Parkour injuries presenting to United States emergency departments, 2009–2015

Background Few studies have examined injuries resulting from practicing parkour. The current study provides details on more parkour-related emergency department visits than existed in the combined research literature. Methods Cross-sectional data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission‘s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System were used to examine parkour-related injuries presenting to U.S. emergency departments over a seven year period. Results Most parkour injuries were reportedly caused by landing or from striking objects. Common diagnoses included fractures, sprains/strains, abrasions/contusions, and lacerations. More than half of reported injuries (57.7%) affected the patients’ extremities. In this data, there appears to be a trend of increasing parkour injuries over time. Patients as young as 8 years old have presented to emergency departments with parkour-related injuries in recent years. Conclusions Given the relatively severe injuries obtained by youth participants, more research is needed to guide injury prevention efforts. Understanding the nature of parkour-related injuries may help inform prevention efforts. However, more systematic monitoring of participation in parkour and related injuries is needed.