The aim of this article is to review the pertinent literature and to analyse our own data on facial trauma related to bicycling and mountain-biking. This article focuses on the mechanisms and the variety of bicycle related injuries and addresses the advantages of wearing protection clothes.
Within the world of bicycling, the popularity of mountain-biking has increased the most dramatically. The main risk factors for the growing number of bicycle-related injuries are not wearing a helmet, age, male sex, unsafe riding techniques and intoxication. Bikers most commonly collide or fall in daily traffic whereas mountain-bikers get hurt whilst descending. The most common types of injury apart from superficial lesions are dentoalveolar trauma and facial fractures. Wearing protective clothing such as a helmet is demonstrably beneficial and so we suggest that the obligatory use of protective wear should be introduced. For a better insight into overall cycling-related trauma further research will be required.
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