Hi, there! I’m Andie and I’m here to talk about skating injuries with you.
After nearly a year seeing both writers and artists in the Yuri on Ice fandom portraying figure skating injuries the wrong way I’ve decided to write this quick guide to explain why scenes like these are not a result of skating:
I’m an artistic roller skater on the intermediate level, I’ve been skating for a year now and won gold in Seniors (Intemediate Level) in the local internal artistic roller skating championship. I’ve ice skated a couple of times before but I’ve never taken proper classes since there’s no ice rink in my city.
While I’m talking about ways to treat most common accidents I am by no means a specialist on the matter. If you hurt yourself skating you should tell your coach and, in serious cases, go to a hospital to have your injuries properly treated.
If you have any questions regarding this topic I’ll be more than happy to help!
Most serious injuries happen outside of the rinks. All skaters I know have broken limbs while doing things completely unrelated to skating. That’s because one of the first lessons skaters learn when they begin is how to fall in order not to hurt themselves (too much, at least).
When skating, your instinct is to keep your head as far from the floor/ice as possible, hence why a skater learns to fall on their knees/butt and hands. It takes some time, but after a couple of accident your body learns (the hard way) how to fall properly and you leave with maybe a bruise or two.
The best way to avoid serious injuries is to take time to properly warm-up off and on skates, not overpractice and, if possible, always practice under the supervision of a coach or instructor. Proper and suitable equipment is of extreme importance to your health and comfort!
Next, I’m going to share some injuries experiences from me and my fellow rink mates.
COMMON INJURIES IN FIGURE SKATING:
Impact pain. This is not really an injury, but if you fall too hard you will get sore (and if you do jumps after a bad fall that pain will bother you quite a bit). It can happen anywhere though your butt is the most likely place to get sore without actual bruises.
How to treat: REST. Seriously. Don’t exercise for the day and take some Advil. How long does it take to heal? A couple of days, no more than that. Worst case scenario: You broke something. If the pain is too severe, you should go to a hospital as soon as possible.
Plume de Lynx 