There are many risky sports out there. From sky-diving to cheerleading, the potential consequences of playing any sport are not always clear. But what are the most dangerous sports to play?
When playing an extremely competitive sport there are risks that are worth taking. For example, many football players are willing to put themselves on the line for their team. However, some sports have too high of a risk, even for those who want to take the chance. Here are some of the more dangerous sports out there and why they're so risky.
American Football and Rugby
Both American Football and Rugby have a higher risk for brain injury than most other sports. American football has up to 14 impacts per player over the course of a football game, at an average of 25 gs of force per tackle. Rugby players on the other hand only experience around 10 gs of force per tackle, but wear far less padding.
The effects of concussions in football and rugby players can also be delayed, sometimes not appearing for days or weeks after the injury. This can be extremely dangerous as a player returning to the field too soon could cause them to suffer a traumatic brain injury. This type of injury can cause death if not treated immediately, but rehabilitation from a concussion usually takes around seven to fourteen days when properly diagnosed and treated.
Base Jumping
In addition to all the other risks associated with base jumping, there is also the additional risk of falling. Base jumping is a sport that involves jumping from a cliff or a building and then free-falling until reaching the ground.
If you plan on doing this, be sure you're aware of how good a parachute system you have. This is especially true for experienced skydivers who are landing with very little margin for error. This makes base jumping one of the most dangerous sports to dive into.
Parkour
Free running and trail running are great ways to stay athletically fit, but the parkour community takes it up a few notches and loves to show off death-defying stunts like jumping between rooftops, or quickly dropping from one ground floor to another, hanging off balconies.
While parkour has many benefits, the deadly nature of some of these stunts makes extreme parkour incredibly dangerous.
Rock Climbing
Rock climbing can be an exhilarating, but extremely dangerous sport, no matter how experienced a rock climber is. Rock climbers are limited to climbing on relatively safe rock formations, but if they fall they can be seriously injured. On average, there are around 150 rock climbing deaths globally.
The most insanely dangerous sport is free solo rock climbing, which means climbing alone without any harness, rope or other climbing aids. This requires a person to rely completely on their own strength and stamina. One slip and you're plummeting thousands of feet to your death.
Bull Riding
Riding atop a 1,800-pound animal as it bucks you around is dangerous in so many ways. Just imagine being trampled under the massive weight of the creature. The overall risk of injury when bull riding is extremely high, but if you have a lot of training you can minimize the risk of injury. So while theoretically, bull riding is an extremely dangerous sport, only 21 professional bull riders have been killed since 1989.
Heli Skiing
Jumping out of a helicopter to ski down a mountain is a fairly popular extreme sport - but the emphasis really is on 'extreme'. Crashing is always a major concern, but so is being swept by an avalanche, falling into a crevasse, or even freezing to death. Skiers need to be prepared for many possible scenarios.
So while extreme skiers are brave and adventurous, they are also very susceptible to injury and death.
Underwater Cave Diving
Cave diving is a hobby that requires high levels of fitness, a good level of risk assessment, and the ability to swim in cramped spaces. There's no reliable database listing the number of global cave diving deaths, but between 1969 - 2007, a total of 368 divers died doing this dangerous sport.
