Mountain biking can be dangerous

Mountain bikers are being warned that they are taking part in a dangerous sport. Researchers writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (2001; 35(3):197-9) say that many mountain bikers are suffering ruptures of internal organs and head and neck injuries. Arm and leg fractures accounted for one in five of the biking injuries recorded. The study, carried out at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in Gloucester, concluded that the popularity of the sport has brought a rising tide of injuries, some of them potentially fatal.

Over a one year period, the orthopaedic trauma unit at the hospital saw 84 victims of off road mountain biking accidents. They were aged between 8 and 71 and most were male. Their injuries ranged from minor bruising and cuts to potentially fatal damage, ncluding spinal cord damage, air and blood trapped in the lung, and kidney loss.

PICTOR/AFP

Surgery was required for almost a quarter of the cyclists, several or whom had to have more than one operation. Almost half of all injuries were fractures, particularly of the collar bone and shoulder.

The British Cycling Federation estimates that there are around 10 000 competitive mountain bikers, and the sale of mountain bikes has increased dramatically over the past 20 years.

In their conclusion the authors of the study say that the use of body armour by recreational and competitive mountain bikers "may prove a valuable step in improving the safety of this sport."

Samena Chaudhry, Birmingham


studentBMJ 2001;09:217-260 July ISSN 0966-6494