4 ways to avoid injury from falling onto a mountain bike

Every mountain biker takes risks in their favorite sport. And the return of an injured person from a hike is not the best way to fully enjoy classes.

However, while falling is a common hazard for ATVs, there are methods to reduce the risk of injury.

Here are four very simple tips that anyone can apply to reduce the risk of injury from a fall.

Build muscle mass

Of course, building muscle strength isn't as motivating as riding an ATV through the woods.

However, regular maintenance of muscle strength is a guarantee of peace of mind when mountain biking: it helps to ensure better balance and gives the biker better control of their bike.

Strengthening muscles by increasing muscle volume helps protect the skeleton in the event of a fall and thus reduces the risk of fractures.

There is no question of becoming a bodybuilder to achieve this result, but MTB oriented bodybuilding classes would be welcome.

Find 8 muscle building exercises for mountain biking.

Learn to fall

Nobody likes to fall and get hurt.

On a mountain bike, the likelihood of falling is still quite high, and when it does, how you handle the fall can be critical.

In general, the first thing to learn is not to strain. We must remain flexible. Yes, it's illogical, and easier said than done; relaxing the body during impact will allow better shock absorption and not transfer all the energy to the bones and potentially cause a fracture (better to have a large hematoma than a large hematoma AND a fracture).

The Mountain Bikers Fundation campaign summarizes the Do's and Don'ts in the event of a fall:

Stay in your comfort zone

Every mountain bike trail has impressive stretches, technical stretches where you don't feel like you, where you pass more thanks to luck than technology.

Often times, even when you force yourself to take the exam, the results are not very good.

Whatever the reason that pushes you, your exit partners, or just your ego, we do not allow you to be sucked into the spiral that will necessarily lead you to fall.

If you don't, you are nothing. Remember mountain biking should be fun.

If you want to progress, do it at your own pace, on a progress curve that suits YOU (and not the other mountain bikers you ride with).

Ride with protection

None of the amateur mountain bikers question their interest in wearing a helmet anymore (thankfully!)

Guards do not prevent injuries, but help reduce the severity of injuries.

In addition to a helmet and gloves, remember to at least protect your elbows and knees if you know you are going to take a technical course.

If you are mountain biking (enduro, DH), a vest with back protection and shorts with protection are suitable for you. Required widely welcomed in case of an accident.

Manufacturers are more and more ingenious in producing products that protect well and are less and less annoying (good ventilation, lightweight materials, flexible protectors with excellent absorbency).

You can read our article: Ideal Back Protectors for Mountain Biking.

There is no such thing as zero risk

The risk of falls and injury is present every time you board the ATV.

You have to accept it. Here's how.

But like any risk management, it is a combination of the likelihood and the impact when it happens.

In the case of mountain biking, the probability of falling is inherent in practice: as we know, it is high.

It remains to reduce the impact, and this can be done by following all the recommendations of this article.