Differential profile of facial injuries among mountainbikers compared with bicyclists

Bicyclists and mountainbikers are prone to facial trauma. In the current study, we present a large series of cycling-related sports trauma to the face in an effort to identify the injury pattern among mountainbikers compared with bicyclists.

The medical records of a single pediatric and adult Level I trauma center were evaluated from January 1, 1991, through October 31, 1996. All admissions with injuries caused by cycling-related sports were reviewed, analyzed, and compared according to age and sex distributions, causes of accidents, injury types, frequency, and localization of fractures and associated injuries. The injury types were divided into three categories: fractures, dentoalveolar trauma, and soft-tissue injuries.

Five hundred sixty-two injured bicyclists (10.3% of all trauma patients) were registered at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Innsbruck, Austria, during the study period, accounting for 31% of all sports-related or 48.4% of all traffic collisions, respectively. The review of the patient records revealed especially more severe injury profiles in 60 mountainbikers, with 55% facial bone fractures, 22% dentoalveolar trauma, and 23% soft-tissue injuries, compared with 502 street cyclists showing 50.8% dentoalveolar trauma, 34.5% facial bone fractures, and 14% soft-tissue lesions. The dominant fracture site in bicyclists was the zygoma (30.8%), whereas mountainbikers sustained an impressive 15.2% Le Fort I, II, and III fractures. Condyle fractures were more common in bicyclists, with 18.8% opposing 10.8% in mountainbikers.

Appropriate design of helmets with faceguards will reduce the incidence of facial injuries caused by cycling-related accidents and incentives are needed for making helmet use compulsory for all cyclists, particularly for mountainbikers.