Ice Skating

Abstract

Ice skating injuries are nowadays a challenging issue, not only for athletes but also for physiotherapists and sport doctors. Approximately 50,000 people suffer ice skating injuries every year in the USA. The most important among them involve the lower limbs for professional skaters and include ankle sprains and fractures, overuse tibia fractures, foot sprains, and calcaneal bursitis. Most of the injuries in beginners or occasional skaters are reported at the upper limbs and related to falls with the outstretched arm, including wrist and hands fractures, elbow injuries, tendinitis, and traumatic head injuries. On the contrary, professional skaters suffer mostly from overuse and stress injuries due to the heavy training that the discipline requires and the repetition of some movements and jumps. Prevention of these injuries is a matter of discussion between athletes and caregivers. In this chapter, the most frequent and characteristics injuries of the sport, including figure and speed skating, will be exposed.