Spinal cord injuries among paragliders in Norway

Department of Physical Medicine, St Olav Hospital, Trondheim, NorwayStudy design: A national retrospective descriptive study.Objective: To study the clinical effects of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) caused by paragliding accidents inNorway.Setting: Spinal cord units at Haukeland University Hospital, Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital andSt Olav Hospital in Norway.Methods: We studied the medical files for nine patients with SCI caused by paragliding accidents toevaluate the circumstances of the accidents, and clinical effects of injury. We obtained the data fromhospital patient files at all three spinal units in Norway and crosschecked them through the NorwegianParagliding Association’s voluntary registry for injuries.Results: All patients were hospitalized from 1997 to 2006, eight men and one woman, with mean age30.7 years. The causes of the accidents were landing problems combined with unexpected wind whirls,technical problems and limited experience with unexpected events. All patients contracted fractures inthe thoracolumbal junction of the spine, most commonly at the L1 level. At clinical follow-up, allpatients presented clinically incomplete SCI (American Spinal Injury Association impairment scoresB–D). Their main health problems differed widely, ranging from urinary and sexual disturbances toneuropathic pain and loss of motor functioning. Only three patients returned to full-time employmentafter rehabilitation.Conclusion: Paragliding accidents cause spinal fractures predominantly in the thoracolumbal junctionwith subsequent SCIs and increased morbidity. All patients experienced permanent health problemsthat influenced daily activities and required long-time clinical follow-up and medical intervention. Bettereducation in landing techniques and understanding of aerodynamics may reduce the risk of paraglidingaccidents.