Injury Prevention in Figure Skating
by Ellen Geminiani, M.D. F
igure skating has evolved into a popular sport that combines the highest level of athleticism and artistry. Skaters of all ages and levels of ability pursue various disciplines of
singles, pairs, ice dance, synchronized and theatre on ice. Like all athletes, skaters are subject to injuries. Acute injuries
result from a sudden fall or trauma causing sprains, fractures, lacerations or concussions. Mastery of skating requires continual practice of skills, which can lead to overuse injuries. Te repetitive stress on the tissues without adequate recovery time between physical stressors can cause chronic sprains, strains or stress fractures. Overuse injuries account for more than 50 percent of figure skating injuries. Determining the proper balance of training stress and
recovery for the tissues is essential to injury prevention, but it is also extremely challenging. Numerous factors, some modifiable and others not, can influence establishing that balance. Components that are not modifiable include gender, anatomic alignment, joint mobility and rate and timing of growth and maturation. Although these factors are fixed, recognizing how they will affect stress on tissues during training is important.
Growth Spurt Precautions
Some individuals are born with very loose ligament connections around the joints. Tis allows greater movement at the joints, which is often considered advantageous in achieving more extreme positions in sports like figure skating. Unfortunately, excessive movement at a joint can cause damage and destruction of the joint cartilage or growth plates. Tis becomes a greater problem during the growth spurt
Coaches play a central role in injury prevention through careful assessment of the individual skater. Teaching development of sound skating skills, edges, control and stability is the foundation to prevent injury.
when bone lengthens at a drastically faster rate than the muscle and/or tendon structures, creating a loss of flexibility of the joint movement. In order to achieve the desired extreme positions, the body will compensate for the loss of flexibility by using other structures including the loose joints if present. Repetitive shifting of the hypermobile joint can cause damage to the joint structures, especially in the skeletally immature athlete. Te growth spurt is a normal physiologic process that is
genetically determined and can’t be altered. Te growth spurt, lasting about 24 to 36 months, begins at approximately age 9 to 10 for girls and age 11 to 12 for boys. For some it’s a slow steady rate of growth and for others, a very rapid rate. Tis often creates significant changes in strength and flexibility that can lead to overuse injury. Coaches may notice subtle changes as skaters start to struggle with skills, losing technical proficiency and just seeming less comfortable with their bodies. Parents can help by advising coaches when growth is noted at home or at medical check-ups.
18 ISI EDGE SPRING 2016
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