In a prior post, I addressed the risk surrounding all-terrain vehicles, otherwise known as ATVs. These recreational vehicles are often known to flip over and can cause spinal injury from impact, as well as other injuries including suffocation from the weight of the vehicle. ATV’s can weigh over 500 pounds.  In the prior blog post  I discussed the danger children and adolescents face when riding these motorized vehicles, but it is important to recognize that there is a high risk of injury for ATV riders of all ages. Earlier this month, six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen was thrown from her ATV after hitting a curb and flying over a five-to-seven foot embankment while out riding with her husband in Arizona. The 41-year-old, an avid and experienced ATV rider, injured her spinal cord at the T-11 vertebrae, causing paralysis. The broken vertebra compressed the spinal cord, causing injury. On June 7, she underwent a six-hour fusion surgery, in which rods were placed in her back. Fortunately, Van Dyken-Rouen escaped head injury even though she was not wearing a helmet. The Olympic champion has no memory of the accident and is currently in good spirits at a rehabilitation center in