Injury pattern and acceptance of passive and active injury prophylaxis for inline skating

In a field study the injury pattern as well as the active and passive injury prophylaxis of 1036 inline skaters were evaluated. Of them, 60% had already been injured. Every 124 h an injury occurred during inline skating. While 61% of the injuries affected only soft tissue, 31% were joint distorsions, and 8% were fractures. Altogether 37% of the 626 injured skaters required medical treatment. The upper extremities are especially at risk: 78% of the fractures and 48% of the distorsions affected the fingers, wrist, forearm or elbow. It is obvious that the inline skaters' passive prophylaxis measures are still unsatisfactory. Only 17% of the questioned used complete protection, whereas 16% were wearing no protective gear at all. Of the rest, 49% were skating with wrist guards, 66% were using knee pads, and 31% elbow pads. A high percentage of injuries is due to the lack of basic knowledge and techniques. The survey revealed that only 24% can stop immediately. While 51% had only slight problems with braking, 16% admitted having great difficulties, and 7% were not able to brake at all. These numbers reveal that there are still large deficits regarding braking techniques and education on the risks of injury. Therefore, athletes who use this equipment for the first time should learn the basic techniques of skating, braking and falling with the help of a qualified instructor. Most of all those questioned wanted to have more information, and half would be interested in special educational programmes.