Longitudinal studies of rodeo injuries are rare. We prospectively investigated injuries in professional rodeo in Canada over a 5-year period. Our specific interests included injury incidence density in specific rodeo events, risk factors such as past injury, and the incidence of head injury. Of 323 professional rodeos from 1995 through 1999, 63 rodeos provided a convenience sample. These rodeos were selected because the Canadian Professional Rodeo Sport Medicine Team was in attendance at these events, thus providing both competitor health care and data collection. Four hundred fifty-one injuries were reported during 30,564 competitor-exposures. The greatest injury frequency and injury incidence density were in the rough stock events (bull riding, bareback riding, and saddle bronc). Bull riding accounted for the greatest injury frequency (141) and incidence density (32.2 injuries per 1000 competitor-exposures). Bull riding had a relative injury risk of 1.32 when compared with bareback riding; bareback riding had a relative injury risk of 1.39 when compared with saddle bronc riding. Concussions accounted for 8.6% of all reported injuries. Concussions and other head injuries (65) were second only to knee injuries (76) in frequency of injury to specific body parts. This concussion frequency is higher than has previously been reported.

Coloured microspheres were used to determine standardized blood flow in an established model of medial collateral ligament injury in the adult rabbit knee. Resting blood flow in the ligament was ascertained to be on the order of 0.68 +/- 0.08 ml/min/100 g (mean +/- SEM) in normal rabbit knees, although errors in flow estimates of this magnitude may be quite high. In healing medial collateral ligament, however, flow had increased markedly 3 weeks after injury (21.45 +/- 5.48 ml/min/100 g). Flows in sham-operated control medial collateral ligaments were not significantly increased compared with those in control normal ligaments. Six weeks after injury, blood flow in the ligament remained elevated (16.90 +/- 3.20 ml/min/100 g) and was similarly elevated in other neighbouring joint tissues (i.e., ipsilateral synovial fat pad). The increase in flow to ipsilateral noninjured articular tissues did not persist beyond 6 weeks, but flow in the healing medial collateral ligament scar tended to remain elevated after 17 weeks (4.20 +/- 1.79 ml/min/100 g), although this did not achieve statistical significance. We conclude from these data that it is possible to measure the increase in blood flow in injured and healing articular tissues using the coloured microspheres technique and that ligament injury is a potent stimulus for increasing blood flow. Coloured microsphere measurements of blood flow to joint connective tissues may offer a valuable approach to future investigations of joint injury and arthritis.

Inexperienced competitors in rodeo rough stock events do not have increased rates of severe injury, or of injury to specific body parts (in general). Inexperienced competitors do have a greater rate of injury to the arm, hand, and wrist. The relative risk of BSR is one-half the risk of BR.

Thoracic compression mechanisms of injury are most pervasive and likely to be fatal in rodeo and bull riding. It is unknown whether rodeo protective vests have a protective effect in reducing catastrophic and fatal injuries. On the contrary, helmet use in bull riding and rodeo events seems to have a protective effect in reducing both catastrophic injury and fatality.

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