Injuries in extreme sports
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REVIEW
Open Access
Injuries in extreme sports Lior Laver1*, Ioannis P. Pengas2 and Omer Mei-Dan3,4
Abstract Extreme sports (ES) are usually pursued in remote locations with little or no access to medical care with the athlete competing against oneself or the forces of nature. They involve high speed, height, real or perceived danger, a high level of physical exertion, spectacular stunts, and heightened risk element or death. Popularity for such sports has increased exponentially over the past two decades with dedicated TV channels, Internet sites, high-rating competitions, and high-profile sponsors drawing more participants. Recent data suggest that the risk and severity of injury in some ES is unexpectedly high. Medical personnel treating the ES athlete need to be aware there are numerous differences which must be appreciated between the common traditional sports and this newly developing area. These relate to the temperament of the athletes themselves, the particular epidemiology of injury, the initial management following injury, treatment decisions, and rehabilitation. The management of the injured extreme sports athlete is a challenge to surgeons and sports physicians. Appropriate safety gear is essential for protection from severe or fatal injuries as the margins for error in these sports are small. The purpose of this review is to provide an epidemiologic overview of common injuries affecting the extreme athletes through a focus on a few of the most popular and exciting extreme sports.
Background The definition of extreme sports (ES) inhabits any sports featuring high speed, height, real or perceived danger, a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear or spectacular stunts and involves elements of increased risk. These ES activities tend to be individual and can be pursued both competitively and noncompetitively [1]. They often take place in remote locations and in variable environmental conditions (weather, terrain) with little or no access to medical care [2], and even if medical care is available, it usually faces challenges related to longer response and transport times, access to few resources, limed provider experience due to low patient volume, and more extreme geographical and environmental challenges [3]. Examples of popular ES include BMX (Bicycle Motorcross) and mountaineering; hang-gliding and paragliding; free diving; surfing (including wave, wind, and kite surfing) and personal watercraft; whitewater canoeing, kayaking, and rafting; bungee jumping, BASE (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth) jumping, and skydiving; extreme hiking * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry, UK Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
and skateboarding; mountain biking; in-line skating; ultraendurance races; alpine skiing and snowboarding; and ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) and motocross sports [4]. In the last two decades, there has been a major increase in both the popularity a
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