Pilots frequently failed to throw their reserve parachutes. Asymmetry and rotational forces typically led to incidents, and limb and back injuries resulted. Near misses were reported by 423 (26%) pilots. Flying incidents led to 103 (6%) respondents seeking medical attention, attending hospital, or missing a day of work in 2019. The remainder were spent in competition, hike and fly, tandem, aerobatic, or instructional flight. Local flying was most frequent (n=37,680 flights, 39%) but a higher proportion of hours were spent flying cross-country (n=33,933 h, 39%). Respondents flew a total of 87,909 h in 96,042 flights during 2019. There were 1788 (25%) responses from 7262 surveyed. The survey could not capture those who had left the sport or died, so a subset of responses from UK pilots was compared to records from an incident database. Paraglider pilots were surveyed regarding experience, incidents, recordkeeping, and risk perception. More comprehensive understanding, including incident rates allowing comparison to similar disciplines, will help direct and appraise safety interventions.
The volume, nature, and risks of paragliding are poorly quantified. The impacts of these findings confirm that ESM courses are vital and should be designed specifically to ensure that practitioners are effectively supported to develop the unique skills necessary for practice in real world extreme sports events. These themes were individual, task and environmental factors. We explicated three overarching themes common to both the ES health practitioner and for the effective training of healthcare providers in the support of ES endeavors and athletes. This paper describes the results of a collaborative auto-ethnographic approach to answering “what is an extreme sports medicine health care provider and what are the components of an effective Extreme Sports Medicine (ESM) training program?” The study was conducted following the first ESM university course offered in Australia with the intention of assessing the learning design and reflecting on the development and practice of ES health practitioners.
#KITE BUGGY TV#
Therefore, why is the popularity of ES increasing exponentially with “dedicated TV channels, internet sites, high-rating competitions, and high-profile sponsors drawing more participants”? More importantly, how should health practitioners respond to the influx of ES athletes with novel injuries, enquiries and attitudes. Popular perceptions of extreme sport (ES) often include the descriptor ‘dangerous’. “I remember when sex was safe and skydiving was dangerous” read a popular bumper sticker during the HIV crisis. First, they demonstrate the significance of understanding specific sports when considering health and safety, and second, the study provides specific data for the fast growing extreme sport of kite buggying. Findings from this study are important for two reasons. Injury prevention in this sport needs to be approached from several angles and should include the development and adoption of automatic release systems and shoulder guards, the establishment of formal training programs covering the subject of meteorology and the establishment of secure, designated kite buggying areas. Kite buggying can be considered a sport with the potential for serious injury. While upper and lower limbs were equally involved in incidents, the most frequently affected anatomical site was the shoulder (23%). Causal factors were largely equipment-related (42.3%), with remaining incidents being equally attributable to environmental and human factors. The most common incident dynamic (61.8%) was the OBE (an acronym for ‘out-of-buggy experience’). ResultsInjuries classified as moderate or severe (AIS score ≥ 2) were sustained by 26% of kite buggy enthusiasts. Incident causes were analysed using the Haddon matrix.
Injuries were classified by type and anatomical site. MethodsA questionnaire was filled in by 127 kite buggying enthusiasts in 17 countries. The purpose of this descriptive, epidemiological study is to classify injury patterns and determine dynamics of injuries, possible causes and preventive measures.