Stress Fractures in Figure Skating

[sisinka]

Evgenia Medvedeva was already mentioned with stress fracture of her right foot.

Article from April 2025 reveals that she had another ones. Thanks @Zora for the link.

Evgenia Medvedeva: “After 2018 Olympics I had three fractures in the lower spine and a serious stage of osteoporosis. I was told, ‘These are the kind of bones elderly women have at 85 years old.”

Evgenia Medvedeva about her injuries.

fs-gossips.com

- “…after the Olympics (2018), I went to Germany because of a fracture in my right leg.“

- “… It showed that I had three fractures in the lower spine and a serious stage of osteoporosis…The osteoporosis was severe. I was told, ‘These are the kind of bones elderly women have at 85 years old.“

- “…What caused the osteoporosis? It was due to malnutrition and intense physical exertion — let’s not forget that heavy physical activity depletes vitamins and minerals stored in the muscles. When there’s none left in the muscles, the body starts taking them from the bones. So I ate too little, worked too hard, and experienced a lot of stress. Additionally, I might have a genetic predisposition — I was born with a weak constitution. “

The commentary below the article mentions that lost period from low estrogen level (from malnutrition) is another factor which leads to osteoporosis.

 

[sisinka]

Osteoporosis

Few known facts about this disease were described in Eating Disorders Thread:

...
OSTEOPOROSIS

- is metabolic bone disease which leads to lower bone density and lower bone mass

= bones are more fragile and more prone to fracture

...

How about OSTEOPOROSIS and prolonged healing of the fracture?

The effect of osteoporosis and its treatment on fracture healing a systematic review of animal and clinical studies - PMC

Osteoporosis is characterised by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone structure. Its treatment is directed at the processes of bone formation or resorption, that are of utmost importance in fracture healing. We provide a ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

- scientific review from 2021

- some studies support the idea that osteoporosis is risk factor for "non-union of the fracture", some studies does not support this
- one study found "a prolonged healing time in patients with osteoporosis"

Advancement in the Treatment of Osteoporosis and the Effects on Bone Healing - PMC

Osteoporosis (OP) is a major global health concern, with aging being one of the most important risk factors. Osteoarthritis (OA) is also an age-related disorder. Patients with OP and/or OA may be treated surgically for fractures or when their ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

- science article from 2022

- "...The fracture healing of osteoporotic bone proceeds through the same phases as normal bone but the healing process may be prolonged and complicated by a reduction in the number of mesenchymal cells and angiogenesis..."

Being more prone to fracture and having prolonged fracture healing is something what we don't want to witness, definitely.

There is another factor as well which may lead to increase danger of osteoporosis - certain medicaments.
Few examples:

- glucocorticoids (long-term use) - anti-inflammatory medication, used for treatment in many diseases asthma and artritis including

- proton pump inhibitors - for treatment of acid-related diseases, for example reflux

More often when glucocorticoids are used, proton pump inhibitors are prescribed as well to protect patient from ulcer.

- certain contraception (long-term use)

- certain anti-seizure medication.

 

[sisinka]

Rika Kihira's history with stress fracture was described in past post:

Rika Kihira's injury update.

- "...Rika withdrew from the 2021–22 Japan Championships due to a talus stress fracture in her right foot, first discovered in July 2021..." (Wikipedia)

“The fracture line has become much thinner. But honestly, it’s scary that this line is still there…” Rika Kihira about her injury

Rika Kihira about her injury and plans for the future.

fs-gossips.com

- "...In the 2021-2022 season, she missed all competitions due to injuries, including a right ankle injury. Her long-standing goal of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics ended up as a disappointment.

...In the 2022-2023 season, she participated in the Grand Prix series and the Japanese Nationals, but her injury was not fully healed, leading to unsatisfactory results.

...Amidst all this, on the June 29th 2023, she updated her Instagram and shared an X-ray image of her right ankle. She wrote, “It still looks intense in the photo… The fracture line has become much thinner. But honestly, it’s scary that this line is still there…” She further revealed, “Actually, it worsened again at last year’s Nationals…”

“There may be some tough moments ahead this year, but I’ll try my best to stay positive.” Rika Kihira will miss the entire 2023/24 season

Rika Kihira will miss the entire 2023/2024 season.

fs-gossips.com

- "...On the 28th (September 2023), through the Japan Skating Federation, she announced her withdrawal from the second event of this season’s Grand Prix (GP) Series, Skate Canada (Vancouver) in October. Her right ankle stress fracture, which has been troubling her for some time, has not completely healed. She had previously announced her withdrawal from the Chubu Championships earlier this month..."

She missed whole 2023-24 season.

------------

News from Rika's Instagram post (September 18th 2024).

“The fatigue fracture is almost healed, and I have been able to resume daily ice training. However, the doctor has advised that I’m still not in a condition to perform fully without worry.” Rika Kihira taking a break for the season

Rika Kihira announced she will take a break for the entire season.

fs-gossips.com

- "...I was entered in the Chubu Championship starting on September 21 (2024), but I have decided to withdraw.

The fatigue fracture in my right talus is almost completely healed, and I have been able to resume daily ice training. However, based on the latest MRI results and my own feelings, the doctor has advised that I am still not in a condition to perform fully without worry.

After much consideration on whether I should rush my recovery, and consulting with my coach Brian, I have come to this decision.

I will continue to train, work out, and undergo treatment within a range that does not strain my injury. I am committed to improving my skills and fully recovering from my injury, and I look forward to the day I can skate freely and confidently in front of everyone without any worries. I will continue to work hard every day.

Although I will not be competing this season, I am truly grateful for the support and encouragement I have received, both past and present. I appreciate your continued warm support.”

------

I find it very wise to concentrate on full recovery. I also think that Rika's example may help other skaters to rethink their training approach and strategy for dealing with injuries. Overall it would be positive if more skaters would be open about their injuries like Rika was, it could help to show the real danger of overused injuries. And such example could lead to better understanding and better prevention.

I wish Rika full recovery and safe return on competive ice!

Her current preparation is still influenced by previous injury.

Rika Kihira: “While I’m still unable to practice jumps that put significant strain on my body, I’ve been working on full run-throughs of various programs instead.”

Rika Kihira shares current condition as she aims for a full comeback from injury.

fs-gossips.com

On May 12 2025, Kihira updated her followers on Instagram, posting a video capturing her recent practice sessions. “This is from the latter part of choreography leading into steps after a run-through of the program. (There are some parts that don’t yet comply with the new rules.) While I’m still unable to practice jumps that put significant strain on my body, I’ve been working on full run-throughs of various programs instead. I’m still in the rehabilitation phase, but I also wanted to share how I’m currently training, so I decided to post this.”

 

[sisinka]

Last year some users described in detail injuries of few skaters:
- Yuma Kagiyama - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/stress-fractures-in-figure-skating.98339/post-3285985

- Sota Yamamoto - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/stress-fractures-in-figure-skating.98339/post-3286055

- Alexey Erokhov - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/stress-fractures-in-figure-skating.98339/post-3286073

Do we have some news from @surimi and @figureskatingandrainbows about Sota and Yuma? Are they healthy? And @CrazyKittenLady about Alexey - I read he retired (at the age of 24)?

 

[surimi]

Do we have some news from @surimi and @figureskatingandrainbows about Sota and Yuma? Are they healthy? And @CrazyKittenLady about Alexey - I read he retired (at the age of 24)?

As far as Sota is concerned, he appears to be in good health, ankle-wise. He's practicing the 4F, has recently landed a 4F-3T for the first time, and plans a 4-quad free program, much to my worry and displeasure (because we've seen what happened to Erokhov, and I presume it was his injuries that led him to retire, as well as the hardest quads, of which he had one, IIRC) He has a chronic shoulder injury that is in need of a surgery, but he apparently refuses to do anything about it with the Olympics coming up. *grumble* But that's not related to his ankle fracture.

I don't know if she's on your list, but Kinayu Yokoi also had a stress fracture of her ankle, and she said her former rinkmate Sota's successful recovery was inspiring for her. I can look up the article if anyone's interested.

 

[sisinka]

As far as Sota is concerned, he appears to be in good health, ankle-wise. He's practicing the 4F, has recently landed a 4F-3T for the first time, and plans a 4-quad free program, much to my worry and displeasure (because we've seen what happened to Erokhov, and I presume it was his injuries that led him to retire, as well as the hardest quads, of which he had one, IIRC) He has a chronic shoulder injury that is in need of a surgery, but he apparently refuses to do anything about it with the Olympics coming up. *grumble* But that's not related to his ankle fracture.

Thank you for sharing. I hope he will be OK with this quad concept.

I don't know if she's on your list, but Kinayu Yokoi also had a stress fracture of her ankle, and she said her former rinkmate Sota's successful recovery was inspiring for her. I can look up the article if anyone's interested.

I don't have her name in the list.
If you post article, it will be great. I will include her. If the time of fracture is known, even better. And her birthday. Thank you!

Here is the list of all single skaters with fractures. If you know about somebody else, please, write it.

SINGLE LADIES

SINGLE MEN

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Last year some users described in detail injuries of few skaters:
- Yuma Kagiyama - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/stress-fractures-in-figure-skating.98339/post-3285985

- Sota Yamamoto - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/stress-fractures-in-figure-skating.98339/post-3286055

- Alexey Erokhov - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/stress-fractures-in-figure-skating.98339/post-3286073

Do we have some news from @surimi and @figureskatingandrainbows about Sota and Yuma? Are they healthy? And @CrazyKittenLady about Alexey - I read he retired (at the age of 24)?

Last I heard, the stress fracture seems to not be causing Yuma any problems, although he hasn't done a ton of media interviews during the off-season.

 

[sisinka]

Another two skaters from US having stress fractures in past:

Natalie Warren:
- "...Natalie’s scores earlier this year earned her a spot in the 2024 Excel National Festival July 11-14 at the Skating Club of Boston.

Unfortunately, just before the competition, an injury she’s been dealing with flared up. Being on the ice up to five days a week for 1-2 hours a day has caused Natalie to hyperextend her back and she has a stress fracture in one of her vertebrae.

She took six weeks off after the initial diagnosis to rest and recover, but the injury will be something she will have to deal with for the foreseeable future..."
(https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/s...talie-warren-battles-through-injury-in-boston )


Brynn Roberts:
- lower leg stress fracture in August 2024
(https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_OC8T6vI0-/?igsh=MXFqazM5dDRiMmMwaw== )

Ladies were added to the list.

SINGLE LADIES

 

[sisinka]

- Sofja Stepcenko - "...When I was 14, my left hip started to hurt. ...Only after three months, I did the MRI, and they found a stress fracture in the hip...After one month, I started to jump and I started to have the pain again......From August until December [2021], I was really thinking I was crazy. My first two junior Grand Prix events, I was competing with a stress fracture, and then in December, I decided to go to the doctor, and they told me, ‘You have a stress fracture with necrosis inside of your bone, and half of your hamstrings are broken..!" ( https://anythinggoe.com/latvian-skaters-speak-about-abuse/)

I will write more about Sofja Stepcenko in Eating Disorders Thread in future.

She is added into list of ladies with stress fractures.
SINGLE LADIES

 

[sisinka]

In 2024 I posted datas with fractures per time of the year:

I looked at list of men with stress fractures and organized the fractures based on months of the year.

It could not be precise as stress fractures may be diagnosed later then happened.

I think that for top skaters the peak of their training intensity is during summer. When competitions start, training loads are decreasing in comparison with summer, in my opinion. Loads may increase before big competitions again, but probably not in such length as during summer.

SINGLE MEN

- 29 skaters, 41 fractures
(Alexander Majorov and Daichi Miyata with 2 fractures, Ilia Malinin, Sota Yamamoto, Alexey Erokhov, Michael Weiss and Evan Lysacek with 3 fractures)

- 9 fractures with unknown date
- during summer - 8 fractures
- during fall - 9 fractures
- during winter - 7 fractures
- in March - 6 fractures
- in April - 1 fracture
- in May - 1 fracture

Summer with high intensity training as a preparation for next season. (Season starts with competitions in summer, but many top skaters concentrate on Challengers / Grand Prix since September / October.)

Stress fractures in winter - all 7 happened in December / January, all men were from US or Canada. Timing is BEFORE their National Championships when the skaters could supposedly increase the training load. Evan Lysacek's stress fracture was mentioned in the middle of December during Grand Prix Final.

March is the time of final preparation for Junior and Senior World Championships.

It is just a small sample of skaters with this injury, all of them being top skaters. Peaks of training loads may be different for skaters not participating at Grand Prix and European / 4 Continents / World Championships.

Since that time I found few more male skaters to have stress fractures being mentioned oficially.

Ryan Dunk - December
Elvis Stojko - February
Kurt Browning - October

It increases the numbers:
- MEN having 44 fractures with known dates

- 9 fractures with unknown date
- summer (from June to August) - 8 fractures
- fall (from September to November) - 10 fractures
- winter (from December to February) - 9 fractures
- March - 6 fractures
- April - 1 fracture
- May - 1 fracture


LOOKING AT LADIES FRACTURES PER DATE:

- more than 108 fractures...
- LADIES having 80 fractures with known time of the year

Based on Internet sources fractures per time of the year:
- summer (from June to August) - 25 stress fractures
- fall (from September to November) - 24 stress fractures
- winter (from December to February) - 22 stress fractures
- spring (from March to May) - 9 stress fractures

 

[sisinka]

I am writing the post above because Olympics are behind the door. And the wish to show the best quality performance at the Olympic event may lead to overtraining....which may result in injury stress fracture including.

Especially if some pre-Olympic preparation includes food restriction.

So, please, be careful. I think I can speak for all figure skating lovers...We want to see all skaters being healthy, both mentally and physically!

 

[sisinka]

Good article from Boston Children's Hospital with stress fracture's characterization.

Stress Fractures | Boston Children's Hospital

A stress fracture is a tiny crack that forms in a bone, usually as a result of overuse or repetitive, stress-bearing motions. Learn more from Boston

www.childrenshospital.org

What is a stress fracture?

A stress fracture is a tiny crack that forms in the bone, usually as a result of overuse or repetitive, stress-bearing motions...

What mistakes lead to injury?

- A runner’s form, everything from how they land on their feet to the angles of their ankles, knees, and hips...

My note - in figure skating jumping technique is very important - landing force especially - landings in triple jumps are around 5 to 10G - force (from Alexei Mishin's book). The worse jumping technique is the bigger landing force is working on skater's body. Rehab note - flat feet are absorbing landing force worse - bones are under bigger pressure.

- Training too hard without proper conditioning increases an athlete’s risk of developing a stress fracture. When the athlete’s muscles become overly tired and can no longer absorb the impact of training or competition, the stress is transferred to the bones.

- Other risk factors include....Eating disorders...

What are the symptoms of a stress fracture?

- The most common symptoms of a stress fracture are pain and inflammation around the injured area.

How are stress fractures diagnosed?

...X-rays ... But because some stress fractures can’t be seen on X-ray, the clinician may also use an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or CT scan...

How are stress fractures treated?

- The primary therapy for most stress fractures is simply to rest the injured foot or leg...
- Your child’s doctor may recommend “R.I.C.E.” (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), as well as medications to help control pain and swelling...
- Most kids with stress fractures can return to sports and regular activities after several weeks or months of rest and healing...

 

[Mathman]

In 2024 I posted datas with fractures per time of the year:



Since that time I found few more male skaters to have stress fractures being mentioned oficially.

Ryan Dunk - December
Elvis Stojko - February
Kurt Browning - October

It increases the numbers:
- MEN having 44 fractures with known dates

- 9 fractures with unknown date
- summer (from June to August) - 8 fractures
- fall (from September to November) - 10 fractures
- winter (from December to February) - 9 fractures
- March - 6 fractures
- April - 1 fracture
- May - 1 fracture


LOOKING AT LADIES FRACTURES PER DATE:

- more than 108 fractures...
- LADIES having 80 fractures with known time of the year

Based on Internet sources fractures per time of the year:
- summer (from June to August) - 25 stress fractures
- fall (from September to November) - 24 stress fractures
- winter (from December to February) - 22 stress fractures
- spring (from March to May) - 9 stress fractures

It seems like these data support the hypothesis that stress fractures are equally likely to occur at any time of the season?

 

[sisinka]

It seems like these data support the hypothesis that stress fractures are equally likely to occur at any time of the season?

Yes, I do agree with you. It does not look to be connected to certain months. But we have to admit that the sample of skaters is too small to be sure.

The key factor is overtraining - on ice or off ice.

2) TRAINING DOSES
....

3. INCREASED LOAD IN TIME BEFORE STRESS FRACTURE:

EXAMPLES:
- Adam Rippon - "...After over-exercising and heavily limiting his caloric intake for about two years, Rippon received a lot of praise for his appearance and performed at a quality he was happy with. This encouraged his unhealthy lifestyle. He began to associate a feeling of being hungry with working hard. That was until his body became so fragile that doing a simple off-ice jump led his foot to fracture."(https://udreview.com/how-toxic-injury-culture-is-perpetuated-in-elite-figure-skating/ )

- Andrew Torgashev - "...He was training a lot of jumps, putting a lot of reps in, and was very motivated after a fifth-place finish at the 2020 U.S. Junior Championships and an eighth-place finish at the World Junior Championships." (https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...-skate-america-with-an-eye-on-the-future.aspx )

- Amber Glenn - "...The intense training led to some overuse injuries, including multiple stress reactions in her foot and an ankle cyst that needed to be removed, forcing her to withdraw from the free skate of the Cranberry Cup in August 2021 and take three weeks off the ice to heal. She trained quads this summer and was getting close before her body decided enough was enough." (https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...amber-glenn-is-peaking-at-the-right-time.aspx )

- Lina Johansson - "...I practised jumps extra hard. It started to hurt my left foot, the one that was fractured before. I thought it was stress, overstrained. I continued to train but couldn’t go on the ice at the Swedish team camp in September (2008) because it hurt so much. ...I went to the hospital for an X-ray. It showed a stress fracture..." (https://www.absoluteskating.com/index.php?cat=interviews&id=2009linajohansson )

- Laura Lepisto - "...She then missed much of the season due to injury, having developed a stress fracture in her right hip as a result of practicing too many triple loops." (autumn 2006) (Wikipedia)

- Bradie Tennell - "...She also worked on including a triple Axel into her routines, which was ready at the beginning of the season, but a stress fracture in her foot in July 2019 prevented her from using it." (Wikipedia)

- Jeffrey Buttle - "...In August of 2006, Jeffery Buttle suffered a stress fracture in his back due to over training, and was off the ice entirely for two months." (https://www.goldenskate.com/buttle-bounces-back/ )
....

In figure skating we should take Eating Disorders as additional factor - not only anorexia, but any eating approach which leads to Relative Energy Deficiency.

Skaters may overtrain in different time of the year. It would look logical especially in summer or before top competitions.
BUT:

- Skaters of different age or level of skating have different training schedule.

- Different training teams will have different training schedule as well.
(I read some skaters spend last week before top competition in lower training load...while I witnessed other skaters going from 2 practises per day to 3 practises per day in the last week before top competition.)

- Summer training camps are in different weeks / months during summer.

- Illness or injury (not stress fracture at the moment) will lead to training breaks...which will change the time of training load increase.

- Skaters tend to overtrain more after competitive success...success is happening at different competitions in different time of the year.

Theoretically it leads every athlete to have their peaks of intensity in training ( = increased danger of overtraining) in a little bit different times.

 

[sisinka]

Anthony Paradis - bilateral stress fracture of lower back - happened in spring 2026

Thread 'Anthony Paradis Injury'

May 6, 2026

Anthony Paradis posted a story on Instagram regarding an injury.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a quick update. I’ve been dealing with an injury sustained during training and have been diagnosed with bilateral spondylolysis, meaning I have stress fractures on both sides one of my lower vertebrae.

I’ve been off the ice for the past month focusing on recovery, and our goal is to return to full training around mid-July.

I’m grateful to be supported by an incredible team helping me through this process, and I’m fully committed to coming back stronger.

I’ve also posted a YouTube...

• gsk8
• Replies: 8
• Forum: Figure Skating: The Edge

• 
• 
• 

 

[Query]

Interesting.

You seem to be focusing on elite athletes. But they are a tiny proportion of any sport.

I would guess that most people who do a fair amount of athletic things get some injuries in the course of doing so. E.g., I fractured a (fibula) leg bone in a slow backwards fall while backwards skating at a LTS level. It was slow enough I'm pretty sure it was not the impact that broke the bone - I think it must have been the muscle tension that I used to try to stop the fall. Which athletes in many sports have told me is quite typical for many falling injuries. (It probably didn't help that I am relatively inflexible. And that for some reason, the coaches I had taken skating lessons from didn't choose to teach falls - which is "normally" taught in the first few lessons.) I responded in a way I thought reasonable - by spending thousands of hours practicing gentle falls. Maybe a couple thousand before I returned to the ice.

I have personally concluded that fall practice should be emphasized for most people - e.g., in gym class.

And I took some classes aimed at injury prevention - which were interesting, but not always specific to my body type.

I spent so much time doing fall practice, off and on ice, that I eventually got an elbow infection from what I guess was a scratch received during that practice. Had I cleaned it, I probably wouldn't have gotten the infection. But the scratch was so small I didn't realize I was injured. I also became somewhat overconfident that I had learned to prevent injuries, and sprained an ankle practicing off-ice dance, that put me out of commission for a few weeks.

I think most athletes - including recreational level athletes - learn to avoid the injuries they are particularly vulnerable to by getting injured, and analyzing what caused those injuries. E.g., the vast majority of my injuries have been muscle strains. I had to learn to relax more - which was in fact a key element of gentle fall practice for me.

But later, I sprained groin muscles - again in a slow backwards fall, but that time while practicing spinning down a slope in non-releasing trick skis. The back of my skis dug into the ice, and forced me into to open a hip position for my degree of flexibility. The fall would not have injured me on ice skates or the floor, but with the extra leverage available from the length of the skis. The injury occurred in part because my overconfidence caused me to relax too much - and therefore failed to adequately control the trajectory of my body parts.

In contrast, there are many athletes - including recreational and elite level athletes, and certainly including many top figure skaters - who are extremely flexible (not me). A substantial fraction of their injuries are dislocations of varying degrees.

The reality is that different athletes have different bodies, differing degrees of vulnerability to different types of injury, and I think their injury prevention strategies should be adapted to their specific bodies - i.e., trying to generalize too much may not be a good idea.

I assume you are aware that there are already many people who study injuries specific to figure skating, including some who know a lot about the sport. E.g., the USFSA Sports Sciences and Medicine Committee, and the ISU Medical Commission.

For your amusement, I will send you privately a link to my (somewhat outdated) webpage titled "A Short Treatise on the Art of Falling Gently" which dealt with the conclusions I personally came to.

​

 

[Query]

We have a separate subforum for boot and blade issues:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/forums/boots-and-blades.978/

By the way, I took up skating to strengthen my ankles, because I injured myself very often backpacking. And was largely successful at that. Despite having boots that were too stiff.

It isn't just the stiffness of the boots that is an issue.

We also have rather high heels and a fairly strong upwards curvature of the footbed. Maybe that is to make it easier to rock forward and back, which occurs a lot in figure skating? But for some of us (I'm not sure this is common in the elite skating community, because you mostly couldn't become an elite skater if you aren't very flexible), that curvature pushes us to or beyond our comfortable flexibility. And the greatest bend is often under the wrong place, or at the wrong angle in the foot.

Figure skating boots are also usually designed with relatively narrow toes. I think it is an appearance thing, because, even with a single gender boots, hockey boots usually always have wider toes. In my case, I have osteoarthritis (bone spurs between the metatarsals) that I personally believe were caused by this.

In addition to having to support our feet along narrow edges, elevated substantially over the surface of the ice, with forward and backwards rocking, we are also expected to create deep deliberate pronation and supination. Since we must be able to bend our feet and ankles in all these directions, the stresses cannot be fully compensated for by posting inside or outside the boot.

Most skaters do not find boots that fit them well. And most skate techs are not well trained to make many of the modifications that could help. AFAIK, there are no schools for that at this time - people are just trained by other skate techs, most of whom are not much good at it either. And skate boots are expensive - so people often delay replacing them for far too long (me too).

Most skate techs are also not well trained to sharpen skates well - especially for figure skaters, but for hockey skaters too.

Go to an ice rink. Sometime you see people taking off their boots and socks (and some don't wear socks). Look at their feet and ankles. Perhaps most show signs of injury. Sometimes minor injuries, like soreness, redness, abrasions, etc., but often major injuries too. I would guess that in the course of their skating "careers", most skaters experience foot and/or ankle injury.

The female athletic triad is often mentioned in connection with figure skating (as well as dance, gymnastics, swimming and a few other sports). Not surprising - figure skating is an appearance sport, and points are awarded for spins (on the ice and in the air). Being thin reduces your moment of inertia, and helps keep you flexible. (For males too, BTW.) In the case of Pairs and Dance skaters, the female is often lifted and perhaps thrown by the male - which means the female must be light. It is not particularly uncommon for female skaters especially to deliberately malnourish themselves to delay the onset of maturity, which is associated with weight gain, and with shape changes that increase moment of inertia.

Because it is an appearance sport, many figure skaters don't wear padding or helmets. Some won't even wear gloves. Compare this to hockey, where such things are typically required. (Of course, in sports where helmets are introduced, it is well documented that head and neck injuries become more common, though deaths are usually reduced, because people are more confident they won't be seriously injured.)

 

[sisinka]

Thank you for your post. It was interesting to read.

Sorry for late answer, I was at Congress of the Society of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine in Luhacovice past days.

...And I took some classes aimed at injury prevention - which were interesting, but not always specific to my body type...

What kind of classes were those? Could you write more about it? Was it supervised by some doctor - Rehab or traumatologist...

...I think most athletes - including recreational level athletes - learn to avoid the injuries they are particularly vulnerable to by getting injured, and analyzing what caused those injuries...

Fully agree. I meet opinion that "top sport is destroying your health anyway". I don't like these claims. These claims lead athletes to not be looking for the reason why they injured exactly this region of the body (speaking about chronic injuries, not acute injury from hard fall). But this claim above is just partially true.

Comparing to other people, top athletes will have more degenerational changes of joints or more traumatic injuries. Yes. But rehabilitation (for example learning right body posture and right movement sterotypes, solving muscle imbalances, stabilising joints, heal injuries in right time) can help to keep athletes in better conditions. Which means that less athletes will be forced to quit the sport thanks to injuries, more athletes could have longer career. What to speak about quality of life in post-career decades.

...The reality is that different athletes have different bodies, differing degrees of vulnerability to different types of injury, and I think their injury prevention strategies should be adapted to their specific bodies - i.e., trying to generalize too much may not be a good idea...

Those are simply excellent points!

We are in stress fractures thread. Just look at list of skaters and the place of their stress fracture - somebody fractured spine, somebody lower leg - this is itself a prove of how different body type and skating technique can lead to injury of different body areas.

SINGLE LADIES

SINGLE MEN

That is one of key points in rehabilitation - to know that every patient is individual, so treatment must be specialised as well.

For example there are different kind of predispositions for injuries just based on their anatomy of joints. You already mentioned hypermobility / flexibility / non-flexibility, it plays major role as well. From certain body posture - we can read what muscles are weak, which muscles are overworked, which joints are not in ideal position etc.

 

[Query]

What kind of classes were those? Could you write more about it? Was it supervised by some doctor - Rehab or traumatologist...N

No. None were supervised by doctors. As I wrote in my web page about falling gently

I audited a University of Maryland Department of Kinesiology course in Basic Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries, taught by a John J. Bush(ATC=Certified Athletic Trainer). This was very informative.

I also took a mini-course from the University of Maryland Campus Recreation Services on Group Fitness Instruction Training (but did not take the certification.), and a course on conditioning from the University of Maryland Kinesiology department.

I audited another course from the Department of Dance, on Dance Kinesiology, taught by Laura Cox. Very informative. The comparison of what she said with what the prior two courses taught also helped me appreciate that there are many variant approaches to injury prevention.

I also took classes on kayaking. Including instructor training (but was not certified to teach kayaking), based on the American Canoe Association syllabus. The approach the instructor trainer took was substantially based on avoiding shoulder dislocations, by taking very conservative body positions - e.g., low elbows, no cross body paddle positions. But I learned from elite level kayak athletes that these positions are not altogether typical of what many of them use - they often instead use athletic training techniques to strengthen the shoulder joint, and they often use controlled muscle tension to prevent dislocations. I decided for myself, that I am not at great risk of shoulder dislocations, because my shoulder muscles are not that flexible - though I could probably easily tear those muscles if stretched too far. (Waves, river and sea currents can sometimes exert very strong forces - and those forces need to be managed by paddlers if they are to stay safe.) I often do use high elbows, and occasionally cross body positions, when paddling.

The Dance Kinesology class (all of the other students were dance majors in a program that strongly emphasized ballet) strongly emphasized methods of preventing dislocation too - again appropriate to people with the kind of people with very high flexibility, such as ballet dancers. Though interestingly enough, the instructor, and the textbooks, said that many dancers are so flexible that dislocations frequently do little or no harm to many of their joints.

I also took other exercise and athletic classes in things like Yoga, Aikido (just one class - it was just after recovering from a broken fibula, and I decided the Aikido approach to falling gently wasn't gentle enough for me), and an online class intended for figure skating Learn to Skate group lesson instructors (I was certified - but it was an online class, which meant I could refer to my notes, and I did not have to demonstrate anything! ). These classes touched very briefly on injury prevention techniques - though not as much as I had hoped.

Virtually all of these classes are now decades out of date. And all of them were oriented towards people much more athletic, and probably much more flexible, than me. But it was what I could find.

Are there better classes that you know of available to the public? Bear in mind that I am NOT trying to be certified to do anything medical.

 

[sisinka]

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Are there better classes that you know of available to the public? Bear in mind that I am NOT trying to be certified to do anything medical.

I am from Czech Republic, so my knowledge of courses is not much helpful, I guess.
Looking at Internet I found Czech course "Therapy and training in sport injuries - does prevention exist?" - led by Mgr. Petr Sadek, Ph.D. - the main physiotherapist of Rehabilitation clinic. But this course is done for doctors, physiotherapists and coaches.
Another Czech course - "Rehabilitation and injury prevention" is for students, guarantors are physiatrists and Rehabilitation doctor.
There are some bachelor thesis on Internet from Czech students of Faculty of Sports - writing about injury prevention in certain sports.
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What comes into my mind...

COMING TO TRAUMATIC INJURIES FROM FALLS:
I can only recommend classes with instructor / coach to learn how to fall safely (which you already mentioned).

PREVENTION OF CHRONIC INJURIES (stress fractures including):
- no matter if top skater or recreational skater

1. Get to know your body
2. Get to know your sport
3. Improve your figure skating technique
4. REHABILITATION

1. Get to know your body
My recommendation is to undergo rehabilitation examination kinesiology examination including.
Because your anatomy of joint, your muscles, ligaments, posture, wrong movement stereotypes is what makes predisposition for certain kind of injury.

You mentioned tightness of your muscles - which led you to realise that you need to work on stretching more to reduce muscle injury or fracture. In case of children / teenage skaters tight muscles AND OVERWORKING will lead to tendinopathy, osteochondrosis (many skaters suffer from Osgood-Schlatter disease), in worst case it can be one of reasons why skater suffer from avulsive fracture.
On the contrary @Diana Delafield was sharing her experience with hypermobility - Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - she needs to concentrate on stabilizing her joints - strengthen muscles around joints to protect the joints.

Anatomy of joint is another chapter. For example if you have smaller external rotation in hip joints (spread eagle element), trying to compensate the lack of movement in your hip - you will overwork your lower lumbar spine... not working with this information...with time it will lead to lumbar pain / herniation of lumbar disc. Smaller external rotation in hip joints - problem to execute well any of 5 basic ballet positions.

2. Get to know your sport
Figure skating has typical movements which are overworking certain parts of the body and lead to certain kind of injuries.
For example:
Thanks to jumps and lifts and throws - spine is on top coming to chronic injuries.
Landing foot with ankle / knee / hip joints.
Lutz and flip create rotation in lower leg (tibia and fibula). If you have smaller range of movement in ankle joint, the force will more work on your knee - increasing possibility of meniscus injury.

3. Improve your figure skating technique
Overall wrong technique has bigger negative impact on skater's body - it creates bigger muscle's imbalance / more joints are in wrong position / more parts of body are overworked and the level of overworking is bigger.
Wrong technique leads to more injuries comparing to right technique.

4. REHABILITATION
Work with specialist in rehabilitation department.

Knowing which parts of your body are more prone to injury, knowing which parts of your body are more prone to injury thanks to sport you chose...allow rehabilitation specialist or your sport team to create INDIVIDUAL plan for injury prevention / reduction of overworking moments. Thanks to this your body will be in better shape - this WILL also help to injure your body LESS in case of traumatic injuries.