Girl MTBers in hospital more often than boys - your input!

Kath_la

Hi Everyone,

I'm a journalism student and I'm working on an article for my blog http://www.MountainBikingforGirls.com - and I need your input!

The article is about a recent study that says that women are more likely than men to end up in hospital as a result of mtb injuries.

Why do you think this is?

What is your worst ever mtb injury? Did you end up in hospital?

I'd really appreciate your help!!

Thanks.

Kath

PamPen25

I've never ended up on hospital because of mountain biking, but I do know some guys who have :twisted:

kathg

I've had plenty of crashes but never had anything worse than total thigh covering bruises! Oh yeh, this summer, fell off in Alps and damaged thumb ligaments, went to hospital for check up a month later but no treatment other than strapping. A woman with our group came off and ended up in hospital with concussion, scraped face and broken fingers. Also, can't imagine that more women than men end up in hospital.....seems quite at odds with my experience of biking in North Wales. I reckon you should contact the boys who run One Planet Adventure, Llandegla (mtb trail centre near Wrexham). There seems to be ambulances there every wekend they'd be sure to have an opinion on numbers of women versus men injured and off to hospital!
Hope this helps your article.

Kathg

mea00csf

I'm also surprised by that! I would have thought that men tend to take more risks than women and probably push further above what they're really capable than women. Actual numbers hospitalized at a trail centre wouldn't really help unless you knew numbers of men and women using the trail centre, as far more men than women mountain bike.

GyatsoLa

I'm afraid I don't have a link to it, but I recall a couple of years ago some research found the same thing with jockeys - women riders were more likely to hurt themselves in falls.

From what I recall, the explanatory theory was that men fall differently than women. Basically, men instinctively tuck and roll when they fall (to protect their dangly bits?), while women are more likely to sprawl out. I've even heard it suggested in horse riding circles that women need to be 'taught' to fall without hurting themselves, while men tend to instinctively fall 'properly'. It might be just that boys tend to be subject to more rough and tumble as kids, so they learn how not to hurt themselves.

I've no idea if the latter theory was ever subject to proper scientific research.

Mrs Toast

I've nly known blokes to be hospitalised due to mountain biking (broken collar bones, wrists, ribs etc), no women.

Worst off I had was a high speed fireroad crash which left me slightly woozy (and with a broken helmet...) and with a shredded right arm - not bad enough to stop me from biking the next day though. I did have to have antibiotics when my arm went gooey a couple of days later though.

I've had a couple of flying over the handlebars on rocks, but always come out of it surprised rather than hurt. Sounds silly, but I think doing martial arts when I was younger helped - I learnt how to fall! :P

miss notax

Surprising..... :shock:

I would imagine it's because girls are more likely to go to hospital in the first place. Blokes tend not to, unless it something obviously bad (or an ambulance has turned up!).

I don't like making statements like this, but i've luckily never been to hospital due to a MTBing injury! All my injuries have been painful (and very embarressing!) but fortunately no serious damage

ride_whenever

Women tend to have less muscle, even when training hard.

Muscle is better than any body armour; therefore, assuming they fall off a similar amount, the women are more likely to get injured.

Equally you could cite non-impact sport as resulting in lower bone density for women resulting in greater risk of bone breakage and subsequent hospitalisation.



The other thing, which perhaps is a touch condescending; women are more likely to be pushed beyond their limits by other riders. Whilst men have the whole bravado thing going on, women who take part in such activities (in my experience) have a bit of a tendency to push themselves waaaaay past their limits on the grounds of not wanting to appear weak.

miss notax

ride_whenever wrote:

The other thing, which perhaps is a touch condescending; women are more likely to be pushed beyond their limits by other riders. Whilst men have the whole bravado thing going on, women who take part in such activities (in my experience) have a bit of a tendency to push themselves waaaaay past their limits on the grounds of not wanting to appear weak.

Really? I certainly agree about blokes egging each other on, but in my experience women tend to have a pretty good grasp of what they can and can't do (if anything it's a case of them not pushing themselves hard enough!)...

I'm happy to push myself hard and ride out of my comfort zone, but there is a line I won't cross and unless I think i've got a pretty good chance of giving something a go I won't attempt it (regardless of how much slating I get for it!)!

.blitz

miss notax wrote:

Really? I certainly agree about blokes egging each other on, but in my experience women tend to have a pretty good grasp of what they can and can't do!

I think this is true. Without wanting to make sweeping generalisations, the ladies who ride around Cannock are usually the ones who 'live to ride another day' whereas you can more-or-less guarantee that if there's an accident it will be a bloke.

Of course there are a lot more blokes riding round to begin with but I think the ladies make up their own minds about the obstacles. The number of younger lads who I've seen crash out on the berms and rollers is incredible whereas the ladies tend to take it just a little bit easier and carefully pick their way around the wreckage.

Herbie The Dog

ride_whenever wrote:

Women tend to have less muscle, even when training hard.

Muscle is better than any body armour; therefore, assuming they fall off a similar amount, the women are more likely to get injured.

Equally you could cite non-impact sport as resulting in lower bone density for women resulting in greater risk of bone breakage and subsequent hospitalisation.



The other thing, which perhaps is a touch condescending; women are more likely to be pushed beyond their limits by other riders. Whilst men have the whole bravado thing going on, women who take part in such activities (in my experience) have a bit of a tendency to push themselves waaaaay past their limits on the grounds of not wanting to appear weak.

I tend to agree with the first part but I can't say I agree with the second part. In my experience as an MTB coach it's the girls that tend to know their limits much better than men and are more inclined NOT to push themselves past those limits.

Men on the other hand just go for it as breaking bones is less painful than being called a poof by their mates.

I see a lot of girls that are technically better than men when it comes to MTBing. However the differences between the sexes when it comes to muscle mass/strength etc tend to hide those skills.

But back to the OP's post being more likely to end up in A&E is very different to actually ending up in A&E.

Of course just my opinion and experience!

bails87

Was it definitely MTBing and not riding in general? I know there are some stats about women cyclists being more likely to be killed on the road. (specifically in london, by lorries, I'm sure it was on the BBC website)

DJIP

I would reckon women probably are more likely to hurt ourselves not because we try harder, but because in general we're just not as good in sports as men. Not to be sexist or anything, I'm a woman, it's just not something we're great at. Plus guys tend to start riding from an earlier age than girls so I reckon they probably get the worst out of the way when they're still kids.

benpinnick

Ive only ever gone to hospital because the wife has made me. Based on this, if she rode, she'd be there ll the time. So I agree with the theory.

Where are my stabilisers?

So far, touch wood, I've never had a big enough off to end up in hospital - Probably because I chicken out of the big stuff! On the trails, I certainly see more guys falling off that girls, but there are more men out there riding.

Are you talking actual injuries or suspected injuries? Beacuae I'd say that men probably crash more (through taking on more challenging stuff), but a woman is probably more likely to go to hospital to "check" an injury, where a man might just shrug it off.

A man might pull his dislocated finger back into place, while a woman (like myself) would probably whimper slightly and request some morphine I'm exaggerating here of course, but it may be part of the equation.

miss notax

Where are my stabilisers? wrote:

A man might pull his dislocated finger back into place, while a woman (like myself) would probably whimper slightly and request some morphine I'm exaggerating here of course, but it may be part of the equation.

Too true.... Plus I always live in hope of getting a young dishy male doctor to look after me

(I never do :roll: )

Lapierre Lady

I would reckon women probably are more likely to hurt ourselves not because we try harder, but because in general we're just not as good in sports as men.

True that women are not as fast/strong as men, as proved by 100m times/weightlifting stats, but less skillful? That's a different kettle of fish altogether! (and spatial awareness tests might suggest that women can outperform men in this area).

It might be worth considering evidence from other areas e.g. young men are statistically more likely to crash cars, hence their insurance premiums are higher.

From my own experience I crash much less then the husband, and go almost as fast.

chojin

Spatial awareness tests like parallel parking? :P



*runs away*

PamPen25

I think it's more to do with personal skill and what you tend to go for. Wether your a bit of a dare devil and push your own limits or you know what your doing.

And MR Chojin....TUT-TUT
Spatial awareness tests like parallel parking?

Personally (boast alert!!!), I have been praised for my parrell parking, I find men end up 45 degress and parked in the road. But what can I say, dare devils :twisted:

Anonymous

Lapierre Lady wrote:

That's a different kettle of fish altogether! (and spatial awareness tests might suggest that women can outperform men in this area).

Actually, I believe it's accepted that males tend to do better in tests of spacial awareness.

turnerjohn

Kath_la wrote:

..... women are more likely than men to end up in hospital as a result of mtb injuries....
Kath

Just a thought but the title just says "end up in hospital..."do you mean those who chose to have a check over in case they have damaged something, or those who have actually broken limbs etc...
From a blokes point of view we dont do A&E unless its obvious (eg arm hanging off!) women are generally far more sensible in getting themselves checked to be sure (im sure its a man thing of "Im ok"!)

bartiebat

I think that's probably right. Blokes learnt to fall as kids then due to continuing biking, football etc never really stop, whereas we've generally had to learn to fall after years of avoiding it. From a different sport I've broken bones 4 times over the last 6 years, whereas hubbys only broken once. I think as a rule if something is going horrible wrong women are more likely to try & stop it whereas men will ride with it. My current break (knee) I did because I tried to stop a crash, I think I would have been fine if I'd just crashed instead of trying to stop it, but you can't tell your instincts off at the time! Also our bone denisty isn't as good & apparently because women have stronger thighs & weaker hamstrings we're more likely to tear ligaments compared to men in the same situation too.

Lapierre Lady

Sorry 'Voted 2nd Scariest (what?). I should have cited article I was referring to. This can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 8/abstract and suggets that females 'can' achieve spatial awareness equivalent to men with practice. This suggests that whilst spatial awareness in men is higher generally, it can also be, at least partially, a learned response. This would suggest that a rider who trained would crash less regardless of sex. So perhaps the thing to be looking at is regularity of riding/crashes.

Anonymous

Lapierre Lady wrote:

...article I was referring to. This can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 8/abstract and suggets that females 'can' achieve spatial awareness equivalent to men with practice.

Lapierre Lady wrote:

spatial awareness tests might suggest that women can outperform men in this area

Those two contradict. I fully believe that a lot of the differences between the sexes are due to the kinds of activities we perform, or are pushed towards doing by society, and are therefore learnt by nurture, but "equivalent" is not the same as "outperform"