURE OF LEFT ANKLE
12YOM PRESENTED TO ED C/O FINGER INJURY, PT STATED HE WAS PLAYING IN THE GYM PLAYING HANDBALL WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY HIT HIS FINGER AGAINST ANOTHER KIDS KNEE. DX; FINGER DISLOCATION
15YOM PRESENTED TO ED C/O ANKLE PAIN, PT STATED HE WAS JUMPING WHILE PLAYING HANDBALL AND ROLLED ONTO HIS ANKLE. DX; ANKLE PAIN,
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to handball (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are handball (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, handball (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 30/100 (low risk). An estimated 2,381 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from handball (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 5,209 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from handball (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Down 58% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for handball (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 17,410 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by handball (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving handball (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 3.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with handball (activity, apparel or equipment)?
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.
Related Products in Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 30/100 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.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
