New research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) reveals an alarming number of people suffering spinal cord injuries while mountain biking, often leading to permanent and life-altering paralysis.
The findings, recently published in Neurotrauma Reports, show that 58 people in B.C. sustained a spinal cord injury while mountain biking between 2008 and 2022. In the same 14-year period, there were only three such injuries from ice hockey. In more recent years, mountain biking-related injuries in the province have been seven times higher than those from skiing and snowboarding.
The number of mountain biking injuries in B.C. each year is comparable to or higher than those from stemming from amateur football across the entire U.S.
