Mountain bike terrain park-related injuries: an emerging cause of morbidity

This case–control study describes the profile of bicyclists injured in mountain bike terrain parks (MBTPs) and examines risk factors for severe injury among MBTP riders. Cases were hospitalised bicyclists injured in MBTPs. Controls were bicyclists injured in MBTPs who were discharged from the emergency department. No significant differences were observed in the distribution of age and sex between cases and controls. A higher proportion of cases compared with controls suffered a head injury (22%), fracture (41%) or internal organ injury (32%). Controls suffered a higher proportion of superficial injuries (26%), sprains (10%) or wounds (16%). Upper extremity protective equipment (e.g. elbow or shoulder pads) was used more by cases than controls (23% vs. 11%, p = 0.03). Riders who self-reported cycling faster than usual had significantly higher risk of severe injury compared with others. The risk of severe injury may be reduced by encouraging bicyclists to control their speed or by modifying MBTP design to limit the opportunity to gain speed.