2. Basketball

Total ER Visits: 189,562

Basketball has the highest numbers for participation by both male and female athletes between the ages of 6 and 17, and the emergency room visits don’t take into account the many thousands of injuries treated by clinics, athletic trainers, family doctors and pediatricians.

Basketball injuries account for 9 percent of youth concussions, second only to football. Basketball’s numbers are inflated, of course, by the large numbers of participants. In terms of individual risk, concussion rates among 12- to 17-year-olds are highest for ice hockey (29 per 10,000 players), followed by football (27), soccer (8), basketball (4) and baseball (3).

1. Football

Total ER Visits: 240,509

Football is the most popular sport in America, based on TV viewership. In 2012, 46 of the top 50 most-watched TV events were National Football League (NFL) games. So it’s no wonder that football is one of the most popular sports for student athletes. It’s also the most dangerous: 80 percent of concussions that kids get while playing sports are received playing football. With more than 3 million students playing football each year, that’s a lot of concussions.

Repeated blows to the head, whether resulting in a concussion or not, potentially can be even more dangerous. Over time, they can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disorder in which brain tissue is damaged, causing memory loss, confusion, impaired judgement, diminished impulse control and other problems. And while helmets are designed to offer some protection, there has not yet been a helmet designed that protects against concussions.