This time of year, the hum of a lawn mower is a familiar sound for any suburban dweller.
But as people dust off and fire up their lawn mowers to rid their yards of unsightly overgrown grass, they also create numerous headaches for emergency room doctors, as lawn mowers cause thousands of injuries each year, according to a new report.
In 2004, the last year for which data were available, more than 80,000 people needed emergency care because of a mower-related injury, said the authors of the report, which was published today in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Many of the injuries occurred among two groups -- young teenagers and older adults, said Dr. David Bishai, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
It's not known precisely why these two groups were most at risk, but Bishai said older adults are more prone to backache type injuries and young teens may be too inexperienced to handle a mower safely.
"This study ... can teach [people] how to protect themselves," he said.
For example, the most common cause of injury was eye damage from a mower shooting out debris. Of injuries that were so serious they needed hospitalization, the most common problem was fractures and lacerations of the foot or toes.
"These injuries could be reduced, or the severity of them could be reduced, if operators used safety goggles and wore pants and close-toed shoes when mowing," the report states.
The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society has long advocated for safer lawn mower use. It offers the following tips:
Before operating equipment, familiarize yourself with it and make sure it is in good working order.
Heed the manufacturer's precautions.
Use lawn mowers with guards and a cutoff switch. Never disconnect the cutoff switch.
Exert extreme caution on slopes and never mow when the ground is damp.
Do not allow other people, and particularly children, in the area when operating a lawn mower.
