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Injury Prevention in Children

In recent years, the popularity of 'razor scooters' and other skating devices has lead to a surge in significant injuries in young patients. Last year approximately 23,000 pediatric and adolescent patients were treated in emergency rooms for scooter related injuries. A high percentage of these injuries were closed head injuries. Numerous deaths have been reported on scooters. Parents should be cautioned about the potential for serious injury on scooters, and helmets should always be worn. Forearm fractures and abrasions are common injuries on scooters, and wrist guards and protective pads for the elbows and knees should be worn. To minimize injury risk, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends the following for scooter use:

  • avoid steep hills.
  • children should practice the fundamentals of handling the scooter in a controlled environment, prior to using these in an open area.
  • children should be taught to obey all traffic signs.
  • children under 8 should not use scooters.


    • The winter will soon be with us, and this will bring a significant number of injuries to the emergency room. Many young athletes prefer snowboards to traditional skis. Although snowboarding probably has a lower risk of knee injuries, it does carry a relatively high risk of upper extremity fracture. These fractures typically involve the distal forearm, but elbow fractures and other dislocations also occur. A high percentage of these injuries involve the growth plate, which places the patient at risk for future growth plate complications. Many of these injuries require surgery. The use of forearm guards has been demonstrated to decrease the impact loading on the distal forearm(1), and these should be used by all snowboarders.

    Another common injury is snowboarders is a closed head injury. During a fall, the snowboarder typically falls backward. This fall can force the head backward, leading to rapid deceleration of the cranium when the occiput strikes the surface. The risk of significant head injury is high in all snow sports, and helmet use is strongly recommended.

    Parents should be encouraged to observe their children during activities. It is important that parents teach their children to remain in control, whether cycling, 'scootering', boarding or skiing.

    (1) Staebler MP, Moore DC, Akelman E, Weiss AP, Fadale PD, Crisco JJ 3rd. The effect of wrist guards on bone strain in the distal forearm. Am J Sports Med. 1999 Jul-Aug;27(4):500-6.