Speech 2 Write-Out

In any multiple vehicle collision, there at least 3 impacts. The first is the vehicles colliding with each other, the second is yourself hitting your vehicle whether it be a car or bike and the third is your internal organs being pushed onto the walls of your internal cavities. For cyclists, there are often more than 3 impacts, because often the rider is ejected from the bike and collides with another object like the ground, a post or object. Today, I shall inform you all on the prevalence and classifications of cycling injury.

To begin, the Journal of Emergency Medicine Australasia reports that the common cyclist injury are extremities injuries with the upper-extremity being the more common limbs. It is often the clavicle (at a 10.7% incidence rate) or the radius (at a 7.2% incidence rate) that is injured or fractured. The second most common injury is the head often with facial fractures (8.8%) or skull fractures (8%). Third is lower extremity injuries with lower leg fractures the most prevalent in this area. The most concerning part of leg fractures, especially if it’s in the femoral area is that it could puncture a major artery and you could literally internally bleed out into your thighs. One of the most noticeable observations from this report is that the majority of cyclist whom are injured are men at over 85% of all reported and documented cases. In most of the collision injuries of cyclists, most cyclists do not collide and get injured from a motor vehicle but rather from hitting stationary objects and falls. However, cyclist who do collide with a motor vehicle of some kind is much more likely to suffer a more severe and life-threatening injury than a cyclist in a non-motor vehicle collision. Now of all the cyclists transported to a hospital or facility for treatment of their injury, especially a trauma 1 center, the vast majority survived at 98%.

Next, I will go into detail onto some of the injuries cyclist sustain. For an extremity injury, which again is the most common type of injury for cyclists, these include broken bones, sprained joint and bruises. This type of injury usually happen when a cyclist falls or collides with another object. And usually, depending on the injury require physical rehabilitation. Now if you may recall, the majority of cyclist injury are men and another type of injury is of the genitourinary system. Though less prevalent it accounts for approximately 3% of injury. The Injury Journal reported on San Francisco General Hospital that many cyclist admitted for genitourinary injury were for injured kidneys at 75% followed by bladder injury. A complication of injury of a ruptured bladder is its contents will leak into the abdominal cavity and lead to infection and eventual shock and death if left untreated; however, it can take up to a few hours. Chest injury and trauma is too less prevalent, but it can often be fatal, such as rib fractures, punctured lungs, pneumothorax (collapsed lung), or cardiac contusion (punctured heart). As humans, one of our natural responses when we face a threat, or in cyclist or driving, when we see we are about to crash or be crashed into, we inhale deeply then hold our breath. When the collision happens a “paper-bag or balloon effect” occurs in our lungs. To elaborate, the lungs fill with air, you hold your breath so air can’t escape, the impact hits and your chest is compressed and the air pressure basically “pops” your lungs. This is obviously a life-threatening injury. Finally, I will go into head trauma, the injury cyclists all over the world debate and protecting with helmets. Head injuries if of course potentially deadly. But, it is very difficult to detect and can often take time to develop. Some injuries include subdural and epidural hematomas or bleeding in the head, and neurogenic shock or hypotension; this is basically your nerves not sending the signals to keep your blood pressure up and all your cells can’t get oxygen and then die. Of all cyclist related injury or any injury for that matter that involves a collision at a high velocity, it will almost undoubtedly require hospital transport and treatment.

By now I have informed you all of the types of injuries cyclists sustain and their prevalence. I wish to state that cycling injury happen, but it is uncommon they do occur and rarely are they ever fatal. But if you do get injured, get help.