Mountainbiking - a dangerous sport: comparison with bicycling on oral and maxillofacial trauma

The popularity of bicycling is reflected in the number of cycling-related o ral and maxillofacial injuries. Five hundred and sixty-two injured bicyclis ts (10.3% of all trauma patients) were registered at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Innsbruck, Austria, between 1991 and 1996, accounting for 31% of all sports-related accidents and 48.4% of a ll traffic accidents. A review of the patient records revealed more severe injury profiles in sixty mountainbikers, with 55% facial bone fractures, 22 % dentoalveolar trauma and 23% soft tissue injuries, compared to 502 street cyclists showing 50.8% dentoalveolar trauma, 34.5% facial bone fractures a nd 14% soft tissue lesions. The dominant fracture site in bicyclists was th e zygoma (30.8%), whereas mountainbikers sustained an impressive 15.2% LeFo rt I, II and ITT fractures. Condyle fractures were more common in bicyclist s, with 18.8% compared to 10.8% in mountainbikers. Reduction of facial inju ries due to cycling-related accidents needs appropriate design of helmets w ith faceguards and compulsory helmet use for all cyclists, and particularly mountainbikers.