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how many e-room visits, bike-related?

# of times have you needed the emergency room while riding?


  • Total voters
    80

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
how many emergency room visits have you have the pleasure of experiencing? i've augured hard enough 3 times to seek medical help

1 - broken hand bone after finding a hidden hole w/ my front wheel on a descent. happened in '91 or so.

2 - punctured thigh (through heavy azonic DH shorts) via my seat QR lever ('99?)

3 - nice gash between pinkie and ring finger of my hand, which needed 7 or so stitches to close; got to experience the canadian health system up close (happened @ bromont in '02)
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,718
26,946
media blackout
too many to count.... 2 dozen? on of my favorites was when i split my head open riding bmx. blood was pouring down my face as i rode past the entire nightclub district in rochester looking like i just came from the set of RAMBO to get to my truck (and a sidestop at the bar first) to go to the e-room. get there around 1am, i was out by 2am with 3 staples holding my scalp shut. Fastest trip ever. And boy was I obnoxious. I asked one of the nurses to "pull my finger".
 

sneakysnake

Monkey
Apr 2, 2006
875
1
NC
Only one, it was a drop and my foot slipped off the pedal. My left shin got gashed open, you could see the bone. I ended up with 15 stitches.

Now I wear shingaurds. :lighten:
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,953
21,996
Sleazattle
Never had an emergency room visit, I tend to wait a few days before going to the docs and usually end up just making an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon. But I have had to go for:
Concussion(s)
Broken hand
Torn ligament in hand
Torn cartilage in knee
cracked knee cap
sprained ankle
sprained knee
separated shoulder
 

Broken_Spoke

Mr. Big Hot Pastrami
Feb 26, 2003
2,410
0
Bozeman, MT
I haven't been because of biking but I probably should have gone when I was dirt jumping and landed on my head and was passed out for 15 minutes
 

stinkyboy

Plastic Santa
Jan 6, 2005
15,187
1
¡Phoenix!
Zero, even with cracked ribs, screwed up shoulder, took out small cactus with my calf, broken chain = big ring plunged into calf (greasy puncture wounds rule!), snapping Thomson bolts and losing seats on drops, many holes in legs courtesy of Syncros Mentals, etc.
 

Mike B.

Turbo Monkey
Oct 5, 2001
1,522
0
State College, PA
Only one. 70+ stitches in my right calf when the bolt-on axle of my BMX bike tore through my jeans on a dj crash landing. Walked home first though before I took a look at the damage.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,701
1,056
behind you with a snap pop
In twelve years of racing DH, I have had no emergency room visits.
I have been to a doctor for 3 injuries.
Once for a broken right wrist, once for a really bruised right hand, and once for a broken right hand that I am currently in a half cast for. See a pattern here.
If I cut off my right hand, I will have no more injuries.:twitch:
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,718
26,946
media blackout
Zero, even with cracked ribs, screwed up shoulder, took out small cactus with my calf, broken chain = big ring plunged into calf (greasy puncture wounds rule!), snapping Thomson bolts and losing seats on drops, many holes in legs courtesy of Syncros Mentals, etc.
this makes me wonder, how does the number of times i've actually gone compare to the number of times I should have gone.
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
this makes me wonder, how does the number of times i've actually gone compare to the number of times I should have gone.
Yeah, I've had a good number of those.

Only one visit, though. Bad Diablo wreck. No bad permanent damage- blown bursa in the knee, lots of cuts/bruises and some severely strained muscles in my legs and back.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
Once
Ruptured kidney with massive internal bleeding. 5 days in the hospital for observation.
 

W4S

Turbo Monkey
Mar 2, 2004
1,282
23
Back in Hell A, b1thces
3 times.

1. stitches in lip and chin after going head first into a double at coal canyon bmx after the headtube separated from the rest of the bike.

2. dislocated lunate bone in Left wrist suffered at Big Bear. Rode all day and talked my way onto the lift after they had closed, even though I was so tired I could barely ride. Probably shouldn't have done that. Had surgery and was in full arm cast for 4 months with 4 pins

3. Broken right wrist riding to my car after digging in dirt all day in SoCal summer with no water or food. Was so tired I couldn't turn my bike and ran straight into a dirt mound.

If I knew when I was too tired to ride I'd probably be OK, but I've had a lot of more minor injuries where I probably should have gone to the ER but didn't. :poster_oops:
 

moff_quigley

Why don't you have a seat over there?
Jan 27, 2005
4,402
2
Poseurville
3 times I think. 2 were in the late 80's when I was riding freestyle BMX and the last one was a couple years ago on the MTB.

1) Lost balance on a tailwhip. Took a brake lever right above my eye and opened it up real good.

2) Attempted to ride down a double set of stairs and got going too fast, fell face first and ended up busting open my chin.

3) Got tangled up with a vine on a trail ride and ended up breaking ankle on the fall. Weird.
 

sunny

Grammar Civil Patrol
Jul 2, 2004
1,107
0
Sandy Eggo, CA
Yeah, I've lost count... I think it's between 1-2 visits a year, since I've been riding, though.
2003 hematoma
2004 separated shoulder
2006 fractured wrist
2006 sprained ankle (already got screws there, wanted to make sure they were still in place)
2006 stitches in hand
2007 knee, elbow, hand injury (nothing broken, thankfully)

wow... I must've hit my head in 2005; I can't remember any injuries from then.

OH yeah - 2005 broken finger.

:D
 

JapaneseZero

Monkey
Jun 27, 2006
602
0
Virginia
3 times for me...
1. broken collar bone
2. got hit by a bumper and went to ER for x-rays to give to insurance
3. broken c6 laid in ICU for a night with a nice morphine buzz...
 

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
3 biking related...but a lot more if I count all the other things that happened...I got on a first name basis with the ER staff...

Bike related:

1.) Riding down the street in my old neighborhood on my very first mtb...going about 25 cause I was meeting a friend for a ride and I was late. Car pulled out in front of me from a blind driveway...hit brakes, went OTB, slammed into driverside door with shoulder, cracked frame, helmet broke in 2, cut on nose. Guy can't open the door I hit it so hard, so instead of getting out the passenger side, he forces the driverside door open and hits me right on top of the head. I'm out. Wake up being wheeled into the ER.

Damage: Dislocated right shoulder, bad concussion, 70 little tiny stitches in my nose from a plastic surgeon (multiple layers...was 1mm from causing scar tissue in my nasal cavity), bunch of soreness... EMT's weren't strong enough to set my shoulder while I was unconcious...took both of them, the doc, and what appeared to be a burly janitor (prolly RN...but I was loopy...) to set it...that was fun.

2.) Snapped a frame on a XC ride...cheek met jagged frame...face wounds bleed a lot...16 stitches later...

3.) Snapped a frame DH'ing...8-10ft drop...concussion...went to the ER to make sure nothing was broken...after the mile and a half hike out back to the car (I was alone)...
 

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
2,917
1,668
Brooklyn
Yeesch. Let's see now. 1 for breaking tibial plateau, 2 broken collarbones, and 7 dislocated shoulder issues. The last 4 I figured out myself. Yay for insurance. Boo for crashing.
 

splat

Nam I am
Lots

lets see

1984 lacerated hinee ( removed most of the skin off of it )
1986 Broken Wrist
1986 Dislocated Fingers
1987 Sparianed ankle.
1987 Broken ribs
1987 Bone chips in elbow.
1989 severe concussion ( ambulance ride )
1991 swollen/inflamed knee
1996 dislocated finger
2002 broken Ribs

Can you tell when I was road racing ???
 

bean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 16, 2004
1,335
0
Boulder
I guess I'm not riding hard enough. I've fallen a few times and scraped myself up a bit, but nothing that required the ER. Did go there from playing hockey once.
 

Rockland

Turbo Monkey
Apr 24, 2003
1,880
286
Left hand path
One: Broken ankle. Planted a foot on the inside of a turn, and my foot twisted too far. I thought it was a bad sprain. Hobbled around for a week & a half. It was getting worse instead of better, so I finally went to the hospital. The diagnosis: fibula cracked just above ankle.
 

Dartman

Old Bastard Mike
Feb 26, 2003
3,911
0
Richmond, VA
Three times...

Shattered elbow, surgery to repair, two days in hospital.

Landed on top of head and jammed my spine, er visit for ct scan to check for broken neck.

Split open chin on rock...27 stitches.

...so far.
 

altagirl

Monkey
Aug 27, 2002
160
0
Utah
I voted 3, but now that I think about it, there were more...

1. 9 stitches on the front of my ankle.
2. 20 some stitches on the back of my ankle/calf.
3. x-rays on my right hand, which was swollen to about twice it's size and half purple, but turned out to just be bruised.
4. x-rays on my left wrist, which was a hairline fracture according to the ER, but when I got in to see my ortho 2 weeks later he couldn't find anything. I couldn't even hold a pencil for a while, then it got better. Don't know what to call that one.

So two of those were really ER visits for no reason, I guess. Just my husband saying "that looks really bad, go get it xrayed".

But then there was my torn ACL, which I didn't go to the ER for but was way worse than any of the ER visits. I knew what I did, so I didn't waste the time or money for the ER visit and just made an appointment with my ortho when I got home.

So I guess, ultimately, 3 is about right.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,700
8,722
1) rollerblading, but close enough: compound fracture of radius and ulna. bone sticking out through skin and all, 4 pins, no permanent hardware.

2) whistler (blackcomb actually), in 1995 or 1996: took a digger at speed, landed straight on my elbow. chipped off a piece. swelled up nicely, and an airlift to vancouver for surgery was discussed. ended up not needing an operation.

3) whistler, 2003: managed to fall in grand style in front of the GLC, about 200 feet after landing the drop. how i managed to do this i'm still not quite sure. went in to the clinic to get the stones taken out of the gash in my side below my upper body armor.

4) whistler, 2004: dropped a glove by mistake riding up garbanzo. then managed to stick a hand, that same hand, on a hot rotor on No Joke, "Three Humps" was it? most painful thing. ever. ended up needing some antibiotics in the ER a few days later.