DVC45

..Since we haven't had one in awhile.

Bike riders risk kidney, genital injuries: study | Fox News

Just in time for Spring.

wolfchild

Do you actually believe what you hear on FoxNews ?? ...Only FoxNews would publish such nonsense.

Spld cyclist

Fox didn't perform the study, they just reported on it. It was published in a scientific journal.

Coluber42

Just because someone did a study and some news (or "news") organization reports on it doesn't mean the results are valid, meaningful, correct, useful, etc. The popular press is notoriously bad at accurately portraying the degree of certainty, the limits in practical application of the study, the authors' conclusions about circumstances, contributing factors, etc. They see a title that looks like it will make a splash, and they start splashing.

In this case, I skimmed the article... basically it says that kids crash on bicycles and hurt themselves, and so do grownups sometimes, and they often land on their soft bits when they fall. The best conclusion I can draw from it is that while it's still a good idea to wear a helmet, a helmet doesn't protect your kidneys or your privates, so even if you wear a helmet, you should probably still try not to crash.

No major revelations there.

MEversbergII

I'm not sure how one hurts their kidney's on a bike. All the ouch-bits are in front of you. The kidneys are not.

M.

CrankyOne

Perineum contacts top tube hard enough and you'll find out.

The injuries are easy to believe. The study did say that it was quite preliminary however. The question is how common are these injuries from people riding bicycles, how often is there any permanent damage, and what are the likely parameters that cause them. I'd bet a large majority of off-road related.

TrekCommuter

I'll take my chances. In the midwest, I see the health risks/results of inactivity almost everywhere.

walrus1

Almost exactly my reaction to whenever anyone says anything about my running or cycling.

CrankyOne

Yep. And I wonder how much is kidney damage :-)

Dave Cutter

Actually brought to public attention by Dr. Benjamin Breyer, a urologist at the University of California, San Francisco.

If I remember correctly it was a urologist that brought cyclists the bicycle saddle impotence hoax-scare a couple decades or so ago. However... that did lead to saddles with cutouts... which I kind of like. Knowledge that top bars can be ball-busters isn't a news alert in my book. But something useful might result from this.

Mark Stone

Good post. No matter how many "dangers" are listed in regards to bicycling, the health benefits outweigh them immeasurably. The way I see it, the very slight chance of getting a kidney or genitalia injury by bouncing off the top tube pales in comparison to my chances of getting heart disease and other obesity related diseases if I stopped riding.

I officially thumb my nose at this study.

Leisesturm

Well, I don't know about your stable, but, in mine only two, out of five bikes and two tandems, do not have a sloping top tube...

MEversbergII

I have had some pretty rough contact. However, I don't make a habit of storing my kidneys between my legs so I'm still totally lost.

M.

David Bierbaum

Well to be fair, they probably include mountain/BMX biking in their study, which will include injury types that more sedate forms of cycling won't. Since they mention young kids being the most affected, I think it's an almost certain bet that BMX style trick failures are involved.

downwinded

I agree it sounds like nonsense. All physical activities have some degree of risk. I suspect there's a reason why FauxNews is consistently voted (by other members of the world wide media) as the least accurate news agency.

Dave Cutter

My main ride has the new geometry [sloping top tube]. But even my vintage steel bicycles are my correct size.... which could also be an issue with the general public.

I hadn't thought of my road cycling as being sedate. But I agree that jumps and practiced stunts I've seen at the park looks riskier than my 15mph on residential side streets. The stats presented did include a 10 times greater injury rate to non-adults. So maybe much of this is more about the kids unsupervised stunt cycling.

Dave Cutter

I thought that Fox was consistently voted most balanced! I've never even heard of the "members of the world wide media" organization you mention. And I performed a couple searches and found nothing. Are you sure you aren't just a hater? Dismissing medical research that could benefit cyclists.... based on a emotional response to a news outlet... seems a bit extreme.

dscheidt

Given the database the reuters article says they're using, they're probably looking at all causes of ER visits. That would include stunt riding, but also "getting hit by car". the journal its in is not one I have access to readily, so I can't look at the article to see if there's data showing what the breakdown is.

Dave Cutter

Nope.
The researchers analyzed data that had been collected by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between 2002 and 2012. The system includes information on patients who came to the 24-hour emergency rooms of about 100 hospitals nationwide, including eight children's hospitals.
Breyer and his team separated the patients by age group and looked at whether each person had been subsequently admitted to the hospital, which would indicate a relatively severe injury. They excluded injuries that had been caused by a collision with a car.

It would appear the researchers did a decent job. They complied lots of good data... not sure if that translates to "useful" data. Without any doubt... cycling does have it's share of injuries. It could be... COULD BE.. the evidence points to cycling having MORE than it's share of injuries. If that is the case... I wouldn't expect to see this to be the end of such studies.

There are activist trying to eliminate school sponsored sports and some of the more violent pro sports. With the public dislike for cyclists on our streets and roads..... I would surprised if we don't see more anti-cyclist type studies.

It is my sincerest hope that the study accomplishes some good or benefit for cyclist. But I am skeptical as to whether that will happen. I am certainly not planning on a Clockwork orange type cycling kit:

CB HI

With all the kids doing bike stunts at skate parks, kidney and top tube injuries are no surprise. Does not mean such injuries are common for adults riding in the manner most in BFs cycle.

tjspiel

"This particular study, if anything, shows that the vast majority of people who come to the ER come for minor injuries," said Landon Trost, a urologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Fizzaly

I would say wrist or elbow injuries are a greater risk than kidney injuries in"our" line of riding.

downwinded

I am a hater. Emotion has nothing to do with it. I also performed a couple of searches and found LOTS of info. I guess I should have said reporters from news media in other parts of the world. Didn't mean to confuse anyone. To aid in your search try using words like "accuracy" or maybe even "license". Here is a start
Study ? Fox News Viewers Most Misinformed
foxBGHsuit
Actually, the folks who I found that most often state FoxNews as being "fair and most balanced" was FoxNews!
It just seems the study in the op was written by Dr. Obvious (I don't think that's a real physician) with a sensationalized headline for the article.

MichaelW

"Well to be fair, they probably include mountain/BMX biking in their study, which will include injury types that more sedate forms of cycling won't. Since they mention young kids being the most affected, I think it's an almost certain bet that BMX style trick failures are involved. "
Cycling as an extreme sport.
How does extreme walking (ie rock climbing) compare?

Joe Perez

Kind of funny, I have a much different view of health risks related to cycling... Getting doored, being run over by a cab, getting sandwiched between a city bus and a delivery truck, falling into a pothole larger than my front wheel, those are the sort of things I think about.