Time to refocus on injury prevention?
Horse riding is a growing sport, with many different disciplines, both professional and amateur. Use of protective gear is getting more and more common, because injuries are not unusual. In the last 20 years several interventions have been developed to prevent injuries. In this article a comparison is made with the present compared to 20 years ago. The data is from Victoria, Australia
The number of horse-related injuries has increased in the last few years. This can partly be explained by the fact that hospitals do not always keep a good track of how many injuries are from equine activities. Injuries to the back and torso were then and are still the most common.Most of the injuries are caused by falling.
The cause and nature of injuries has changed little compared to the past. It is difficult to determine how the injuries are caused because hospitals do not describe this extensively enough.
Since the requirement of the cap there are fewer serious head injuries. Injuries to the torso remain serious. Although there are good fall prevention programs, little attention is paid to this. This deserves attention
Have you ever had an injury after a fall?
> From: O'Connor et al., BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med 4 (2018) 1-7. All rights reserved to BMJ Open Sport& Exercise Medicine. Click here for the online summary.
