20 sports that cause the most injuries

There has been growing concern about the risks of sports-related concussions and other injuries as lawsuits filed by professional football players have generated national headlines. Last week, a federal appeals court approved the National Football League's $765 million concussion settlement. According to Bloomberg News, the ruling sets in motion the resolution of thousands of lawsuits covering more than 20,000 retired players. About 1% of players opted out of the settlement, which is to compensate players for head injuries over the next 65 years. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2009 that an estimated 248,418 children age 19 or younger were treated in emergency rooms for sports and recreation-related injuries that included a diagnosis of concussion or traumatic brain injury.

More than head trauma

But sports-related injuries are about more than head trauma. According to the Itasca, Ill.-based National Safety Council, 533,509 people suffered injuries while playing basketball, while 521,578 bicycle riders and 420,581 football players were injured, in 2013, based on injuries treated at hospital emergency rooms, for example. Above are the top 20 sports that cause the most injuries, based on emergency room visits in the United States, along with percentage of injuries by age group for each sport. Related: The 10 most dangerous youth sports in America