Aerial arts are growing in popularity as a hobby. They may be perceived as risky or dangerous but there is no research to provide evidence of these assumptions. This study aims to provide information about the frequencies and nature of injuries among practitioners of aerial circus arts. This longitudinal mixed-methods survey collected data from 98 adult recreational aerial arts students over four months. Using a purpose-designed survey, the participants, aged 20 to 54, reported 63 injuries among 44 students occurring over a mean of 4,603 class hours to generate an injury rate of 13.70/1,000 mean hours of class and 4.13 medical attention injuries/1,000 mean hours of class. Descriptive data about the injuries was also collected to compare with other studies of other recreational sport injury, circus performing artists, and professional program training data. The results indicated areas of interest that could be a focus for more research and instruction, such as shoulder and arm health, mat usage and selection, clothing selection, and whether underlying conditions related to hypermobility pose additional risk. The results corroborate and expand the previous research on professionals and professional training programs to include the recreational student on the types of injuries that are occurring for participants of aerial arts.
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