What to Do After a Bike Fall: Bike Accident Injury Treatment

Knowing what to do after a bike fall and how to approach bike accident injury treatment can be the difference between nursing a long-term injury, and getting right back to biking. If you have been in a bike accident and hit your head, broke a bone, or sustained painful lacerations of any sort, call 911 or seek medical attention immediately.

Although biking carries many health benefits and is a great hobby and mode of transport, you should not hit the road without knowing what to do after a bike accident.  

What should you do after a bike fall?

If after falling off of your bike you are having trouble seeing, or moving any part of your body, call an ambulance immediately — and do not try to get back on your bike. If everything is working properly and you are thinking clearly, get to a safe place and access your injuries. 

Step 1: Take a breather

Adrenaline can run high after a bike fall. Take a moment to slow things down, and make sure there aren’t any injuries that you haven’t noticed. Have some water and wait for your breathing and heart rate to normalize.

Step 2: Administer first aid

First aid after a bike accident can mean bandaging a fresh scrape or just checking that all of your limbs still move like they are supposed to. Either way, once you have slowed things down you will need to do some inventory. Check that your arms and legs move around without pain. If nothing is broken, try standing up slowly and seeing how you feel. If you have any symptoms of broken bones do not try to stand up — instead, call for help if you need it or get an ambulance en route.

Step 3: Check the important things

Take a moment to make sure that your helmet is intact. If your helmet is cracked or dented, it could be a sign that you have a concussion and should stay put. If you are at all disoriented or dizzy, do not attempt to ride away from your fall. If you experienced any loss of consciousness (no matter how short), seek medical attention. You can treat many bodily injuries after the fact, but head injuries should be addressed immediately and with particular care. 

What injuries can you get after falling off a bike?

Some bike fall injuries will be more apparent than others immediately following the crash. Things like severe lower back pain can develop if minor injuries are left untreated, so pay close attention to how your body feels after a crash. Some common injuries from bike falls are:

• Road rash, or abrasions and lacerations on the skin
• Bone fractures
• Bone breaks
• Musculoskeletal dislocations (Keep reading: When to see a doctor for knee pain)
• Dental fractures
• Concussions

Among these more common injuries are also the possibility of skull fractures, internal ruptures, and internal bleeding but smaller injuries can also be more serious than they appear. Lacerations can get infected and cause complications if signs of infected cuts aren’t noted right away, and mild concussions can turn into serious brain damage. This is why seeking medical attention can be crucial for your recovery process.

Should I go to the hospital after falling off my bike?

It can be difficult to tell the seriousness of the injuries you sustained immediately following a bike fall, so the best thing to do is to play it safe. If you hit your head, broke a bone, or sustained painful lacerations of any sort, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. 

Even if you didn’t sustain serious injuries you may still want to consider consulting a professional. Recovering from a bike crash, whether it was a bicycle or motorcycle, can be made much more difficult if you don’t properly treat your injuries. 

We hate to see patients show up months after the fact, still in pain, and ask “Can you fracture your hip and not know it?” The answer is yes! To avoid causing yourself even more pain and suffering, be mindful of what your body is telling you in the immediate aftermath of a bike fall. 

Bike safety tips: how to not fall off your bike again

The best thing to do after falling off your bike is to not do it again. Here are some things you can do to reduce your risk of getting hurt and falling off in the first place:

• Wear a helmet that is up to CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) standards
• Stop at all pertinent signage 
• Practice active signal communication with other drivers, riders, and pedestrians
• Check for traffic before turning
• Ride with the flow of traffic
• Avoid obstructions in the road

You can’t control all of the dangers on the road, so having a plan in place in the event of a bike fall is extremely important.

Come to a Complete Care 24/7 ER to get help after a bike fall

Now that you know what to do after a bike fall, you can hopefully put together a plan of action for what to do should it, unfortunately, happen again. If you have fallen off of your bike and need bike accident injury treatment, head to a Complete Care emergency room near you. 

Complete Care has 24/7 hospital care that doesn’t come with the wait times in your average ER. 

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