News & Announcements

Electronic bicycles (e-bikes) have surged in popularity in the United States in recent years. As e-bike use has increased, so have associated accidents and injuries, particularly among children and teenagers.

A study from Rady Children’s Hospital / University of California San Diego, presented at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, reported that youth are experiencing a growing number of severe orthopaedic injuries related to e-bike usage, highlighting the need for community-based e-bike safety strategies.

In the fast-growing micromobility market, e-bikes have emerged as a convenient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly transportation option. However, because e-bikes reach higher speeds up to 28 mph and do not require a license to operate, there is a greater risk of high-energy collisions involving riders, cars and pedestrians.

Rising Number of Injuries

Between 2019 and 2023, the number of e-bike accidents involving children in San Diego rose by over 300%. These accidents have resulted in a dramatic increase in serious orthopaedic injuries, including extremity trauma and fractures, in young people using e-bikes.

“In a short period of time, we have seen a significant number of micromobility-related trauma activations among children and adolescents, and these types of orthopaedic injuries typically require surgery, hospital stays and rehabilitation,” said Rachel Mednick Thompson, MD, orthopaedic surgeon at Rady Children’s Hospital / University of California San Diego.

“While we know e-bike accidents can result in more extreme injuries for kids, especially those who lack experience operating them, there has been a paucity of data focused specifically on orthopaedic injuries associated with e-bikes in this patient population. Our findings underscore the need for community-wide strategies for injury prevention, regulation and education on e-bike use.”

Study Highlights

Although previous studies have confirmed that e-bike-related accidents among young people often result in higher rates of concussions and internal injuries, the study presented at the AAOS Annual Meeting looked at rising orthopaedic injuries associated with e-bikes among pediatric and adolescent patients under 18.

The researchers conducted a retrospective review of 338 e-bike and pedal-bike trauma activations at a single pediatric Level 1 trauma center in San Diego between 2017 and 2023. Patients were grouped by their mode of micromobility, and the research team evaluated factors such as demographics, mechanism of injury, helmet use, ICU admission and socioeconomic background. They found the following:

• Over the study period, e-bikes were increasingly responsible for trauma activations, jumping from only 2% in 2017 to 64% in 2023.
• Patients in e-bike accidents were more likely to sustain extremity injuries (odds ratio [OR] = 4.2; P< 0.001), including more fractures (0.6 vs 0.2 fractures, P< 0.001), than patients involved in pedal-bike accidents.
• Patients in e-bike accidents were more likely to be older (12.6 vs. 10.3 years; P< 0.001) and more likely to have more socioeconomic advantage (based on ADI state quartile) (1.7 vs. 2.8; P< 0.001) than those involved in pedal bike accidents.
• Patients in pedal bike accidents were less likely to be wearing a helmet (OR = 3.0; P< 0.001) and more likely to sustain head injuries (OR = 2.4; P< 0.001) compared with patients in e-bike accidents.

What’s Next?

“The micromobility market is expected to grow exponentially in the next few years. Our research team is hopeful that communities will recognize the public health risk that e-bikes and other forms of alternative transportation now present and start having meaningful conversations about safety,” Dr. Thompson said.

“Are there better ways to regulate micromobility? Should a license be required to operate an e-bike? Are age limits worth considering? These are all important questions that legislators and community leaders should consider as they move forward,” she continued.

“There are practical steps that all communities can take immediately, in partnership with pediatricians, school systems and families, to better protect youth and reduce the number of micromobility-related accidents.”

Source

Tran A, Ghetti CB, Tran-Heflinger M, Ho T, Steele A, Nielson ED, Bomar JD, Garcia Cabrera CR, Ignaciao RC, Souder CD, Schmitz MR, Mednick Thompson RE. E-Bike Orthopaedic Injuries Amongst Pediatric and Adolescent Patients at a Level I Trauma Center. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, March 2-6, 2026, New Orleans, Louisiana.