As temperatures begin to cool, we hope your fall outdoor season heats up with courses to keep you and your patients safe this fall!

As always, be safe in the outdoors,

September is one of the most popular mountain biking months. Be careful - injuries are common. Here is September's quiz.

Your first question is what parts of the body are most commonly injured in mountain bikers

• A. Neck and knee
• B. Groin and buttocks
• C. Hands and shoulders
• D. Back

If you answered groin and buttocks you were wrong. While they are very common complaints, the most common injury is micro whiplash syndrome and patellar tendonitis of the neck and knee. So answer (a) was the right answer. They are hard to prevent entirely, but they can be reduced considerably by proper seat and handle bar positioning. Sit on the seat with your leg out straight and your heel should just touch the pedal. The handle bar should be 1 - 4 inches below the seat. Buttocks and groin pain can be prevented with a good seat.

What are the most common injuries not including tendonitis?

• A. Fractures
• B. Lacerations
• C. Abrasions
• D. Contusions

It should be no surprise that contusions are the most common biking injury (d). They make up nearly 40% of all reported injuries, followed by abrasions at 36%, lacerations at 23%, and fractures at 16%. While tendonitis of the neck and knee is the most common complaint, tendonitis only makes up about 10% of total injuries reported.

Finally, which is the most common mountain biking fracture?

• A. Clavicular
• B. Colle's
• C. Scaphoid

So while the scaphoid (and associated hamate) fractures are common, the most common is the distal radius or Colle's fracture, followed by the clavicular fracture and then the scaphoid (and hamate) fractures. So the correct answer is (b). Adjust your first aid kits appropriately and always have your patients wear a helmet while riding. Be safe in the outdoors days.

Linville Gorge, North Carolina September 26 - 29, 2008

Chico Hot Springs, Montana - October 3 - 5, 2008

Moab, Utah - October 15 - 18, 2008

Henry Horton State Park, Lewisburg, Tennessee November 14 - 16, 2008

Zion National Park, Utah - November 19 - 22, 2008

Ouray, Colorado - January 12 - 14, 2008

The Advanced Wilderness Life Support certification course was originally developed at the University of Utah School of Medicine and has grown significantly since its creation in 1997. The increasing demand for certification resulted in the creation of a new organization, AdventureMed, to promote the responsible growth of the AWLS program. AWLS certification is available to anyone with a medical degree or certification including: MD, DO, RN, DDS, DPM, PA, EMT and Paramedic.

The Wilderness Life Support Institute, a nonprofit organization, was founded by Paul S. Auerbach, MD and Richard Ingebretsen, MD to oversee the content and quality of the AWLS certification program.

The mission of AWLS is to create competence in medical professionals, enabling them to effectively manage emergency medical situations outside traditional medical facilities.