Unusual Bike Riding Injuries A Problem for Kids and Adults

Biking has plenty of health benefits, but riders also run the risk of an injury to the kidney or genitalia, according to a new study from Injury Prevention that found kids sustain about 10 times as many of these injuries as adults.

The researchers analyzed data that had been collected by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between 2002 and 2012. An average of about 4,000 people sustained bicycle-related kidney or genital injuries during each year of the study. Children came to the ER for bicycle-related kidney or genital injuries about 10 times more often than adults. Adult injuries more often required hospital admission.

Boys and men accounted for 61% of injuries. About 70% resulted from direct contact with the bike - as opposed to hitting the ground - and nearly half of the overall injuries were due to contact with the top tube, which runs between the base of the seat and the handlebars.