{"id":196869,"date":"2024-10-01T11:19:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T11:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=196869"},"modified":"2024-10-01T11:19:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T11:19:42","slug":"dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s start this series with the scariest cause of injury, a crash. Let\u2019s take a look at the most common injuries caused by crashed, what to do if they happen to you, and how to prevent them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Prevention<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The best thing you can do about injuries caused by crashing is to crash as little as possible. It\u2019s not possible to completely remove the risk unless you want to only ride on your indoor turbo trainer. But there are a few things you can do to increase your safety on the road.<\/p>\n

Bike handling<\/strong>: Gradually and safely build up your bike handling skills, especially on wet roads, gravel, and steep descents. Adjust your speed to the current conditions.<\/p>\n

Bike maintenance<\/strong>: Do regular maintenance and check your brakes before every ride.<\/p>\n

Staying predictable and visible<\/strong>: When riding on roads and in traffic, wear high visibility clothing and signal when changing direction. Stay alert and don\u2019t assume drivers always see you.<\/p>\n

Headphones<\/strong>: If you want to listen to music or podcasts on your rides, use bone-conducting headphones that don\u2019t block your hearing.<\/p>\n

\n
\"opinion-the-gel-pad-saddle-cover-myth\"\/<\/a><\/div>
\n Socialising and Culture<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n

Opinion: The Gel Pad Saddle Cover Myth<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

Road rash<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Crashing doesn\u2019t have to mean a trip to the hospital. Many crashes happen at low speeds and don\u2019t cause major harm. If you ride clipless pedals, you know that it\u2019s not impossible to crash at 0 km\/h while waiting for a green light. The good thing is that most of these smaller crashes only leave you with one, very common type of injury, a road rash.<\/p>\n

Road rash is an abrasion caused by your skin sliding across the pavement in a crash. It can be mild or severe, depending on the speed and force of your fall and the extent of skin contact with the surface. It can be quite painful but you can usually get up and get home on your own. The main risk with this type of injury is infection due to the open wound that can be easily contaminated. How to treat road rash?<\/p>\n

Clean:<\/strong> Thoroughly clean the affected area with mild soap and water to remove any dirt and foreign objects. Apply an antiseptic solution after to prevent infection.<\/p>\n

Cover:<\/strong> Put a sterile bandage or non-stick dressing over the wounded area to keep it clean and moist.<\/p>\n

For more severe cases of road rash where a large portion of your body is affected, or if there are signs of infection, it\u2019s important to seek medical attention.<\/p>\n

\n
\"energy-deficit-in-athletes-negative-impacts-on-performance\"\/<\/a><\/div>
\n Health & Training<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n

Energy Deficit in Athletes \u2013 Negative Impacts on Performance<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

Contusions and bruises<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Crashes that happen at moderate to high speeds and result in you hitting the ground with a bit more force typically leave you with contusions and bruises. They typically occur on the hips, thighs, arms, and shoulders as a result of bleeding under the skin.<\/p>\n

To treat this type of injury at home, apply ice to the affected area for 10-15 minutes every few hours to reduce swelling and rest and elevate the bruised area when possible. It\u2019s important to consider whether to seek medical attention. Do so if you also have severe pain and swelling, limited range of motion, numbness, or bruising over vital areas such as abdomen, chest, or back.<\/p>\n

Fractures<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Fractures are every cyclist\u2019s nightmare, unfortunately, cracking or breaking a bone does happen, especially when crashing at high speeds. Some of the most common locations for cycling fractures are at the collarbone and wrist. If you suspect a fracture, it\u2019s crucial to seek immediate medical attention. Correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment are essential for ensuring the best possible outcome and minimizing long-term complications. Try to immobilize the affected area as best as you can until you\u2019re in the hands of medical personnel.<\/p>\n

Head injuries<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s nothing more serious than a head injury when crashing a bike. They can range from mild concussions to severe traumatic brain injuries. If you hit your head during a fall, seek medical attention, even if you feel fine. Symptoms of a concussion may include dizziness, nausea, headaches, confusion, or even loss of consciousness.<\/p>\n

Hitting your head can be life-threatening even at slow-speed crashes, if you\u2019re not wearing a helmet. This is exactly why the best prevention is wearing a helmet every time you go cycling. If you want the highest level of protection, consider a helmet with MIPS technology. MIPS, multi-directional impact protection system, is a patented technology designed to address rotational forces that can occur during certain types of impacts common in cycling accidents.<\/p>\n

Hopefully you never have to deal with more than a mild road rash as a result of crashing a bike. But even if that\u2019s the case, there are a lot of other types of injuries you should know about as a cyclist. Thankfully, there\u2019s a lot you can do to prevent those. More on that in the next article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":196872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[332],"tags":[8032,8034,8033],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-196869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-training","tag-dealing-with-cycling-injuries","tag-road-rash-treatment","tag-what-to-do-when-you-crash-on-a-bike","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nDealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s start this series with the scariest cause of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s start this series with the scariest cause of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-01T11:19:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"990\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"660\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tereza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jiri Kaloc\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/\",\"name\":\"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash - \u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-01T11:19:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926\"},\"description\":\"Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s start this series with the scariest cause of\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp\",\"width\":990,\"height\":660,\"caption\":\"Cycling crash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\",\"name\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"description\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine\",\"alternateName\":\"\u0160koda WLC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926\",\"name\":\"tereza\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tereza\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/tereza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s start this series with the scariest cause of","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash","og_description":"Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s start this series with the scariest cause of","og_url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/","og_site_name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","article_published_time":"2024-10-01T11:19:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":990,"height":660,"url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"tereza","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jiri Kaloc","Est. reading time":"3"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/","name":"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp","datePublished":"2024-10-01T11:19:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926"},"description":"Cycling is a safe and healthy sport. But there are certainly many ways to injure yourself on the bike. Let\u2019s start this series with the scariest cause of","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2024\/10\/Cyclist-Crash-profimedia-0835656044-CVR.webp","width":990,"height":660,"caption":"Cycling crash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/10\/01\/dealing-with-cycling-injuries-when-you-crash\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dealing with Cycling Injuries \u2013 When You Crash"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/","name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine","alternateName":"\u0160koda WLC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926","name":"tereza","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tereza"},"url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/tereza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196869"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":196873,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196869\/revisions\/196873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196869"},{"taxonomy":"global-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-categories?post=196869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}