Although sledding is a popular winter pastime, it can unfortunately lead to serious injury. A new study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that from 1997-2007, an estimated 229,023 children and adolescents younger than 19 years were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments for sledding-related injuries - an average of more than 20,000 cases each year.
According to the study, being released online August 23 and appearing in the September issue of Pediatrics, the most common injuries were fractures (26 percent), followed by cuts and bruises (25 percent). The study also revealed that the majority of injuries occurred during a collision (51 percent), and that collisions were more likely to result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) than other mechanisms of injury. Overall, the head was the most commonly injured body part (34 percent). While the majority of injuries occurred at a place of sports or recreation (52 percent) or on private property (31 percent), patients that were injured while sledding on a street or highway were more likely to sustain injuries to the head, diagnosed with a TBI and hospitalized than were patients injured in other locations.