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Despite several well-publicized accidents, like the death last year of the snowmobiler Caleb Moore, just 25, the popularity of extreme sports has soared in recent years. Participants in the X Games and other sporting events regularly perform heart-stopping tricks on skis and snowboards, skateboards and mountain bikes, all of them endlessly replayed on YouTube and television for a growing audience of thrill-seekers.

Unfortunately, many young people eager for an adrenaline rush are trying to copy their extreme sports idols, putting themselves at terrible risk. Filled with overconfidence, many participants lack the skills and training for these stunts. And often they fail to use safety equipment that could reduce the risk of serious injury. Amateurs without referees, coaches or medical personnel around can end up with broken bones, crushed skulls, severe concussions, ruptured blood vessels or lifelong disability - if they survive.

More than four million injuries attributed to extreme sports occurred from 2000 through 2011, according to data collected by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. In the first-ever study of the nature of these injuries, Dr. Vani J. Sabesan, an orthopedic surgeon at Western Michigan University School of Medicine, and her colleagues examined the incidence of head and neck injuries, the most serious hazards short of death.

At the recent annual meeting of the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, Dr. Sabesan reported that more than 40,000 such injuries occur annually among participants in seven extreme sports, including skateboarding, snowboarding, mountain biking and motocross. Her analysis showed that 83 percent were head injuries and 17 percent neck injuries, with 2.5 percent described as severe, resulting in potential lifelong disability or death.

"The level of competition and injuries we're seeing keep rising," Dr. Sabesan said in an interview. "Many do recover, but not necessarily without long-term consequences."

Dr. Sabesan noted that head and neck injuries were of particular concern because of the "increased awareness of their short- and long-term consequences: concussions, fractures and traumatic brain injuries, which can result in outcomes such as chronic depression, headaches, paralysis and death."

Skateboarding caused the most head and neck injuries: more than 129,000 reported during the study's 12 years. Snowboarding produced more than 97,000 such injuries, while skiers experienced more than 83,000, and motocross participants more than 78,000.

Dr. Sabesan said that not only were more people engaged in extreme sports each year, but also that the participants were younger. "With very young kids tearing down ski slopes at 60 miles an hour, the risk of suffering a life-changing injury is all too real," she said.

"Young people often lack judgment," she added. "They see snowboarder Shaun White take the sport to a whole new level, and some kids try to emulate his tricks. In effect, the culture says it's O.K. to try this."

According to Dr. Sabesan, skateboarding is particularly hazardous because helmets, now routine for skiers, are not required. Yet, she said, "when you land on your head on concrete or asphalt, it's not as forgiving as snow." The study found the risk of suffering a skull fracture while skateboarding was 54 times that of doing so while snowboarding.

Her first recommendation to reduce the risk of serious injury is to use proper safety equipment. "A simple thing like wearing a helmet can go a long way toward preventing a lifelong disability," she said.

Her own experience underscores this advice. While training for a triathlon, she flipped over the handlebars of her bike and landed on her head. A helmet protected her brain.

My 23-year-old nephew, Sam, was spared permanent disability by the protective garments he wore during a terrifying fall while biking on a mountain trail two summers ago.

Coming very fast downhill into a blind turn, he said, he was able to hop over two logs across the trail, but his front wheel caught the third log and he was catapulted over the handlebars. He landed on his head hard enough to split his helmet. He was knocked unconscious and badly banged up, but no bones were broken and his brain recovered fully.

"I was wearing a full-mask helmet and a full upper-body suit of armor called a pressure suit, as well as knee and shin guards," he said. The suit and guards protected a shoulder and knee that also landed hard, he said, but "if I hadn't been wearing that helmet, I probably wouldn't be here."

Even after sustaining serious injuries, extreme sports participants often come back for more. Dr. Sabesan said she recently treated a 28-year-old woman for a broken arm and two fractured femurs suffered while she attempted a jump at an all-terrain-vehicle racetrack in Michigan. The woman, who works as a bank manager, had previously suffered a broken neck and ribs in a similar accident.

"The occurrence of serious injuries is definitely increasing as participation rates in extreme sports go up," Dr. Sabesan said. Yet, she added, adequate studies of the associated risks have not been done.

"We have no baseline," she said. "No one is monitoring injuries that occur during the X Games. There's minimal literature on hip and knee dislocations, broken bones or the long-term effects of head and other injuries."

Dr. Sabesan said her findings pointed to the need for trained supervision and medical assistance at extreme sports events, as well as proper training of participants and mandated safety equipment.

Her message to parents: Require children who skateboard to wear a helmet and elbow and wrist guards. Snowboarders, whose feet are strapped to the board, should wear wrist guards to protect them if they fall on outstretched hands. And, of course, everyone on a bike, skis or a board should wear a helmet designed for the activity.

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Despite several well-publicized accidents, like the death last year of the snowmobiler Caleb Moore, just 25, the popularity of extreme sports has soared in recent years. Participants in the X Games and other sporting events regularly perform heart-stopping tricks on skis and snowboards, skateboards and mountain bikes, all of them endlessly replayed on YouTube and television for a growing audience of thrill-seekers.

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Extreme Sports for Kids: Would You Let Your Child Do Them?

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Extreme Sports for Kids: Would You Let Your Child Do Them?

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Kaid Jaret Olson-Weston isn't out of grade school yet, but later this month he'll drive his own custom-built monster truck at a monster truck show in Wildwood, N.J.. Lane Huszar was riding bulls by age 10. And Jay Cramer began competing in motocross races at the age of 4.

These kids are all doing what some may call extreme sports with their parents' permission. Sometimes, injuries happen: Cramer once broke his arm during racing practice when his bike sputtered just before a jump and then broke it again just months later. He is now recovering. His father said his son wants to return to racing and hopes to be cleared by doctors to participate again by Thanksgiving.

"We take every precaution we can to keep him safe," Cramer's father, Jason Cramer, told "20/20? after the first accident. He noted that his son wears a protective neck brace, a Kevlar vest and other equipment when he rides. "He could have broken his arm playing football too. It's just a risk that you take when you're involved in what could be a contact sport."

Would you let your child participate in an extreme sport? Vote below and learn more about these incredible children and their parents Friday on "20/20? at a special time, 9 p.m. ET.

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Extreme Sports for Kids: Would You Let Your Child Do Them?

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Kaid Jaret Olson-Weston isn't out of grade school yet, but later this month he'll drive his own custom-built monster truck at a monster truck show in Wildwood, N.J.. Lane Huszar was riding bulls by age 10. And Jay Cramer began competing in motocross races at the age of 4.

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X Games Snowmobile Crash Shows Extreme Sports are Dangerous

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Scholastic Classroom & News Magazines | Subscribe Now!

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Scholastic Classroom Magazines & Scholastic News Magazines cover the latest topics to enhance instruction in math, science, reading, social studies, and more! Subscribe Today!

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Sarah Burke's Death: Extreme Sports Dangers

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Sarah Burke's Death: Extreme Sports Dangers

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/ CBS News

Extreme sports bring excitement, and are starting to draw big bucks.

But are the athletes putting too much on the line?

The daring participants say extreme sports are all about the thrill, the rush of adrenaline they get. They're climbing higher, jumping farther and moving faster, all in the name of personal glory.

Still, when things go wrong, they pay a heavy price.

Humans aren't supposed to fly, but Jeb Corliss comes pretty close.

His extreme exploits have a huge following. One video of him in action alone has gotten almost 9 million views.

Corliss hurt in stunt jump
Uncertainty clouds recovery of skiier Sarah Burke

On Monday, Corliss was seriously injured on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. Moments after he stepped off a cliff -- a 3,500-foot drop -- he hit the wall, breaking both his legs. He had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital.

Only a day before that, another extreme athlete, ice climber John Roberts, died after a 60-foot fall in Colorado.

And last Tuesday, free-skier Sarah Burke was critically injured during a training run in Utah.

All of these athletes take risks and are at the leading edge of extreme sports -- a one-time bit player on the sports scene that has exploded in recent years, thanks in part to social media and TV coverage.

The extreme athletes known as "Birdmen" even attracted the attention of "60 Minutes" in 2010.

Sponsorships have helped extreme athletes soar to new heights. Corliss has eight sponsors, including camera company GoPro.

GoPro CEO Nick Woodman says what Corliss does is risky, but not nearly as risky as most people would think, because he's so good at it.

Corliss jumped without permission from South African authorities, a jump that not only put him in danger, but his rescuers, as well -- one of the many reasons why big brands tend to shy away.

"A lot of big brands, (and) rightly so, don't want to take that chance. You don't want to see blood spattered all over a logo that you've invested millions and millions of dollars in," says sports marketer Joe Favorito.

But, Favorito adds, athletes who are determined will find a way. "What they're trying to do is offset costs and take it to another level as, quote, a professional athlete," he said. "And people think, when you're associated with sponsors, that makes you a professional. Sometimes, it makes you become a little more risky."

Professional skier and base-jumper JT Holmes knows how dangerous extreme sports can be. He knew Burke, and watched his close friend, Shane McConkey, die after jumping off a 2,000 ft cliff. Holmes was also the subject of the Steve Kroft "60 Minutes" story on "Birdmen," and was a stunt man for the film "Transformers." Holmes insisted on "CBS This Morning" that he engages in extreme sports because they're "just good, clean fun." He admitted he thinks about the possibility the activities could kill him. "Certainly," Holmes said. "Every single jump, every single ski run, you have to be aware of the (possible) consequences and, if you're going to choose to put yourself in these perilous situations, you need to be prepared."

To see the entire interview, click on the video below.

Jeff Glor

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They've become big business, but a death and some injuries have led some to question whether they're worth the money, thrill

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Do you like the excitement of extreme sports? If so, you might be an 'adrenaline junkie'. Find out more about white-water rafting and parkour in this video.

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Slopestyle Can Be Dangerous. Is It Too Risky at Sochi Olympics?

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Slopestyle Can Be Dangerous. Is It Too Risky at Sochi Olympics?

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Extreme Sports Facts

Check out our range of extreme sports facts.

Learn about the summer and winter X Games, different types of extreme sports, the surfaces and environments such as water, land, snow and air, as well as lots more interesting facts and information.

Extreme sports, sometimes called action sports or adventure sports, do not have an exact definition but are generally considered to be activities that are seen as having a high level of potential danger.

Extreme sports often involve high speeds, dangerous heights, the requirement for a high level of specialist technical skill, and highly specialized gear or equipment.

Success in extreme sports usually involves judging panels scoring athletes based on visual and technical criteria and completion of a 'trick'.

Height based extreme sports include Bungee jumping, skydiving, BASE jumping, paragliding and hang gliding.

Water based extreme sports include scuba diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, wakeboarding surfing, whitewater kayaking and rafting.

Wheel based extreme sports include BMX, skateboarding, mountain biking, inline skating, rally car and motocross.

Winter based extreme sports include skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobile.

Cliff and cave based extreme sports include rock climbing, ice climbing, caving, free diving, mountaineering and cave diving.

The X Games are an annual extreme sports event, organized by the U.S. sports broadcaster ESPN. Participants compete to win gold, silver, and bronze medals along with prize money.

The first Summer X Games were held in 1995 in Newport, Rhode Island. The first Winter X Games were held in 1997 at Mountain Resort, Big Bear Lake, California.

X Games are typically held in the USA. The winter games are held in January or February and the summer games are usually held in August.

X Games have also been held in Asia since 1998 and Europe since 2010.

The X Games competitions often makes heroes of those athletes who are talented and brave enough to pull of a new and exciting 'trick' such as Tony Hawk's 900 in skateboarding, Travis Pastrana's double backflip in freestyle motocross, Heath Frisby's first snowmobile front flip or snowboarder Torstein Horgmo's triple flip.

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Extreme Sports Facts - Information About X Games, Action Sports & More

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Extreme Sports Facts Check out our range of extreme sports facts. Learn about the summer and winter X Games, different types of extreme sports, the surfaces and environments such as water, land, snow and air, as well as lots more interesting facts and information.