SUNDAY, March 6, 2011 (HealthDay News) -- Sledding is the most common cause of injury among winter sports enthusiasts, according to an orthopedic surgeon who made a list of the top five injury-causing winter activities.
"More than 700,000 injuries are reported each year in the United States due to sledding. More than 30 percent are head injuries caused by collisions," Dr. Daryl O'Connor, a sports medicine specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, Ill., part of the Loyola University Health System, said in a Loyola news release.
The others in the top five are:
O'Connor also warned about the dangers of skitching, where a person grabs a car's rear bumper and slides on the soles of the shoes, or is pulled by ropes on inner tubes or sleds through icy streets.
"This is not even a sport, it's just being foolish," he said. "In addition to broken bones, neck and shoulder injuries, young people can suffer fatal head trauma."
More information
The Nemours Foundation offers sledding safety tips.