# Sports shoulder injuries in the Netherlands hit record 530,000

> People in the Netherlands who play sport suffered 5.7 million sports injuries in 2025, and half needed medical treatment, figures from the injury-prevention centre VeiligheidNL show.

Society · published 2026-11-12 05:49 · https://nlnow.nl/a/shoulder-injuries-among-dutch-athletes-hit-record-530-000/

Dutch people who play sport suffered 530,000 shoulder injuries in 2025, the highest number so far, according to figures from VeiligheidNL, the knowledge centre for injury prevention. The number of shoulder injuries is rising considerably.

Across all body parts, 4.7 million people in the Netherlands together picked up 5.7 million sports injuries last year. The figure counts injuries, not people: some were hurt more than once.

VeiligheidNL's annual report shows that half of the injuries required medical treatment.

The knee was the most affected body part, followed by the ankle. The shoulder came third, VeiligheidNL's figures show.

Many sports put heavy strain on the shoulder, among them the popular hyrox (a fitness race) and padel.

Many sports injuries also involve overloaded muscles and tendons. That can mean a hamstring injury, an Achilles tendon injury or tennis elbow.

## Background

- **VeiligheidNL**: VeiligheidNL is the Dutch knowledge centre for injury prevention, which works to reduce accidents and injuries in daily life, sport and at home. It collects and analyses national injury data, such as figures from hospital emergency departments, and uses them to advise government, sports organisations and other parties on prevention. Its figures are the standard source for statements about how many people in the Netherlands are injured and how that changes over time.

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