Injuries in Elite Figure Skaters

In brief: A questionnaire was used to examine the number, nature, and etiology of injuries to Canadian nationally ranked figure skaters over a one-year period and to measure the consequent loss of training time. Of the 60 respondents, 28 (46.6%) reported having had a significant injury during the year. Fifty percent of the injuries were acute and 43% were overuse injuries. The respondents spent an average of 27.2 hours a week on the ice, but only 11.9 minutes (0.2 hour) per week in stretching and warm-up exercises. Skaters with overuse injuries were kept off the ice an average of 17.9 days; those with acute injuries lost an average of 12.2 days.