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The resulting paper, 'What do cyclists need to see to avoid single-bicycle crashes?', has been awarded two prizes from insurers Liberty Mutual

With the 'Wiggins effect' in full swing after London 2012 and people taking up cycling for sport or recreation like never before, the safety of the country's cyclists has never been more important.

Crashes are an unfortunate fact of life for many travelling on our roads and bicycle paths, but how and why they happen is not always well understood. In the Netherlands alone, A&E Departments treat 46,000 injuries sustained in single-bicycle incidents each year, 6000 of which lead to hospital admission. Reducing the number of bicycle accidents is thus good for the public purse as well as for the cyclists themselves.

Faced with such figures, two Dutch academics, Paul Schepers and Berry den Brinker, set out to learn more about single-bicycle crashes. The resulting paper, 'What do cyclists need to see to avoid single-bicycle crashes?', has been awarded two prizes from insurers Liberty Mutual: 'Best Paper Published in the Journal Ergonomics' (54/4 2011, 315­-327) and the '2012 IEA/Liberty Mutual Medal in Occupational Safety and Ergonomics'.

AAOS offers gymnastics safety tips

Gymnastics is a rigorous sport requiring long hours of practice and complex physical movements. In addition to the weight-bearing stress placed on the upper body during many gymnastics moves, the countless twists, flips and landings put gymnasts at risk for injuries.

Common gymnastics injuries are often from overuse or simple stress, and may include:

• wrist and shoulder injuries
• elbow dislocations
• foot and ankle injuries
• ACL injuries
• back injuries, such as lower lumbar spine stress fractures, otherwise known as spondylolysis.

Statistics:

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 75,000 Americans (children and adults) were treated in hospitals, doctors’ offices and emergency rooms for gymnastics-related injuries in 2010. The medical costs alone totaled nearly $170 million.

Orthopaedic surgeons share tips to help athletes stay clear of sports injuries this fall

Summer is coming to an end, and it won’t be long before athletes and sports enthusiasts take to the field to play soccer, football, volleyball or some other fall sport.

Staying active is ideal for building strong bones and weight-bearing activities such as running and playing sports helps to achieve that. That is why the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons(AAOS), the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM)and the STOP Sports Injuries campaign is urging everyone to stay active, but to keep safety first when engaging in these activities.

How to Minimize the Chances of Shoulder Injuries

Summer is a peak season for many sports, and with that comes sport-related injuries. Among those injuries is shoulder joint dislocation. According to a literature review in the August 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, most incidences of shoulder joint instability are the result of traumatic contact injuries like force or falling on an outstretched arm; a direct blow to the shoulder area; forceful throwing, lifting or hitting; or contact with another player.

By the Numbers

• In 45 percent of shoulder joint instability injuries, young athletes lost more than 10 days from sport.
• Young male athletes are at greatest risk of shoulder joint instability injuries and recurrences.
• In one study, the rate of athletes reinjuring their shoulder was higher in patients younger than 23 years of age (72 percent) than patients older than 30 years of age (27 percent).
• Young athletes between the ages of 15 to 20 years of age who were treated nonsurgically had an injury recurrence rate of 87 percent.
• Arthritis of the shoulder occurred in up to 40 percent of athletes with recurring shoulder instability injuries.

In young athletes, traumatic anterior (front) shoulder dislocation injuries have shown high incidences of the sudden tearing of the labrum (the tissue rim surrounding the shoulder socket) and ligaments from the bone of the socket.