Sports And Recreational Activity, N.e.c.
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 1200
Down 34% over 5 years
The verdict
Sports And Recreational Activity, N.e.c. carry a danger score of 39/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 69,513 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 34% over the last five years.
- 39/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 69,513
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 2.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1200 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 39/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for sports and recreational activity, n.e.c. - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume69,513 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)2.7%
- Fatality rate0.02%
- 5-year trend-34%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Sports And Recreational Activity, N.e.c. (CPSC product code 1200, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 69,513 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 1.4M ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 39/100 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 34% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2011 (88,261 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (28,028 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for sports and recreational activity, n.e.c. is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 186,597 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (73,230 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 833,450 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 2.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.02%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 5 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how sports and recreational activity, n.e.c. 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 | 10,147 | 7,069 | |
| 5-14 | 442,464 | 390,958 | |
| 15-24 | 230,787 | 165,008 | |
| 25-34 | 55,071 | 19,177 | |
| 35-44 | 24,737 | 11,229 | |
| 45-54 | 11,670 | 6,059 | |
| 55-64 | 5,713 | 3,347 | |
| 65-74 | 2,334 | 1,564 | |
| 75+ | 1,334 | 1,499 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Wrist | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Other | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Lower Arm | Fracture | |
| All Parts Body | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Wrist | Fracture | |
| Foot | Strain, Sprain | |
| Finger | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
13YOM PRESENTS TO ED COMPLAINING OF LEFT ANKLE AFTER TWISTING IN GYM CLASS EARLIER TODAY. PAIN IS SHARP AND LCOATED ON LATERAL MALLEOLUS. DENIES LOSS OF STRENGTH. DX: SPRAIN OF LEFT ANKLE, UNSPECIFIED LIGAMENT
16YOM PATIENT WAS BUCKED OFF A BULL WHILE BULL RIDING, NECK PAIN, LOWER BACK PAIN DX: BLUNT TRAUMA, ACUTE LOW BACK PAIN WITHOUT SCIATICA, RIGHT ELBOW PAIN, WHIPLASH INJURY OF NECK
17YOM PATIENT WAS STEPPED ON BY A BULL WHILE HE WAS RIDING A BULL RIDING AT A BULL RIDING CAMP DX: STRUCK BY BULL, TRAUMATIC PNEUMOTHORAX, CLOSED FRACTURE OF TRANSVERSE PROCESS OF CERVICIAL VERTEBRA
14YOF WAS CLIMBING ON A WOODEN PEG BOARD ON THE WALL OF THE GYM AND FELL OFF INJURING HER LEFT WRIST DX: LEFT WRIST FRACTURE
38YOM C/O HEARING LOSS AND LIGHTHEADEDNESS S/P PT STATES HE WAS SPARRING WITH A FRIEND ON FRIDAY WHEN HE WAS KICKED IN THE LEFT EAR. HIS SPARRING EQUIPMENT PROTECTED HIS HEAD BUT ALSO HAS A PIECE THAT EXTENDS INTO THE EAR. WHEN HE WAS STRUCK HAPPENS HE FELT SOMETHING SHIFTED IN HIS EAR. HE FELT LIGHTHEADED BECAUSE OF THE BUILD UP IN HIS EAR. DX: BILATERAL IMPACTED CERUMEN
13YOF,PE TODAY AT SCHOOL WHEN TEACHER MADE HER WALK AN KNEE UNSTEADY AN FELL ONTO IT,DX:KNEE CONT
10YOM PATIENT WAS RUNNING AT PRACTICE TODAY WHEN HE WENT OVER SOME DIRT AND HIS FOOT SLIPPED CAUSING HIM TO HYPEREXTEND HIS KNEE. DX: KNEE INJURY
17YOM WAS IN A MARCHING BAND AT SCHOOL PERFORMING WHEN HE FELT A POP IN HIS LEFT HAMSTRING DX STRAINED HAMSTRING
9YOM WITH SYNCOPE AND COLLAPSE IN GYM CLASS AND HIT HEAD AND HAS CONTUSION TO FOREHEAD DX: SYNCOPE AND COLLAPSE
6YOM FELL CLIMBING ON A ROCK WALL AT A PARK. DX: LAC FOREHEAD
11YOM, WAS DOING JUMP TEST IN GYM CLASS TODAY WHEN ACCIDENTALLY TWISTED ME, DX: ACUTE PAIN OF RIGHT KNEE
15YOM, SUSTEAINED AN INVERSION INJURY TO ANKLE DURING GYM CLASS, DX: SPRAIN OF LEFT ANKLE
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
We are heartbroken to share that an incident occurred involving our slackline-based obstacle course. Preliminary reports indicate that a supporting treereported to be in poor healthfailed, resulting in the death of a child and injuries to two others. Our user instructions caution against using the product with unhealthy or compromised trees. We are investigating internally to understand exactly what happened. We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected.
My 11 year old daughter (will be 12 Aug 26th) was playing with "The Human Slingshot" by VAT19 with two 12-year olds and one 13-year old of similar build. The product instructions state 4 players only. My daughter collided with another player and sustained a fractured and dislocated clavicle which the emergency room doctor stated would more than likely require surgery due to the severity of her injury. This product has no age limits on the instructions and is a very dangerous product for younger less coordinated children as the product obviously requires controlled coordination while being sling-shotted back and forth among three other players. In essence, this product is an accident waiting to happen. We did not own this product as we were visiting a friend's house when my daughter participated in this game.
I purchased skate protective gear from WalMart. Wrist splints, elbow pads, and knee pads. I fell backward. Elbow pads did not protect my arm. I sustained a compound fracture of my left distal humerus, elbow, that had to be surgically repair with plates and screws. Now I do not have full fiction of my arm.
I feel its important to notify the Uboway company of what recently happened with our son while using the ninja course kit. My hope is that us contacting you will possibly save any other kids from being injured by this faulty prod uct. We recently ordered the Uboway ninja obstacle course kit through Amazon to put up as part of our kids ninja warrior course in the basement. Our 3 kids have played on the course, friends have played on the course, neighbor kids have played on the course. Two Wednesday nights ago, our son suffered a terrible fall, headfirst, that resulted in a trip to the ER where he had to undergo a CT scan and was diagnosed with a concussion. It. Was. Scary. The trapeze bar that came already assembled by the company, BROKE. The details of the kit specifically state that is will hold up to 220 pounds. Our son weighs 88 pounds and was using the equipment properly. It never should have broken. Hearing your child so disoriented, scared, saying he cant move, blurred vision, dizzy, ears ringing, etc was scary. Feeling the huge bump on his head and wondering if he cracked his skull was scary. I cant help but be upset that this happened. I tried to contact the company via the amazon link and theres no tab for me to click on where I can contact Uboway. My son now suffers from daily headaches and we have a $200 hospital bill. We live on a purposeful budget and an extra $200 is not in our budget. I am writing In hopes of saving other children from being seriously injured. Uboway needs do further testing on the wooden trapeze bars. Make them bigger or thicker or adjust the weight capacity because it definitly does not hold 220 lbs. Thank you for your time, [REDACTED] Sent from my iPhone
Spoke to- [REDACTED] He was completely unsympathetic to the fact that my daughter was almost scalped by your Velcro on the pull behind. THIS IS ALL GOING ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND HE WAS MADE AWARE. I also let him know that the phone call is being recorded. My daughter flipped the Velcro overhead to get out, and in an instant the Velcro stuck to her hair. We could not get it out after two hours in the bathtub being soaked with oil in every single conditioner I can find. He still said im not sure what youd like me to do. Like whats your issue? I end up having to cut my daughters hair off! Another baby can be injured by this product. This is not normal Velcro!!!!!! Many pictures were taken and I will include.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to sports and recreational activity, n.e.c. on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are sports and recreational activity, n.e.c.?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, sports and recreational activity, n.e.c. have a danger score of 39/100 (low risk). An estimated 69,513 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from sports and recreational activity, n.e.c.?
The most common injury is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 186,597 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from sports and recreational activity, n.e.c. increasing or decreasing?
Down 34% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for sports and recreational activity, n.e.c. injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 833,450 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by sports and recreational activity, n.e.c.?
Of all ER visits involving sports and recreational activity, n.e.c., approximately 2.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with sports and recreational activity, n.e.c.?
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 39/100 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 5-14 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.