Most dangerous sports in Australia

Australia may be a nation of sports lovers, but we all know taking part doesn't come without its risks. In fact, research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that almost 60,000 over-15s are hospitalised due to a sports injury every year, according to the latest data.

So what sports are the most dangerous? We've put together a table below.

Which sports cause the most injuries in Australia?

The table shows the top 10 sports which cause the most serious injuries in Australia. The number of cases represents how many people stayed overnight in hospital for treatment. We've split the table to show separate data for men and women to give a more accurate representation of how injuries are impacting Aussies.

Rank	Men	Number of cases	Women	Number of cases
1	Cycling	5,062	Equestrian activities	1,873
2	Australian rules football	4,232	Netball	1,582
3	Rugby	4,052	Cycling	1,190
4	Soccer	4,035	Soccer	748
5	Wheeled motor sports	3,451	Skiing, ice skating and snowboarding	697
6	Unspecified football	3,112	Recreational walking	682
7	Basketball	1,940	Roller sports	679
8	Roller sports	1,860	Dancing	570
9	Cricket	1,108	Australian rules football	557
10	Combative sports	958	Basketball	527

_{*Figures represent overnight hospital patients in 2016–2017}

Which sports are most dangerous?

A certain sport can cause more injuries than another, but still be less dangerous. That's because more people may be playing that sport on a regular basis, so there's a greater chance of someone being injured, compared to a less popular sport.

To find out which sports are the most dangerous in Australia, it's better to look at the rate of injuries per 100,000 participants. This gives a better idea of how risky a particular sport is.

Riskiest	Sport	Number of cases	Estimated number of participants	Rate of injury per 100,000 participants
1	Wheeled motor sports	3,091	241,000	1,283
2	Rugby	3,421	289,700	1,181
3	Roller sports	1,730	147,200	1,175
4	Equestrian activities	2,152	205,200	1,049
5	Australian rules football	3,904	502,500	777
6	Skiing, ice skating and snowboarding	1,328	282,200	411
7	Water skiing	411	111,500	369
8	Soccer	3,644	1,129,900	323
9	Hockey	525	214,500	245
10	Basketball	1,761	724,400	243

_{*Figures represent overnight hospital patients in 2016–2017}

Which sports injuries are most common?

Fractures are by far the most common sports injury in Australia, accounting for over half of all sports injuries in both men and women. The table below gives a breakdown of some of the most common sports injuries. Toggle through to see how they differ between men and women.

• All
• Men
• Women

_{*Figures represent overnight hospital patients in 2016–2017}

Which body parts are most likely to be hurt?

Most serious sporting injuries are related to the hip and lower limb, excluding the ankle and foot. The table below shows a breakdown of which body parts Aussies are frequently injuring while playing sport.

• All
• Men
• Women

_{*Figures represent overnight hospital patients in 2016–2017}

Who is most likely to be injured while playing sport?

Men aged 15–24 are most likely to be hospitalised due to a sports injury in Australia. The table below shows a breakdown of which age groups sustain the most injuries, as well as the number of injuries per 100,000 participants.

Use the tabs at the top of the table to see how the statistics vary between the general population, men and women.

• General population
• Men
• Women

_{*Figures represent overnight hospital patients in 2016–2017}

How often do sports injuries keep people off work?

Research from Finder suggests that over 2 million people had to take some time off work due to a sporting injury between 2012 and 2017. Half a million were forced to take unpaid time off and 178,000 had to leave the workforce entirely.

Remember, the data used in this article only reflects sports injuries which required an overnight stay in hospital. It's likely there are many thousands more which saw people discharged within a day or which only required a doctor's appointment, but many still have kept people off work.

How can income protection insurance help?

Income protection insurance is designed to pay you a portion of your typical earnings, if you're ever too sick or injured to work. For people who play sport regularly, that could mean a financial safety net in case you're hit by a bad tackle, take a tumble on the pitch or get knocked off your bike.

Remember though, some more dangerous sports, like motor racing, may not be covered and waiting periods may apply.

What about sports injuries and kids?

According to a 2018 study by Macquarie University, around 13,000 children are hospitalised a year with a sports injury. It's estimated that these sports injuries cost the Australian healthcare system around $40 million a year.

Team ball sports are the biggest cause of injury, accounting for 43% of all injuries. Second is cycling (22%). Boys are much more likely to need to go to hospital - they make up 75% of all sports related hospitalisations - and are more likely to be injured while playing team ball sports (49%). Girls though, have higher rates of injuries from horse-riding (13%) and gymnastics (7%).