The sports injuries most likely to send people to emergency departments in Italy may not come from extreme pursuits such as off-piste skiing or motocross. Instead, football and five-a-side games account for a large share of visits, according to estimates cited in the source article.

Around 300,000 people a year in Italy seek emergency care for a sports-related injury. Football and five-a-side football account for 46% of those cases, while no other sport exceeds 8%. Injuries involving winter sports, including skiing, snowboarding and ski touring, are estimated at 30,000 to 35,000 annually.

Most cases are not severe: 70% of visits are classified as the lowest-priority category, and around 15,000 people are admitted to hospital. Common problems include sprains, ligament injuries and inflamed tendons. Although the average age of injured people is 21, the share of patients over 50 is rising.

The article points to the “weekend warrior” pattern as a key factor: people who do little training during the week but expect their bodies to perform at a high level during a game. The same pattern is appearing in padel, which has attracted more than 1.5 million Italians. A review of studies estimates around three injuries per 1,000 hours of padel, with injuries concentrated among players aged 35 to 55. Overhead shots, sudden sprints and changes of direction can put strain on the knees, Achilles tendon, elbows and shoulders.

The sport itself is not necessarily the problem, the article argues. Playing without warming up and returning to intense activity without gradual preparation can raise the risk of injury. It also notes that people may overestimate the danger of sports such as skiing because dramatic accidents are easier to recall than common injuries such as a twisted ankle.

Orthopedic surgeon Corrado Bertolo, who works at Humanitas and is a medical team doctor for Torino FC, is scheduled to discuss injury risks and prevention at a public event in Turin on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. The meeting, titled “Who is most at risk is not who you think,” is organized by Focus with Area X, an initiative of Intesa Sanpaolo Protezione. It begins at 6:30 p.m. at Area X, Via San Francesco d’Assisi 12, and admission is free with a reservation through areax.madeticket.it.

Sources: Focus.it.