Traumatic Fractures Surge Among US Mountain Bikers

TOPLINE:

Mountain biking–related fractures have surged since 2013 in the United States, with wrist and radius or ulnar injuries being most common; adult men are at the highest risk for trunk fractures, and being thrown from the bike is the mechanism most likely to result in a fracture.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed 2543 entries from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) between 2013 and 2022, with 853 cases of mountain biking–related fractures admitted to emergency departments (EDs) across the United States.
• The date of treatment and the patient’s age, sex, injured body region, diagnosis, discharge status, and injury narrative were considered variables.

TAKEAWAY:

• A national estimate (NE) of 35,260 mountain biking–related fractures presenting to EDs was reported between 2013 and 2022 (P =.011), with a 247% increase observed from 2019 to 2020.
• The most commonly fractured body region was the upper extremity (32.8%; NE, 11,574), particularly the wrist (38.7%) and radius or ulna (25.9%); among all fractures, trunk fractures had the highest hospitalization rate (44.3%; NE, 3705).
• Men accounted for the majority of fractures (87.9%); those aged ≥ 40 years were more likely to sustain a fracture (48.8%) and be hospitalized (25.8%) than any other age group.
• Although 64.8% of the fractures were attributed to falling off the bike, being thrown from the bike had the maximum potential of resulting in a fracture (39.6%).

IN PRACTICE:

“The importance of understanding these injuries continues to increase as MTB [mountain biking] garners popularity and fracture rates maintain significant burdens on US EDs. Understanding the specific injury patterns that are most prevalent in different demographics helps to optimize patient care,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Niklas H. Koehne, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City. It was published online on October 4, 2024, in Injury.

LIMITATIONS: 

The study relied on a cross-sectional probability sample from the NEISS dataset and a predictive model. Only patients admitted to EDs were considered, and those independently managing their injuries or seeking care at other facilities were excluded. Moreover, the mechanism of injury may not have been accurately characterized. This study lacked data on any safety equipment used, and geographical variations across the country.

DISCLOSURES:

The study did not receive any specific funding. No conflicts of interest were disclosed by the authors.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.