Hospitalizations for cycling injuries in Canada increased by 25 per cent during the pandemic, according to data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
CIHI, a non-profit organization that tracks hospitalizations and emergency visits across the country, reported last week that between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, the overall number of injury hospitalizations dropped across Canada but hospitalizations for cycling injuries increased by more than 1,000.
According to Tanya Khan, manager of clinical administrative databases operations for CIHI, the trend occurred in all jurisdictions, across age groups and genders. The only exception was Saskatchewan, which did not see an increase in cycling-related hospitalizations.
“Although our data doesn’t capture why exactly this happened, it’s possible that some of the public health measures had an impact,” she told CBC News Tuesday.
“People still wanted to spend time outside and they may have tried new activities, like cycling, that they may not have necessarily tried in the past, and this may have resulted in the increased injuries,” Khan said.
In Alberta, hospitalizations for cycling injuries increased by 37 per cent. The province’s 813 cycling-related hospitalizations represented about 15 per cent of the total across Canada.
The data does not distinguish between patients who are transferred from one facility to another or readmitted, so the numbers don’t capture the number of people who sustained cycling injuries, just the number of visits and hospitalizations.
‘Face-first into the ground’
Brent Busch was one of thousands of Canadians who sustained a cycling injury during the pandemic.
Busch said he started cycling more frequently in 2020 to lose weight and one July morning, a vehicle driver ran into him while he was riding between sidewalks in his north Edmonton neighbourhood.
“I saw the vehicle coming, I braced for impact, and boom. Went over the handlebars, went face-first into the ground,” he said Tuesday.
Brent Busch fell on his face after a car struck his bicycle during July of 2020. His injuries, which sent him to the hospital, were minor. (Submitted by Brent Busch)
Police officers on the scene told him both he and the driver were at fault for the collision, since he had been riding on the sidewalk and the driver failed to check before proceeding through the intersection.
Paramedics took him to Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert, where he had his thumb stitched up.
Busch said he rides more carefully now. He bought a helmet immediately after getting out of the hospital and no longer rides on sidewalks.
Physiotherapists treat cycling injuries
Giri Srinivasan of InStep Physical Therapy in central Edmonton, said he noticed an increase of clients coming in with cycling injuries in July 2020.
He said many people bought new or used bikes because they were frustrated with public health measures and wanted to spend time outside.
Giri Srinivasan, a physiotherapist who owns InStep Physical Therapy in central Edmonton, says he started to notice a surge of cycling injuries in July of 2020. (Submitted by Giri Srinivasan)
He said most of his clients with cycling injuries hurt their necks, shoulders or backs, but some strained their thumbs or developed knee problems.
Srinivasan said cycling-related injury visits to his clinic remain high. He suspects beginner cyclists have become more adventurous during the past year and have started experimenting with mountain biking.
“They gained confidence and they wanted to do more,” he said.
Steven Cindric, a physiotherapist at south Edmonton’s Reach Sports Physiotherapy and Hand Clinic, said drivers’ behaviour is likely another contributor to the rise of cycling-related injuries.
“Vehicles are not necessarily observing and watching cyclists,” he said.
Of the 140 cyclists involved in an injury or fatal collision last year, nearly 70 per cent were struck by drivers while they were following the rules and had the right of way, according to the City of Edmonton.
Cindric speculated that fewer protected bike lanes in Alberta, compared to other provinces, could be one reason why Alberta saw a steeper increase in cycling injuries.
Other sports injuries
Khan, of CIHI, said there was also a nationwide increase of injuries involving all-terrain vehicles and skateboards. She said injuries related to other sports, including hockey, skiing and snowboarding, decreased.
“These were probably a result of public health measures, but we’re unable to see through the data,” she said.
MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.
Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.
The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.
But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.
After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ROME (AP) — Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci, the Italy striker who was top scorer at its home World Cup in 1990, has died. He was 59.
Schillaci had been hospitalized in Palermo following treatment for colon cancer.
The Palermo Civico hospital said in a statement that Schillacci died on Wednesday morning after being admitted 11 days ago.
Schillaci scored six goals for Italy during the 1990 World Cup. He came on as a substitute during Italy’s opener against Austria, scored in a 1-0 victory, and went on to earn the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. He only scored one other goal for Italy in his career.
Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina announced that a minute of silence would be held in memory of Schillaci before all games in the country for the rest of the week.
“The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was the symbol of shared joy, will remain forever part of Italian soccer (history),” Gravina said. “Totò was a great player, a symbol of tenacious desire and redemption. … His soccer was full of passion. And that fearless spirit made everyone appreciate him and will make him immortal.”
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award at the 1990 World Cup as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.
Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Japanese team Jubilo Iwata during his club career.
“You made an entire nation dream during the Magical Nights of Italia ’90,” Inter said on its social media channels.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final, while Italy beat England for third place with a winning penalty kick from Schillaci.
Roberto Baggio, who scored Italy’s opening goal in the third-place match, wrote on Instagram, “Ciao my dear friend.”
Having been born and raised in Palermo, the Palermo soccer team announced that it would hold a public viewing of Schillaci at its Renzo Barbera stadium ahead of the funeral, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
French soccer player Wissam Ben Yedder will stay free ahead of his trial on charges of sexual assault while intoxicated, one of his lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Marie Roumiantseva said Ben Yedder will remain under strict judicial supervision after a woman filed a lawsuit for sexual assault earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Ben Yedder, a prolific striker in the French league, was briefly detained then released after the alleged incident in his car on the French Riviera. Ben Yedder had been stopped by police after he first refused to do so. He was then put in a jail cell.
After he was summoned to appear in court on Oct. 15 and placed under judicial supervision, the Nice prosecutor’s office appealed the decision not to remand the player in custody. The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence did not grant this request and kept Ben Yedder under judicial supervision.
Ben Yedder attended a hearing Tuesday during which he offered to go to rehab. He has admitted he drove while under the influence of alcohol but has denied any sexual assault.
In a separate legal case last year, Ben Yedder was charged with “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” over another alleged incident in the south of France.
Ben Yedder has been without a club since his contract with Monaco expired at the end of last season.
