Incidence and nature of horse-riding injuries. A one-year prospective study.
A prospective one-year study of horse-riding accidents was performed in an area with a very high frequency of amateur riding. Totally 174 patients with riding injuries were registered--66% children--making an incidence of only 0.7 per thousand riding occasions. However, many of these injuries were of a severe nature, one leading to death and 27 of the patients reporting persisting symptoms at follow-up one year after the accident. Eleven per cent of the accidents lead to cerebral injuries and 44% to fractures, mainly of the upper extremities. Eleven per cent required hospitalization and 17% operation under general anaesthesia. Clarification of the circumstances concerning the accidents indicated that many of the severe injuries could probably have been avoided by use of better safety equipment.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology; D006736:Horses; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013548:Sweden