[Skating injuries. A study of an injury sample in a Danish community skating rink]

A review is presented of injuries sustained at an ice rink and treated at the emergency room, Odense University Hospital in Denmark, during 1993. Of the 105 patients treated, 67 (64 per cent) were 10-19 years of age. Most patients had been injured during a fall, no other participant being involved. About 25 per cent of the injuries were lesions the face or head. In seven cases the patient had been cut on the hand by the blade of another participant's skate, two patients had tendon lesions and in 16 cases the patient had sustained a fracture of the forearm or hand as the result of a fall. Many of the injuries could have been prevented by the use of protective gear (helmet, gloves and knee and elbow pads).