Head injury is what people are more concerned about. There are a lot of laws and rules regarding helmet. It is obvious that head injury and neck injury are more deadly than others. But, do you know that the most commonly affect areas are your hands and wrist? Why is that hands are more affected? When someone falls off the bike, their first reflex is to throw out their arms towards the ground. This would cause injuries to hand, most importantly wrist.
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What Happens To Your Wrist?
What happens to your wrist depends upon the speed of your fall, how your arms were placed while you fell and most importantly, your body weight. Rough terrains can cause more injury than in-door or smooth terrains. The most common injury is the fracture to the distal radium. When this breaks, there would be tremendous pain in the forearm, a little away from the wrist. Remember that swelling or bleeding in wrist can be dangerous as a lot of blood vessels are compressed in a small area in the wrist. Thus, hospitalization is essential. Or at least, visit a doctor to examine your wrist. Even if there is discoloration in your wrist without any pain, it is better to get the help of a doctor.
Sometime, a ligament in the wrist would be torn. This would cause sprain. Though sprain is not very painful like fracture, it is better to get to a doctor as soon as possible. Due to rough terrain, some sharp objects might penetrate causing open wounds which would cause bleeding. Bleeding in wrist can be deadly. Apply some compression on the place of the wound and rush to the hospital. To avoid injury to some extent, wear padded gloves to protect the nerves in your wrists.
What Happens To Your Fingers?
Fractures and sprains can occur in the fingers and back of the palm too. The most common injury is bruises and cuts on the palm. If you lose feelings or control of any of your fingers, it might be a fracture and rush to the emergency room, immediately. Padded gloves would help to absorb shock of the fall to some extent.
Joint Injury
When the biker falls keeping his wrist or hand in an extreme backward position, there can be joint fracture. This would cause swelling and pain in the joint. Learn to differentiate between sprain and fracture. If you are not able to move your hand, it is a fracture. If the pain subsides with time, it is a sprain. If not, consult with a doctor to learn about the possibility of fracture.
Injury To Scaphoid
Scaphoid is a bone that is at the base of the thumb. When the biker falls with outstretched hands, there are chances for the scaphoid to get compressed and could fracture. In such cases, you would not be able to move your thumb without pain and there would be swelling in your thumb. If the scaphoid near the thumb is fractured, cast would be necessary. If the fracture is near the forearm, surgical process is essential.
Treatment For Fracture
If the fracture has displaced the bone, surgical process becomes necessary. Steel plates and screws would be used in some complex fracture situation. If the bone was not displaced, then it can be cured with the help of a cast.
How To Avoid These Injuries?
First of all, prevention is better than cure. Make sure to ride slowly and keep all the rules in mind. Always watch out for the elements in the road and avoid any thrilling actions. Be conscious and on your heels to take some last minute decisions. No matter how precautious you are, sometimes some mishaps happen. May it be fate or a stupid action of another driver, sometimes fall cannot be avoided. In such cases, make sure that you have padded gloves and elbow caps to reduce the impact of the fall. If injured, insert pressure on the affected area and rush to the emergency room. No matter how small the injury is, it is better to get to a hospital immediately. If bleeding occurs, arrest the bleeding as soon as possible.
Starting from skin abrasion to complex fracture, all kinds of injuries would cause shock to the rider. If you are not hurt during the fall, sit and relax for some time. If you do not feel like riding, take some other transportation. Let your memories about the fall, heal. Do not let one fall or one fracture break your confidence of riding a bike. The slower you ride, less intense would be the injury unless you collide with a fast moving vehicle. Last but not least, wear a helmet. Fracture in your wrist or fingers can be cured with or without surgery. Such an impact on your head would cause deadly result.
