Injuries, training and driving technique of competitive mountain-bikers]

Introduction: There are only a few studies about mountain-biking. These give a statistical review of injuries in recreational sports - sometimes related to competition sports. This study was performed to evaluate injuries, training and driving style of professional cross-country-mountain-biker. Methods: 49 professional mountain-bikers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were interviewed retrospectively by standardised questionnaire. Results: Most commonly the cervical spine and knee (each with 25.7%) as well as the lumbar spine (22.8%) are affected by recurrent disorders (n = 101). These disorders are more common in the pre-season and at the end of the season. The most common fracture is the clavicula fracture (n = 15). Ligament and tendon injuries are less frequent (n = 3). Most drivers choose jogging and cross-country for compensation and stretching and massage for regeneration. A regular training for trunk strength accomplish 27 of 49 drivers. Most drivers accomplish a specific strength training in the pre-season, some drivers practise also during the season. Discussion: Recurrent disorders in the cervical and lumbar spine and the knee are the most common disorders in competitive mountainbikers. Trunk training should be emphasised. Further research is needed to improve driving technique to account for the reported disorders of the musculoskeletal system.