We’ve all seen the blooper reel videos depicting all manner of sporting accidents and amateur stunts gone horribly wrong.  Well, it appears that one such video will actually be doing some good for a change!

Research scientist secured a copy of a video depicting a man attempting (unsuccessfully) to perform a bicycle stunt in which he sustained serious facial fractures.  The video reportedly showed the man accelerating down a slight hill and riding across a plank.  Unfortunately for him, his tire caught the edge of the wooden dock, causing him to be thrown over the bars and strike his face.  The camera angles and the other data captured by the video permitted the researchers a unique opportunity to accurately analyze the forces which were applied to the man’s face in the crash.  The researchers reportedly performed a frame-by-frame analysis of the cyclist’s videotaped crash to estimate the traumatic forces which were involved in causing his actual facial fractures.  Given the angles of impact, speed, etc., the researchers calculated that a force of over 400 pounds was applied to the cyclists face upon impact.

Researchers were excited by the opportunity to analyze this particular crash, as the mechanism of injury suffered by this cyclist are relatively common in the real world when cyclists are thrown over the bars.  They emphasized that the patient involved was not wearing a helmet, and stated “Our analysis can be considered further impetus for the promotion of helmet-wearing by all bicycle riders to avoid serious complications of accidents including facial bone fractures.”

The study will appear in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.