THE SEVERAL INJURED PARAGLIDER - ANALYSIS OF 122 CASES

Based on a population of 122 severely injured patients the causes of p aragliding accidents and the patterns of injury are analyzed. A questi onnaire is used to establish a sport-specific profile for the paraglid ing pilot. The lower limbs (55.7%) and the lower parts of the spine (4 5.9%) are the most frequently injured parts of the body. There is a hi gh risk of multiple injuries after a single accident because of the tr emendous axial power. The standard of equipment is good in over 90% of the cases. Insufficient training and failure to take account of geogr aphical and meteorological conditions are the main determinants of acc idents sustained by paragliders, most of whom are young. Nevertheless, 80% of our patients want to continue paragliding. Finally some advice is given on how to prevent paragliding accidents and injuries.