Differences in the Risk Associated With Head Injury for Pediatric Ice Skaters, Roller Skaters, and In-Line Skaters

OBJECTIVE. The goals were to describe the epidemiologic features of pediatric skating-related injuries sustained from 1993 to 2003 and to compare ice skating–related injuries with roller skating–and in-line skating–related injuries. METHODS. An analysis of pediatric skating-related injury data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission was performed. RESULTS. An estimated 1 235 467 pediatric skating participants presented to hospital emergency departments with injuries between 1993 and 2003. These children had a mean age of 10.9 years (SD: 3.2 years; range: 1–18 years), and 50.0% were male. The most common mechanism of injury was a fall (83.1%). Ice skaters sustained a greater proportion of head injuries (13.3%), compared with roller skaters (4.4%) and in-line skaters (5.0%). Ice skaters also experienced a greater proportion of concussions (4.3%), compared with roller skaters (0.6%) and in-line skaters (0.8%). The proportion of facial injuries among ice skaters was greater than the proportions among roller skaters and in-line skaters. The majority of roller skating–and in-line skating–related injuries were upper-extremity fractures (53.9% and 59.7%, respectively). Children ≤6 years of age experienced a greater proportion of head and facial injuries than did older children in each skating activity. CONCLUSIONS. The epidemiologic features of pediatric ice skating–related injuries differ from those of roller skating–and in-line skating–related injuries. Children should wear helmets during all recreational skating activities, especially ice skating, because of the risk of serious head injuries. Wrist guards should be worn to protect against the common upper-extremity fractures sustained during skating.

[1]  R. Comstock,et al.  Video analysis of falls experienced by paediatric iceskaters and roller/inline skaters , 2006, British Journal of Sports Medicine.

[2]  B. J. Shields,et al.  Children should wear helmets while ice-skating: a comparison of skating-related injuries. , 2004, Pediatrics.

[3]  B. Belohradsky,et al.  A novel CIAS1 mutation and plasma/cerebrospinal fluid cytokine profile in a German patient with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease responsive to methotrexate therapy. , 2004, Pediatrics.

[4]  J. de Nooijer,et al.  Why young Dutch in-line skaters do (not) use protection equipment. , 2004, European journal of public health.

[5]  M. Letts,et al.  In-line Skating Injuries in Children: A 10-Year Review , 2001, Journal of pediatric orthopedics.

[6]  S. Boyce,et al.  Rollerblading Injuries in Children Attending an Accident & Emergency Department: Should the Use of Wrist Splints be Compulsory? , 2001, Scottish medical journal.

[7]  I. Hassan,et al.  Rollerblading and skateboarding injuries in children in northeast England. , 1999, Journal of accident & emergency medicine.

[8]  J S Osberg,et al.  Skateboarding: more dangerous than roller skating or in-line skating. , 1998, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[9]  P. Prevention In-line Skating Injuries in Children and Adolescents , 1998, Pediatrics.

[10]  A. A. Pudpud In-line skating: A deadly pediatric activity? , 1997, Pediatric emergency care.

[11]  P. Keenan,et al.  An epidemic of roller-blade injuries in children. , 1997, Injury.

[12]  F. Ip,et al.  Orthopaedic ice-skating injuries in a regional hospital in Hong Kong. , 1997, Hong Kong medical journal = Xianggang yi xue za zhi.

[13]  C M Branche-Dorsey,et al.  Risk factors for injuries from in-line skating and the effectiveness of safety gear. , 1996, The New England journal of medicine.

[14]  T. Beattie,et al.  Rollerblading in children: the Edinburgh experience. , 1996, Journal of accident & emergency medicine.

[15]  R. Tanz,et al.  In‐line skate and rollerskate injuries in childhood , 1996, Pediatric emergency care.

[16]  K. Rajaratnam,et al.  "Splint-top" fracture of the forearm: a description of an in-line skating injury associated with the use of protective wrist splints. , 1995, The Journal of trauma.

[17]  P. Freeland Implications of two newly opened ice rinks on an accident and emergency department , 1988, British medical journal.