Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National Alarm

While much attention in North America has been placed on hockey and other high impact sports as causes of spinal cord injury (SCI), over the past two decades, our Level 1 trauma center has experienced a much higher number of SCI from off-road mountain biking (MTB). Here, we aimed to characterize the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: William Chu Kwan, Pedram Laghaei, Harsh Kahlon, Tamir Ailon, Raphaële Charest-Morin, Charlotte Dandurand, Scott Paquette, Nicolas Dea, John Street, Charles G. Fisher, Vanessa Noonan, Marcel F. Dvorak, Brian K. Kwon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mary Ann Liebert 2024-11-01
Series:Neurotrauma Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/neur.2024.0103
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850275191452598272
author William Chu Kwan
Pedram Laghaei
Harsh Kahlon
Tamir Ailon
Raphaële Charest-Morin
Charlotte Dandurand
Scott Paquette
Nicolas Dea
John Street
Charles G. Fisher
Vanessa Noonan
Marcel F. Dvorak
Brian K. Kwon
author_facet William Chu Kwan
Pedram Laghaei
Harsh Kahlon
Tamir Ailon
Raphaële Charest-Morin
Charlotte Dandurand
Scott Paquette
Nicolas Dea
John Street
Charles G. Fisher
Vanessa Noonan
Marcel F. Dvorak
Brian K. Kwon
author_sort William Chu Kwan
collection DOAJ
description While much attention in North America has been placed on hockey and other high impact sports as causes of spinal cord injury (SCI), over the past two decades, our Level 1 trauma center has experienced a much higher number of SCI from off-road mountain biking (MTB). Here, we aimed to characterize the epidemiology of SCI secondary to MTB, and we also sought to estimate the direct and other economic costs to assess their societal impact. A retrospective review was conducted of patients with SCI from MTB who were treated at our Level 1 trauma center between 2008 and 2022. Injury details were compiled, and we calculated the associated lifetime direct and other costs. Over the 14-year period, we identified 58 individuals (average age 35.5 years, 93% male) who suffered SCI while MTB. Twenty-seven suffered motor complete SCI (14 tetraplegia, 13 paraplegia) with estimated average lifetime costs in Canadian Dollars of $4.8 M and $4.5 M each, respectively. Thirty-one suffered motor incomplete SCI (26 tetraplegia, 5 paraplegia) with estimated average lifetime costs of $2.4 M and $1.6 M each, respectively. The total estimated lifetime costs for this group of SCI individuals were $195.4 M. From 2008 to 2022, we identified an SCI from MTB accidents at a rate of 4 patients per year. Our data underscores the urgent need for increased awareness and preventive measures to reduce the incidence of these devastating injuries, particularly in regions where MTB is prevalent.
format Article
id doaj-art-7e617d8c2a5d4bfdba86f437df3181b1
institution OA Journals
issn 2689-288X
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Mary Ann Liebert
record_format Article
series Neurotrauma Reports
spelling doaj-art-7e617d8c2a5d4bfdba86f437df3181b12025-08-20T01:50:52ZengMary Ann LiebertNeurotrauma Reports2689-288X2024-11-01511069107810.1089/neur.2024.0103Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National AlarmWilliam Chu Kwan0Pedram Laghaei1Harsh Kahlon2Tamir Ailon3Raphaële Charest-Morin4Charlotte Dandurand5Scott Paquette6Nicolas Dea7John Street8Charles G. Fisher9Vanessa Noonan10Marcel F. Dvorak11Brian K. Kwon12Vancouver Spine Surgery Institute, Vancouver, Canada.Vancouver Spine Research Program (VSRP), Vancouver, Canada.Vancouver Spine Research Program (VSRP), Vancouver, Canada.Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.While much attention in North America has been placed on hockey and other high impact sports as causes of spinal cord injury (SCI), over the past two decades, our Level 1 trauma center has experienced a much higher number of SCI from off-road mountain biking (MTB). Here, we aimed to characterize the epidemiology of SCI secondary to MTB, and we also sought to estimate the direct and other economic costs to assess their societal impact. A retrospective review was conducted of patients with SCI from MTB who were treated at our Level 1 trauma center between 2008 and 2022. Injury details were compiled, and we calculated the associated lifetime direct and other costs. Over the 14-year period, we identified 58 individuals (average age 35.5 years, 93% male) who suffered SCI while MTB. Twenty-seven suffered motor complete SCI (14 tetraplegia, 13 paraplegia) with estimated average lifetime costs in Canadian Dollars of $4.8 M and $4.5 M each, respectively. Thirty-one suffered motor incomplete SCI (26 tetraplegia, 5 paraplegia) with estimated average lifetime costs of $2.4 M and $1.6 M each, respectively. The total estimated lifetime costs for this group of SCI individuals were $195.4 M. From 2008 to 2022, we identified an SCI from MTB accidents at a rate of 4 patients per year. Our data underscores the urgent need for increased awareness and preventive measures to reduce the incidence of these devastating injuries, particularly in regions where MTB is prevalent.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/neur.2024.0103mountain bikinghealth economicsspinal cord injury
spellingShingle William Chu Kwan
Pedram Laghaei
Harsh Kahlon
Tamir Ailon
Raphaële Charest-Morin
Charlotte Dandurand
Scott Paquette
Nicolas Dea
John Street
Charles G. Fisher
Vanessa Noonan
Marcel F. Dvorak
Brian K. Kwon
Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National Alarm
Neurotrauma Reports
mountain biking
health economics
spinal cord injury
title Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National Alarm
title_full Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National Alarm
title_fullStr Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National Alarm
title_full_unstemmed Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National Alarm
title_short Spinal Cord Injuries Secondary to Mountain Biking Accidents — A Cause for National Alarm
title_sort spinal cord injuries secondary to mountain biking accidents a cause for national alarm
topic mountain biking
health economics
spinal cord injury
url https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/neur.2024.0103
work_keys_str_mv AT williamchukwan spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT pedramlaghaei spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT harshkahlon spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT tamirailon spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT raphaelecharestmorin spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT charlottedandurand spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT scottpaquette spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT nicolasdea spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT johnstreet spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT charlesgfisher spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT vanessanoonan spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT marcelfdvorak spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm
AT briankkwon spinalcordinjuriessecondarytomountainbikingaccidentsacausefornationalalarm