Each year, more and more teenagers participate in the sport of skateboarding. It involves speed, balance and coordination, and can sometimes result in serious injuries. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 26,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year with skateboard-related injuries.

Sprains, fractures, contusions and abrasions are the most frequent. Seventy-four percent of reported injuries are of the extremities. Among these, wrist and ankle fractures are the most common. Head injuries accounted for 21 percent of all injuries.

Six out of every 10 skateboard injuries are to children under 15, and skateboarders who have been skating for less than a week suffer one-third of the injuries.

"Injuries most always result from accidental falls due to loss of balance," said Dr. Stuart Weinstein, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon. "Underdeveloped motor coordination is the main cause of these falls in the younger and less-experienced riders. In addition, the smaller the child, the higher the center of gravity due to the larger proportion of the head."

The American Academy of Orthopaedic offers the following tips to avoid skateboarding injuries:

Children under age 5 should never ride a skateboard. They do not yet have the physical skills and thinking ability a person needs to have to control a skateboard and ride it safely.
Choose the right board.
Take good care of your skateboard. All skateboards will wear over time. Check for hazards such as loose, broken or cracked parts; sharp edges on metal boards; a worn or slippery surface; and wheels with nicks and cracks.
Buy the safety equipment including slip resistant shoes, helmets, knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, and gloves -- and don't forget to use them. Getting your child to wear protective gear may be a challenge. Emphasize common sense and point out how experience may be a very painful thing to learn from. Understand that peer pressure may strongly influence your child's choice and remind your child that it is not cool to have crippling injuries.
Remember that many falls result from obstructions on riding surfaces such as small stones, sticks, bumps, and holes in or on the riding surface. Choose smooth pavement, preferably in a supervised skate park.
Set the rules about where and how the skateboard can be used. Don't ride in traffic. Carry the board when crossing roads. Avoid skateboarding in crowded walkways. Do not "skitch" on cars, trucks, motorcycles, or bicycles.
Skateboarding accidents happen, so know what to do in an emergency.