Foot-launched flying injuries: Hang gliding, paragliding, powered paragliding, and powered hang gliding

Abstract

The term foot-launched flying covers a number of sports, including hang gliding, paragliding, powered paragliding, and powered hang-gliding. The medical literature on injuries in these sports is scarce and fragmented, and these activities are often generically grouped together despite their differences in types of flight, equipment, and conditions of practice. Instead, these sports should probably be considered as sharply distinct due to their different injury dynamics and patterns. Most of the injury events in powered paragliding occur during takeoff, while in paragliding and hang-gliding they mainly occur during landing. In motorized sports, weather conditions seem to be implicated less often as a cause of incidents. Rather the engine and its thrust may be their primary cause, or may aggravate the outcome. In hang-gliding, the pilot stays in a prone position, while in paragliding the harness offers support in both standing and sitting positions. As a result, injuries to the head, the upper limbs, and cervical spine are more common in hang-gliding, while injuries to the ankle and thoracolumbar spine are more common in paragliding. Serious hand lesions caused by contact with the engine prop are specific to powered paragliding, while the head and face seem frequently affected by injuries in powered hang-gliding. These differences lead experts to believe that foot-launched flying sports should be considered separately in future studies.