Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the incidence and pattern of injuries, relative risks, and factors affecting incidence among elite motorcycle competitors in Japan.

Methods: A total of 117 elite motorcycle competitors including 36 road racers, 60 motocross racers, and 21 trial bike riders completed a questionnaire about injuries.

Results: Sixty major injuries (25 in road racing, 32 in motocross, and three in trial bike riding) were reported. The most common injuries were fractures (45), followed by ligament injuries (8), dislocations (5), and soft tissue injuries (2). The overall injury rate was 22.4 per 1000 hours, and the death rate was zero. There was no significant correlation between risk of injury and age, experience, or accumulated competition points.

Conclusions: Injury rates in competitions such as road racing and motocross are high, and therefore additional safety measures are needed to protect competitors from injury.