How Dangerous Is Mountain Biking? An Honest Answer
Mountain biking entails you ascending tall peaks and then riding down them, sometimes even doing tricks and stunts along the way. Naturally, an activity such as mountain biking can be quite injurious, but just how dangerous is it?
Mountain biking is a fairly dangerous sport, frequently leading to injuries such as concussions and shoulder injuries, knee injuries, wrist fractures or breaks, and elbow injuries. Wearing a helmet and avoiding dangerous trails are two great ways to stay safe.
In today’s guide, I’ll take a hard look at the mountain bike injury statistics and the types of injuries that result from this outdoor sport so you can determine how dangerous it is. I’ll also share mountain bike safety tips, so you definitely won’t want to miss it!
Mountain Biking Injury Statistics
One of the most comprehensive pieces of data we have available regarding mountain bike injuries is known as the Enduro Mountain Bike Medical Study, which was put together by the Enduro World Series, an annual international mountain bike series.
The report looks at two seasons worth of mountain bike injuries as well as a longer history of injury data via participant feedback.
Of 1,940 mountain bike Enduro riders who participated in the event at one time, 40.7 percent of them suffered some form of significant injury. A significant injury, by the way, is one in which the recovery time is at least a month.
I’ll talk further about what types of injuries that mountain bike riders are the most susceptible to in the next section, so be sure to check that out.
The participants included 91 percent males and nine percent females. Among the 1,940 participants, 20.7 percent were international competitors or EWS riders.
Another 23.4 percent were in EWS affiliate events and categorized as EWS Tier 2 riders. The remaining 55.9 percent of mountain bikers weren’t EWS affiliates, which suggests the least amount of experience.
The other part of the study assessed injury rates over two series of Enduro World Series races, as mentioned.
The greatest group of mountain bike riders in the Enduro World Series by far were senior riders. No, not senior citizens, but female riders between the ages of 21 and 34 and male riders between the ages of 21 and 39.
This group comprised 67.7 percent of the riders, with 1,224 of them men and 150 of them women.
The second largest group was the masters, which includes women over 35 years old and men over 40. They were 17.7 percent of the Enduro World Series participants, with 359 bikers in all. This group included 330 men and 29 women.
Finally, the U21 group with riders between 17 and 20 years old made up 14.6 percent of the riders, as there were 296 in all. Most were men, 277, while 19 were women.
That gives us 2,029 total participants to look at, with a total of 1,831 men and 198 women.
The highest injury rate overall was for women, with 14.7 percent of senior women riders being injured. The other large groups of injuries were 11.3 percent of U21 men, 8.3 percent of senior men, and 7.6 percent of masters men.
Enduro found that 64 percent of reported injuries occurred during a race while another 36 happened to mountain bike racers while they were training.
Despite how unique one’s mountain biking style can be, the nature of the injuries was all fairly similar, enough for Enduro to be able to draw some correlations.
Most injuries, 71 percent, were caused by making contact with the ground. Of those injuries, 60 percent occurred on a rocky ledge while another 32 percent occurred on a steep gradient.
The remaining 29 percent of mountain biking injuries were caused by overuse, recurring injuries, or conditional situations.
Based on its findings, here are some pertinent recommendations that Enduro made:
- “The mountain bike industry should consider future development of shoulder protection products”
- More education for mountain bikers in areas like first aid skills would be good so they’re prepared when a training injury arises (which seems to be quite often)
- Injury prevention information should be printed in other languages to be more accessible to a greater number of mountain bike riders
- Shoulder rehabilitation training exercises should be more common among riders to lessen the high rate of shoulder injuries
- Riders should know the red flags and other signs of a concussion so they can identify one in themselves and others to avoid riding and making the injury worse
- Mountain biking competitions should immediately disqualify a participant if they have a concussion
- Enduro races and other mountain bike races should introduce a rider head injury assessment protocol
- When racing on rocky or steep dirt stages, medical provision rates should increase
- Additional protective equipment is recommended for mountain bike riders to reduce the risks of abrasions and lacerations
The Types of Mountain Bike Injuries
As promised, I next want to go over the types of injuries that Enduro reports are the most common among the surveyed riders (but not necessarily the two years of race data).
Shoulder Injuries
Interestingly, shoulder injuries were the top injury for mountain bike riders in both the Enduro survey and its multi-season race data.
In the seasonal race data, shoulder and clavicle injuries accounted for 13.3 percent of the injuries that mountain bike racers suffered. In the long-term study of over 1,000 bikers, the percentage of shoulder and clavicle injuries was higher, 25.6 percent.
At least 315 riders had a shoulder or clavicle injury with the severity of the injury an average of 93.7 days.
One such common injury that can result from mountain biking is a clavicle fracture.
A clavicle fracture is when the bone between the shoulder and breastbone breaks. The symptoms include pain and swelling around the affected area that worsens when moving the shoulder.
The broken bones might feel gritty. The area could be bruised and tender and even become physically deformed in serious cases.
Physical therapy can help with a clavicle fracture, as can medications such as analgesics, NSAIDs, and prescription narcotics.
For more serious injuries, a sling or splint can ease the area until it heals.
Acromioclavicular Joint Separation
Another type of shoulder injury that could afflict mountain bikers is an acromioclavicular joint separation, which is more commonly referred to as an AC joint separation or a shoulder separation.
With an AC joint separation, the acromion and clavicle become dislocated from one another. It usually takes a serious fall or a blow to the shoulder to cause an AC joint separation, both of which are very real possibilities for a mountain bike rider.
The symptoms include a bump or other visibly noticeable deformity, upper arm weakness, swelling, bruising, and pain.
Treating an AC joint separation requires plenty of bed rest, anti-inflammatory medications (possibly prescription medication depending on the severity of symptoms), ice and heat, and perhaps an arm sling.
Wrist Breaks and Fractures
The second most reported injury in the Enduro mountain biking survey was wrist injuries at a rate of 9.6 percent. Up to 119 riders experienced a wrist injury, and the injury severity was 109 days.
When your wrist is fractured or broken, it will become bruised, tender, sore, and swollen. The pain can be very severe at times, especially when you move your hand or wrist or when you attempt to squeeze or grip something.
Wrist breaks can also lead to noticeable deformities.
To treat a wrist fracture or break, you usually have to wear a splint or cast for upwards of six weeks. Physical therapy can help once some healing has occurred.
For serious wrist injuries and breaks, surgery might be recommended. The procedure will install pins in the wrist to keep the bones in place.
Knee Injuries
The third most reported type of mountain biking injury was knee injuries. This affected 88 mountain bikers that Enduro surveyed, which is 7.1 percent of the respondents. The severity of the injury was 120.8 days on average, making the knee injuries even more severe than wrist injuries among mountain bike riders.
A knee injury can be general or nagging pain, ligament injuries (such as to the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL), fractures, or breaks.
An ACL tear will produce symptoms like joint looseness, swelling, sudden and strong pain, and an inability to put weight on that leg.
If you fracture or break your knee, the area will feel tender. You might struggle to lift your leg straight out or bend it. You can experience general pain as well as swelling and physical deformities.
Treating an injured knee requires elevation, a splint or cast, limited mobility, compression, and prescription or over-the-counter medications.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Head injuries accounted for 7.1 percent of head injuries among the Enduro surveyed riders, with 87 injured in all. That’s just one less than the reported knee injuries. The recovery time for head injuries was an average of 90 days.
Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury or TBI that Enduro recommended taking specific action against in the future to limit the extent.
A concussion can be hard to pinpoint from symptoms alone. Sometimes the sufferer just doesn’t feel right.
They could experience confusion, sluggishness, and grogginess. Sensitivities to noise and light, balance issues, nausea and vomiting, and headaches are common symptoms as well.
You can’t exactly treat a concussion. Rather, it takes time and rest to recover. When recovering, no sports are allowed, and even too much socializing, video games, or TV can be detrimental to recovery.
Rib Injuries
Just underneath head injuries in the Enduro survey of mountain biking injuries were rib injuries, of which 6.2 percent were reported. That’s 77 rib injuries in total with a recovery rate of 44.9 days on average.
A rib fracture can cause pain only when deep breathing, moving your body, or when something presses on the area.
Like you can’t treat a concussion, you can’t really treat a rib injury, either. Time and rest will cause the fracture to heal on its own in about two months tops.
Ankle Injuries
The rate of reported ankle injuries among the surveyed Enduro mountain bike racers was concertedly lower, with 49 riders suffering injuries, which is only four percent. The average recovery rate was 71.5 days, which is still not great.
A sprained or twisted ankle can cause pain, swelling, and a reduced range of motion. You might have to limp to walk, and you might also see bruising around the affected area.
A broken ankle will be even more painful with throbbing aches, bruising, tenderness, swelling, and possible deformity. Bearing weight on that side will be very difficult.
Treating minor ankle injuries requires a combination of over-the-counter pain relievers, ice and heat therapy, and rest. A broken ankle will need more of the same to heal as well as likely prescription medication and possibly surgery.
Elbow Injuries
Elbow injuries also accounted for only four percent of the injuries that the Enduro mountain bike participants reported, with 49 of them in all as well. The recovery rate was longer at 71.5 days.
An injured elbow is stiff, swollen, and painful. You might struggle to maintain your full range of motion, and when you do move your arm, you might hear popping or cracking. The area can feel warm and become swollen as well.
Treating elbow injuries entails relocating a dislocated elbow, elevating and compressing the area, using ice and heat, and resting.
Mountain Biking Safety Tips
As promised, I want to wrap up this article by sharing my top mountain bike safety tips for reducing your risk of injury every time you ride. Be sure to share these tips with your mountain biking buddies as well!
Wear a Helmet
I know, helmets aren’t cool, they aren’t sexy, and they aren’t trendy, either. They are life-saving devices, and it’s foolish to ever ride your mountain bike without one.
You won’t see a real mountain bike competition without riders wearing helmets. If you ever hope to make it to a competitive level, you might as well get into the habit of wearing a helmet now.
Your helmet must fit your cranium. If it’s too loose, then it can shift and won’t offer you the full range of protection when you fall. A helmet that’s too tight is going to be uncomfortable. You might want to take it off because it’s squeezing on your head.
Know Before You Go
Today’s online mapping systems are so advanced that you can track your route through a park long before you ever physically visit.
If you can’t see details of the park ahead of your ride, then drive over there and walk along the trail you’re interested in riding. Are there blind turns, sudden stops, or other potentially dangerous obstacles?
You might want to rethink your route or at least prepare for these riding challenges so you know what’s coming and when.
Take Turns Slower
If you are going into a trail blind (which I really don’t recommend), then at least be ready to slow down when you’re taking turns. I’d also suggest this bit of advice for your first ride through a new trail.
Yes, you do lose some momentum when you brake, and you might have to shout out to your mountain biking buddies behind you that you’re braking so they don’t crash into you. Still, you’ll take the turns with more control, and you won’t crash, so it’s worth it.
Stock Up on Protective Equipment
Knowing what you do now about the most common mountain biking injuries, it never pays to be too careful. Besides your helmet, you might consider arm pads, leg pads, and shoulder pads for more protection when riding your mountain bike.
You don’t want so much padding that you can’t maneuver, of course, so try on any new protective equipment before you buy it.
Bring a Buddy
You might have outgrown the buddy system way back in grade school, but your teachers were onto something.
If you get hurt and you’re the only one riding, who is going to help you? You’d have to wait possibly hours for someone to see you and call 911. Either that or you’d have to drag your injured body to your phone and call the authorities yourself.
With a friend around, as soon as they see you’re hurt, they can get emergency personnel en route to your location.
Conclusion
Mountain biking can be dangerous, but it doesn’t have to be deadly. Wearing a helmet is one of the best things you can do to ward off TBIs, and protective shoulder gear can help you avoid the most common mountain biking injuries of all, which are injuries to the shoulder or clavicle.
Have fun and stay safe out there!
