Bilateral femur fractures are most often associated with which type of motorcycle crash?

Prepare for the Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) exam. Access diverse quizzes and multiple-choice questions, each with hints and comprehensive explanations. Enhance your readiness and confidence for the PHTLS certification exam!

Multiple Choice

Bilateral femur fractures are most often associated with which type of motorcycle crash?

In motorcycle crashes, the injury pattern follows the force direction and how energy is transferred to the body. Bilateral femur fractures come from a high-energy crush loading that acts on both legs at the same time. In a head-on crash, the rider experiences abrupt, severe deceleration and the legs are often driven into the bike’s front end, the frame, or the ground, loading both femurs simultaneously with axial compression and bending. This simultaneous loading makes fractures of both thighs the classic pattern for this mechanism. Other crash types tend to load one leg more than the other or produce different injury patterns, so they’re less likely to cause bilateral femur fractures.

In motorcycle crashes, the injury pattern follows the force direction and how energy is transferred to the body. Bilateral femur fractures come from a high-energy crush loading that acts on both legs at the same time. In a head-on crash, the rider experiences abrupt, severe deceleration and the legs are often driven into the bike’s front end, the frame, or the ground, loading both femurs simultaneously with axial compression and bending. This simultaneous loading makes fractures of both thighs the classic pattern for this mechanism. Other crash types tend to load one leg more than the other or produce different injury patterns, so they’re less likely to cause bilateral femur fractures.

More practice questions