Hip Injuries

[Joesitz]

Hip Injuries

Anyone have any up to date news of Kwan, Yags, NNN, Tara and others who belong to this maligned club?

Joe

 

[mmandel]

Re: Hip Injuries

I don't have any update (so what good am I. :lol: ). But Is there a coincidence between Tara & Jenny? They both used Callaghan and were both taught his techniques before their injuries...coincidence?

 

[heyang]

Re: Hip Injuries

I thought Jenny's 1st sign of injury was very shortly after leaving the Scotvold's and moving to Callahan. So, I don't think Jenny's are neccessarily the same as Tara's.

 

[rgirl181]

Re: Hip Injuries

I agree, Heyang. I don't think there is any connection between Jenny and Tara's hip injuries and Callahagn's methods for jump technique. In dance, a lot of people love to blame this or that technique as being responsible for causing injuries--and their technique for preventing injuries (dancers get almost religious about whatever technique--which is really style--they do). I think hip injuries come down to lots of triple jumps, quads, and 3-plus combos. The boots are way outdated for doing this and the skaters are doing triple and more jumps at younger and younger ages. There is only so much force bodies can take before injury, and I think we are getting to that end point with the number of jumps skaters are doing today on the kind of boots they have.

No updates with me either, but I will say this: I think that when Michelle does leave eligible skating, it will most likely be because of her hip. Not that it will be a bad injury; I just think that she is smart enough that if her hip starts hurting her, she will know it will be time to give up trying to do six and seven triple programs. She is very fortunate that she has been so healthy for so long. She also has/had good people around who had her best interests at heart.

Unfortunately, I think we are going to see a lot more hip injuries, especially in the next wave of skaters, the ones who will be doing two 3/3s per program and some doing quads. I hate to say it and I hope I'm very wrong.
Rgirl

 

[tharrtell]

Re: Hip Injuries

This is really the first I've heard of MK's hip injury (but I've been out of it lately). What happened?

 

[mmandel]

Re: Hip Injuries

Thanks...I was just curious!

 

[rgirl181]

Re: Hip Injuries

Tharttell,
From what I understand, Michelle's hip only bothers her when she works on 3/3s, which is apparently the main reason she has not included a 3/3 in her programs. That's all I know.
Rgirl

 

[tharrtell]

Re: Hip Injuries

Interesting. MK has been so far lucky to have been relatively injury free over many years. Rgirl, you need to take your plug for the new skate to a higher level that Golden Skate. Something has to be done to make sure skaters don't do irreparable damage to themselves. I've got this nasty image of broken little girls and boys falling out of the ranks of the figure skating elite. Not pretty.

 

[Joesitz]

Re: Hip Injuries

Thartell - The number of cases of damage to little figure skaters is overwhelming. I lost the link to that report but the concept that the sport must continually raise the bar (quads/quints) has gotten little kids breaking ankles, legs, arms, necks, backs, and, of course, hips.

Joe

 

[rgirl181]

Re: Hip Injuries

Thartell,
A power as high and influential as the American College of Sports Medicine is pushing for the hinged skate boot, but history has shown that change in sport, especially when it's about preventing injuries, comes very, very slowly. I'm afraid your vision may come more or less true before changes are made. I think it will be the current generation of injured skaters who, when they are in their 40s, will have to organize in order to get something done. I don't mean to sound fatalistic, I've just seen it happen time and again.

Joe, I'm not at all surprised about the link you described. Athlete started pushing the physiologic limits if the body in a lot of sports starting in the '70s and '80s. We are so close to as far as we are ever going to get that even small increments in raising the bar is pushing bodies over the limit. And with the tremendous financial rewards of a successful sports career at stake, well, you know what people will do. I'm waiting for the first wave of lawsuits against coaches for child abuse--not for hitting kids or anything like that, but simply for training them to elite standards, standards that end up permanently damaging kids. And certainly not just figure skating, but all kinds of sports.
Rgirl