‘Tis the season: how we’re injuring ourselves in the lead-up to Christmas

Feeling the pre-Christmas pressure? Got a to-do list as long as your arm?

Take a moment, have a breather, and make sure you don’t become one of the growing number of New Zealanders who injure themselves in the pre-Christmas rush.

Our figures show more than 130,000 New Zealanders injured themselves in the three-week lead-up to Christmas last year, and the numbers are increasing every year.

But while pre-Christmas injuries reached a five-year high in 2020, injury claims in the two-week period that follows have tailed off.

Life in the silly season

“The lead-up to Christmas can be extremely busy around the home – building Christmas presents, decorating the tree, and cooking up a storm,” says ACC injury prevention programme leader James Whitaker.

“This time of year, there are also lots of festive celebrations toasting to the end of the year and the summer ahead."

“If we take the time to assess the risk in all these situations, we can avoid injuries and keep doing our favourite things with the people we love to spend time with.”

Our figures show injury claims between December 1 and 25 increased every year over the past five years, jumping from about 125,000 in 2016 to almost 134,000 last year.

Men averaged almost 69,000 injury claims each year, while women averaged about 62,000.

The twelve data points of Christmas

So what causes these injuries we’re talking about? The most common cause of injury was a loss of balance or control, followed by lifting, carrying, or straining.

While the injury statistics are evenly spread across the different age groups, 25-34 year-olds are injuring themselves the most during this time.

They may not be the most common causes of festive injuries, but our data also shows some interesting statistics from the last five Decembers. 7.8% of injuries were caused by an animal, 12.7% were the result of slipping, tripping or stumbling over, and just under 4% were caused by an object coming loose.

We unfortunately saw plenty of injuries in the last five years that would’ve made for a less enjoyable Christmas. 7.3% sustained a fracture or dislocation, 1.9% had a dental injury and 1.8% had a foreign object in their eye.

However, injury claims in the period between December 24 and January 6 dropped off over the past three years, down from about 72,000 in 2018-19 to about 68,000 in 2020-21.

Having a ‘hmmm’

There is so much to enjoy and make the most of during the festive season, and we want all of Aotearoa to do just that.

Nobody wants to miss out on the festivities, and there is one easy thing we can do to make sure everyone gets to the big day safely: Have a ‘hmmm’.

“The festive season in Aotearoa is peak time for preventable injuries, so take a breather, slow down, and you’ll increase your chance of staying injury free,” James says.

“We haven’t seen as much of each other as we’d like this year, so with the relatives crowding in the kitchen, friends enjoying a few drinks, and new presents being tested, houses are rife with hazards.”

We launched the ‘Have a hmmm’ injury prevention campaign in April, based on research that shows 90 per cent of injuries are predictable and therefore preventable.

The campaign challenges people to take a moment to consider the potential life-changing impact of their actions on themselves, their whānau, and their community.

“When we get injured, it harms others,” James says.

“The flow-on effects relating to last year’s injuries extended to many families, friends and work mates during a time that should be full of joy and celebration.

“ACC wants New Zealanders to ‘Have a hmmm’ before they get stuck in this holiday period.”

Have a ‘hmmm’