When do we break which bone?
The median age of the people who turn up at a US emergency room with each broken bone. Children break their forearms (median age 11); by the hips, spine and thigh the typical patient is in their seventies.
Source: US Consumer Product Safety Commission, NEISS emergency-room data, 2024.
What stands out
- The lower spine and pelvis are the oldest break, with a median age of 77; the neck vertebrae (74) and the thigh bone (73) are close behind.
- The forearm is the youngest by a decade: 11, against 21 for the finger bones and 22 for the wrist, the next youngest.
- The biggest jump between neighbours in the ranking is 14 years, from the collarbone and shoulder blade (45) to the kneecap (59); after it come the ribs and breastbone at 70.
- Half of the 16 bones have a median patient under 41.
The numbers
| Rank | Bone | Median age at the break |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lower spine and pelvis | 77 years |
| 2 | Neck vertebrae | 74 years |
| 3 | Thigh bone | 73 years |
| 4 | Ribs and breastbone | 70 years |
| 5 | Kneecap | 59 years |
| 6 | Collarbone and shoulder blade | 45 years |
| 7 | Ankle bones | 43 years |
| 8 | Skull | 41 years |
| 9 | Bones of foot | 39 years |
| 10 | Toe bones | 37 years |
| 11 | Upper arm bone | 32 years |
| 12 | Two shin bones | 29 years |
| 13 | Bones of palm | 28 years |
| 14 | Wrist bones | 22 years |
| 15 | Finger bones | 21 years |
| 16 | Two forearm bones | 11 years |
Download the chart as an image
Data: US Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), 2024 case file: 60,161 fracture cases weighted to 2.37 million emergency-room visits. Left and right are not recorded separately, so both sides share one value. Played as puzzles in Daily Shade.