Mountain biking is probably one of the riskiest forms of bike riding.
There has been an alarming rise in the number of accidents during mountain biking in recent years.
The Injuries during mountain biking can be very severe and in the worst case, even life threatening.
One of the major reasons for serious injuries during bike riding is the lack of awareness among people regarding correct usage of protective gears like helmets and protective pads.
There are several instances from the past when protective gears had prevented the rider from suffering injuries during a crash.
This is the reason why some countries and states have made it a mandatory law to wear helmets while riding a bike.
In addition to the most common form of injuries during bike riding, i.
e.
head injuries, other types of injuries include spinal injuries, inclusion, cervical injuries, and thoracic injuries.
While head injuries account for the maximum number of deaths caused due to bike accidents, other forms of injuries may also become serious over time and might need you to have surgical treatment.
In some serious injuries, the patient may even need to get admitted in ICU.
All these incidents account for a significant amount of medical costs and hospital services for victim as well as for the state government.
Therefore, it is highly recommended for riders to take care of their own safety and wear protective gears like helmets and pads to alleviate the severity of the injuries.
Although there is no direct correlation between wearing a helmet and decrease in the number of accidents while mountain bike riding, still there are several advantages of wearing one.
A good helmet will protect your head, brain and skull from direct impacts during a collision and will reduce the severity of the injury.
When compared to heavy costs, severe pain, and the risk caused by these accidents, a helmet is relatively a much smaller investment.
According to a recent research, it has been found that young male riders that consider mountain biking as a fun and leisure activity are more prone to meet serious accidents as compared to the professional riders.
This is because professional riders are adequately equipped with mountain biking helmets and other protective gears.
Whereas, a leisure rider just picks up his/her bike and venture on his journey without any preparation.
It does not matter whether you are a professional mountain bike rider or riding just for fun, what is important is to consider your safety as the first priority.