Differential profile of facial injuries among mountainbikers compared withbicyclists

Background: Bicyclists and mountainbikers are prone to facial trauma. In th e current study, we present a large series of cycling-related sports trauma to the face in an effort to identify the injury pattern among mountainbike rs compared with bicyclists. Methods: 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, an alyzed, and compared according to age and sex distributions, causes of acci dents, injury types, frequency, and localization of fractures and associate d injuries. The injury types were divided into three categories: fractures, dentoalveolar trauma, and soft-tissue injuries. Results: Five hundred sixty-two injured bicyclists (10.3% of all trauma pat ients) 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 p rofiles in 60 mountainbikers, with 55% facial bone fractures,22% dentoalveo lar trauma, and 23% soft-tissue injuries, compared with 502 street cyclists showing 50.8% dentoalveolar trauma, 34.5% facial bone fractures, and 14% s oft-tissue lesions. The dominant fracture site in bicyclists was the zygoma (30.8%), whereas mountainbikers sustained an impressive 15.2% Le Fort I, I I, and III fractures. Condyle fractures were more common in bicyclists, wit h 18.8% opposing 10.8% in mountainbikers. Conclusion: Appropriate design of helmets with faceguards will reduce the i ncidence of facial injuries caused by cycling-related accidents and incenti ves are needed for making helmet use compulsory for all cyclists, particula rly for mountainbikers.