Skateboarding Injuries

Over time, skateboards have been technologically modified and upgraded to make them more maneuverable and faster. These upgrades have in some cases led to making skateboards less stable. Even on the safest skateboard, however, there is always the chance of a skateboarding accident that will lead to skateboarding injuries.

The most common group of people who end up in the emergency room with a skateboarding injury are boys between 10 and 14 years of age; most often, these serious skateboard injuries occur to skateboarders who have been skating for less than a week, though this does not mean that more experienced boarders are immune to injuries related to skateboarding.

Skateboarding injuries occur often when a skateboarder hits an irregularity on the surface on which he or she is riding. They also occur when a skateboarder is inexperienced, especially when he or she tries a trick and isn’t ready. Skateboarding near traffic or using a homemade ramp are also risk factors.

Many skateboarding injuries occur to the arms and hands; of these, more than half are fractures to the wrist. These fractures occur because skateboarders try to instinctively cushion their falls from a skateboard with their hands; the impact with the ground and the weight of the skateboarder is too much for the wrist to handle, and the bone buckles. Wearing wrist guards can help reduce the risk of wrist fractures.

Other common injuries of skateboarders include abrasions, bruises, dislocations and fractures to the legs, neck and trunk. Some skateboarders break their nose and/or jawbone, while some suffer testicle injury from skateboarding accidents. Injuries to the head can be quite serious if a skateboarder isn’t wearing a helmet and can lead to loss of vision, hearing or the inability to perform certain activities; blows to the head can sometimes cause death.

A skateboarding head injury most often occurs in younger skateboards that are less than ten years old. Head injury resulting from skateboarding falls are more common in this age group because younger children lack the muscle coordination and strength to be able to break their falls with their arms and hands; moreover, children have heads that are disproportionately larger and heavier in comparison to the rest of their bodies and so when they fall, their heads are almost always the first thing to hit the ground.

Skateboarders should take some safety precautions to stop skateboarding injuries. The area that’s going to be used for skateboarding should be checked out beforehand to see if there are any rocks, bumps or holes. The skateboard itself should also be checked out, to make sure there are no loose parts and the wheels don’t have any cracks. It is a very good idea to also wear protective gear. You should practice falling as well; get used to crouching down, falling on the “fleshy” parts of your body (not your hands) and rolling with the fall. You can find out more about skateboarding injuries and info on how to prevent them online.