Body parts injured

Emergency Department presentations

  • 1529.7 1224.0 860.6 Head/Neck Wrist/Hand Shoulder/UL

    ED presentations 2024-25

    The three most frequent body parts injured in ED presentations were

    • the head and neck 
    • the wrist and hand
    • the shoulder and upper limb (UL) 

    Chart presents crude rates per 100,000 population.

The most common combination of injury types and body parts injured (where both were specified) were:

  • fracture to the shoulder and upper limb (excluding wrist and hand) (a rate of 450.6 per 100,000 population)
  • open wound to the wrist and hand (395.7 per 100,000)
  • open wound to the head and neck (369.1 per 100,000)

The most common principal diagnoses for injury ED presentations varied across age groups. 

  • Children aged 0–4

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in children aged 0–4 in 2024–25 was other and unspecified injuries of the head

  • Children aged 5–14

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in children aged 5–14 in 2024–25 was fracture of the forearm

  • Adults aged 25–44

    The most common ED principal diagnosis in adults aged 25–44 in 2024–25 was open wound of the wrist or hand

For more information see Supplementary data tables E2 and E4.

Injury hospitalisations

  • 467.5 436.9 366.8 Head/Neck Hip/LL Shoulder/UL

    Injury hospitalisations 2024-25

    Across all ages, the top three body parts injured were:

    1. head and neck 
    2. hip and lower limb (LL)
    3. shoulder and upper limb (UL)

    Chart shows crude rates per 100,000 population. See Figure 15 for more detail.

  • Injury hospitalisations among people aged 65 and over were most likely to be for:

    1. hip and lower limb injuries (1,114.6 per 100,000 population)
    2. head and neck injuries (crude rate of 1,107.7 per 100,000 population)

Figure 15: Injury hospitalisations by main body part injured, 2024–25

Graph of a human figure with injury hospitalisation data for each body part. Head and neck reported the highest number of injury cases.

Graph of a human figure with injury hospitalisation data for each body part. Head and neck reported the highest number of injury cases.

Note: Cases of hospitalisations are represented at person level with highlighted body parts.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database

Persons aged 65 and over and young children aged 0-4 were the most likely to sustain injuries to the head and neck (1,107.7 and 784.5 per 100,000, respectively). 

Overall, persons aged 65 and over reported the highest crude rates of injuries across all body parts apart from the ankle and foot, injuries not described in terms of body location, and the wrist and hand. 

Young people aged 15-24 had the highest hospitalisation rates for:

  • injuries to the ankle and foot – 125.9 per 100,000
  • injuries not described in terms of body location – 229.5 per 100,000
  • injuries to the wrist and hand – 449.6 per 100,000.

For hospitalisations in 2024–25, the most common combination of injury types and body parts injured (where both were specified) were: 

  • fracture to the shoulder and upper limb (excluding wrist and hand) (238.3 per 100,000)
  • fracture to the hip and lower limb (excluding ankle and foot) (218.1 per 100,000)
  • fracture to the trunk (thorax, abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine & pelvis) (157.1 per 100,000)

For more information see Supplementary data tables H10 and H11.

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