Wrestling (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 1270
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Wrestling (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 40/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 38,569 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 40/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 38,569
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 1.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1270 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 40/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume38,569 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)1.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-4%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Wrestling (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 1270, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 38,569 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 771,378 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 40/100 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 2024 (55,922 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (20,270 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment) is strain, sprain to the shoulder, accounting for approximately 48,564 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by concussion to the head (47,132 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 433,930 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 1.9% 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 wrestling (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 | 310 | 16 | |
| 5-14 | 265,434 | 21,010 | |
| 15-24 | 401,435 | 32,418 | |
| 25-34 | 27,115 | 3,505 | |
| 35-44 | 11,862 | 1,452 | |
| 45-54 | 4,591 | 663 | |
| 55-64 | 922 | 133 | |
| 65-74 | 169 | 103 | |
| 75+ | 78 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Fracture | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Shoulder | Other | |
| Knee | Other | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Elbow | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Finger | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
60YOM WAS WRESTLING TODAY AND WENT OFF THE MAT AND HIS SHOULDER FELT PAIN. DX: SHOULDER DISLOCATION
18YOM COMPLAINS OF LOWER BACK PAIN AFTER HE WAS WRESTLING. DX: LUMBAR BACK SPRAIN
15YOM, FELL ON NOSE AT WRESTLING PRACTICE, CONTINUED TO SWELL DX: ACUTE RIGHT NASAL BONE FRACTURE
16YOM, C/O SCALP LACERATION, AT WRESTLING MATCH, ANOTHER STUDENTS HEAD HIT W/ HIS CHIN DX: SCALP LACERATION
15YOM C/O ANKLE INJURY. ROLELD HIS LEFT ANKLE WHILE WRESTLING. PAIN AND SWELLING TO LATERAL LEFT ANKLE. DX: SALTER-HARRIS TYPE 1 PHYSEAL FRACTURE OF DISTAL END OF LEFT FIBULA
15YOM WAS WRESTLING ON TUESDAY AND STEPPED WRONG AND FELT ANKLE POP R ANKLE SWOLLEN. DX ANKLE SPRAIN
15YOM WAS IN A WRESTLING MATCH WHEN HE WAS THROWN ONTO HIS LEFT SHOULDER DX: INJURY TO SHOULDER
15YOM WITH NOSE INJURY DURING WRESTLING DX: NOSE INJURY
15YOM WITH FRACTURED LOWER LEG IN WRESTLING DX: FRACTURED LOWER LEG
17YOF, DROPPED ONTO THE MAT HITTING HEAD DURING WRESTLING MATCH W/O LOSS OF CONSCIOUS YET ENROUTE TO THE HOSPITAL BECAME SOMNOLENT THEN UNRESPONSIVE DX: HEAD INJURY
26YOM, REPORTS INJURY DURING WRESTLING MATCH/PRACTICE AND OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS BEEN HAVING INTERMITTENT BACK PAIN, DX: ACUTE RIGHT-SIDED THORACIC BACK PAIN
13YOF, AT A WRESTLING MATCH HER OPPONENT LANDED ON HER RIGHT FOREARM THEN PULLED HER LEG UP CAUSING HER TO FALL BACK ON HER BACK RESULTING IN NECK PAIN, DX: NECK PAIN ON RIGHT SIDE; PAIN OF RIGHT FOREARM
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 40/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 38,569 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is strain, sprain to the shoulder, accounting for approximately 48,564 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 433,930 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving wrestling (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 1.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with wrestling (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 40/100 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.
