Sport
Figure skating asks for short, near-maximal programmes built on long training weeks: competitive skaters work at about 90% of their aerobic maximum, and every jump lands on one leg in a stiff boot. Most injuries in young competitive skaters come from overuse, in the feet, knees and back, and about 1 in 10 is a bone stress injury. Pairs, dance and synchronised skaters, and anyone at a public rink, are more often hurt in falls, to the wrists and the head.
This guide covers what skating asks of your body, the common injuries, training loads and growing skaters, boots, eating enough, rink asthma, helmets and wrist guards for learners and recreational skaters, natural ice, concussion, and the off-ice training with evidence behind it. It includes a 15-minute warm-up and a 45-minute off-ice workout, with a 3D demo of every move.
In 294 young skaters seen at US sports medicine clinics, 68.9% of injuries came from overuse, mostly in the feet and ankles, knees and back, and about 1 in 10 was a bone stress injury. Stress fractures were twice as common in skaters training 12 or more sessions a week.
Nearly 1 in 3 young skaters seen for back pain had a stress injury at the back of a vertebra. Back pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks, or is worse when you arch back, needs a doctor.
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In the one trial of off-ice training, 4 weeks of balance training improved skaters' landing control, and across other sports strength training cut injuries to under a third. No programme has been tested on skating injuries.
Young skaters who skipped more meals had more injuries, and comments about weight or shape went with disordered eating.
Wrist fractures are the commonest serious injury at public rinks, and children's falls on ice hit the head about four times as often as falls on wheels. Skate Canada requires a helmet for learners; wrist guards are sensible too.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA): "Stay off the ice". If someone falls through, don't try to rescue them yourself: call 999.
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Singles skaters perform jumps of several turns, spins and step sequences. Pairs add lifts, throw jumps and death spirals; ice dance limits the height of lifts and allows jumps of no more than one turn; and synchronised teams of 16 to 20 skate linked together, at speed and in close formation. Since the International Skating Union's (ISU) 2024 Congress, backflips are no longer illegal elements for junior and senior skaters, though Skate Canada keeps them illegal in its other categories.
In 8 Danish elite skaters, a simulated competitive programme ran at 89% of maximal oxygen uptake, blood lactate rose from 2.0 to 8.0 mmol/L over a 4-minute run-through, and they trained 15 to 41 hours a week. In 15 American competitive skaters, aerobic fitness was about average for their age before extra training. The Compendium of Physical Activities has no figure skating value; it gives general ice skating 7.0 metabolic equivalents (METs), from measurements.
A skater has to balance time in the air against spin speed: better skaters leave the ice with more upward speed, and the spin comes from pulling the arms and legs in tight after take-off. In young skaters, harder Axel jumps needed more hip bend in the push and more calf and shin muscle activity, and in 18 junior elite skaters, jump height went with fast knee and shoulder strength. Elite and junior programmes carry many more triple and quadruple jumps than they did in 2005.
In barefoot one-leg landings from 20 cm, skaters landed at 3.50 times body weight against 3.13 in non-skaters, reached the peak sooner and kept their weight on a narrow strip of the forefoot. Triple jumps landed like a "collision", with less time to spread the force than singles and doubles. The landing leg becomes denser and stronger than the take-off leg, while in one series every stress fracture was in the take-off leg.
Stiff, high boots protect the ankle but limit how far it bends: of 95 skaters of all levels, only 32% wore the right size and 51% couldn't bend their ankles properly in their skates. Spirals, laybacks and spins take the hips and spine to the end of their range.
For most people at a public rink, the demand is balance on a narrow blade on a slippery surface. Falls are frequent, and children and adults put a hand out: on video, children tried to break more than 90% of their falls with their hands.
Balance and landings on each leg, jump power, single-leg strength, hip and groin strength, ankles and calves, a strong trunk, short hard intervals, and, for pair skaters and dancers, upper-body strength for lifts.
Each study counted injuries its own way, so figures in different lines aren't comparable. Most come from Europe and North America.
The numbers, by group:
Stress fractures were the commonest overuse injury in female singles skaters at Junior World Championships (19.8%), mostly in the feet, ankles and shins. In one series of world-class skaters, all 9 were in the take-off leg, some after extra running off the ice. Skaters training 12 or more sessions a week had them twice as often (33.3% against 17.8%), and those who'd had one had more ordinary fractures too (45.0% against 21.8%). Our stress fracture guide covers them.
In young skaters, 42.2% of bone stress injuries were in the back, and nearly 1 in 3 skaters seen for back pain had a stress injury at the back of a vertebra (spondylolysis). Spinal problems were reported by 47.3% of senior synchronised skaters, and older age, so more years on the ice, went with more back injuries. Our back pain and spondylolisthesis guides cover these.
Jumper's knee was the commonest overuse injury in male singles skaters at Junior World Championships (16.1%) and second in female singles (14.9%), and Osgood-Schlatter disease affected 14.2% of male singles skaters. At US clinics, problems at the front of the knee were the commonest knee diagnosis in young skaters. Our jumper's knee, Osgood-Schlatter and Sinding-Larsen-Johansson guides cover these.
Ankle sprains are the commonest sudden injury in skating, and tendon problems the commonest foot and ankle diagnosis in young skaters. Our sprained ankle, chronic ankle instability, Achilles and peroneal tendon guides cover these.
In 95 skaters, 34% had bursitis deep behind the heel, 29% calluses at the back of the heel and 28% bursitis just under the skin there; oversized boots and a mismatch between boot and foot length went with them. Bursitis over the ankle bones tends to follow more training or new boots, and usually settles with boot stretching and padding; lace bite and other skin problems come from ill-fitting skates and tight lacing. Our Haglund's deformity and accessory navicular guides cover two of these; we don't have a guide to lace bite.
Damage to the hip's labrum and cartilage was the commonest hip problem reported in artistic athletes. At hip arthroscopy, athletes from flexibility sports had more cartilage damage (12.0% against 2.0%) and torn ligaments inside the hip (48% against 26%) than other athletes, and 75.6% went back to their sport. Our hip impingement, hip labral tear and groin strain guides cover these.
Sudden injuries are commoner in the partner and team disciplines. In elite pairs and dance, lifts caused 11 of 33 serious injuries, and pair skaters take most of the sport's arm injuries. In senior synchronised skating, head injuries were 19.8% of women's sudden injuries, 73.1% of sudden injuries on the ice happened in team elements, and seniors had more head injuries than juniors.
Falls onto the hand break wrists and arms:
In US children treated in emergency departments, head injuries were 13.3% of ice skating injuries against 4.4% for roller skating and 5.0% for in-line skating, and concussions 4.3% against 0.6% and 0.8%; children aged 6 and under had the highest share. On video, 13.0% of children's falls on ice hit the head, against 3.0% of falls on wheels, because hands slide on ice. Our concussion guide covers the graduated return.
Cuts from skate blades were 5.6% of injuries at a temporary rink in Cork. We don't have a guide to cuts; the National Health Service's (NHS) advice is in the warning signs below.
Associations in the studies:
No exercise programme, helmet rule or piece of kit has been tested on figure skating injuries. Each note says what its evidence is: a skating study, another sport's trial, or our reading.
Across 25 trials in other sports, strength training cut injuries to under a third and balance training to about half, while stretching made no difference. Reviews of skating recommend off-ice strength, trunk and flexibility work and watching training loads. It hasn't been tested in skaters.
In the one randomised trial of off-ice training, 44 skaters with an average age of 18 did supervised neuromuscular training or basic exercises 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Landing balance with the eyes closed improved by 21.0% after the neuromuscular training and worsened by 4.9% after the basic exercises. The trial measured balance, not injuries, and its summary doesn't list the exercises.
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Stress fractures were twice as common with 12 or more sessions a week, and a 2025 review lists more ice time among the risk factors. None of 16 UK elite skaters monitored how many jumps they did. Count jumps on and off the ice, build them up gradually, and keep at least one rest day a week (our suggestion).
The authors of the Junior World Championships study advise posture, flexibility and strength work, especially while bones grow faster than muscles and tendons. British Gymnastics' growth-spurt advice, on our gymnastics page, is the closest published guidance: modify training, go back to basics, and keep flexibility rather than pushing for more.
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Only 32% of skaters wore the right size, and oversized boots went with heel bursitis and skin damage; 7 of 33 serious injuries in elite pairs and dance skaters were caused by boots. A review advises boots "as flexible as the skater can control", carefully fitted. No trial has tested boot fitting, but it's sensible and low-risk (our reading).
Articulated (hinged) boots lowered heel forces in off-ice tests, but skaters didn't use the hinge on the ice, and a prototype damping blade cut simulated landing forces by 10% to 14% in the laboratory. Neither has been tested on injuries.
Falls on ice hit the head more often than falls on wheels, and Skate Canada requires helmets for learners. Rink helmet policies raised helmet use without fewer people coming to skate, but no study has measured head injuries afterwards. The helmets section below has the details.
No trial has tested wrist guards in ice skaters. The evidence is borrowed: in-line skaters without them had about 10 times the odds of a wrist injury, and in snowboarding trials guards cut wrist injuries by about three-quarters. In laboratory falls, squatting, bending the elbows and rolling cut the impact.
Measures without good evidence in figure skating:
No randomised trial of strength or jump training in figure skaters has been published. In 18 junior elite skaters, jump height went with fast knee and shoulder strength. In 27 university synchronised skaters, the number of strides on a slide board in 30 seconds best predicted lap speed on the ice, and vertical jump height came second. At a US Figure Skating testing day, senior and junior skaters were faster and stronger off the ice than novices. A biomechanics review suggests box jumps and medicine-ball throws on one or both legs. These are associations.
In a randomised trial in 20 young gymnasts, two extra hour-long sessions of jumps a week for 6 weeks raised their jump height: see our gymnastics page and our jump guide. It's the closest model for skaters (our reading).
Balance training improved landing control in the one off-ice trial. Female elite skaters reached less far on their landing leg in one direction of a balance test, and some elite skaters' knees drifted inwards in single-leg squats, which the authors linked with weak hip muscles. Train both legs, and the muscles at the side of the hip (our reading).
Competitive programmes run at close to 90% of maximal oxygen uptake. In 15 skaters randomised for 10 weeks, extra off-ice cycling raised peak oxygen uptake from 50.7 to 55.9 ml/kg/min and doubled how long they could keep up a very hard effort (from 1.31 to 2.69 minutes), while on-ice training alone didn't. One or two interval sessions a week on a bike or rowing machine in the months before competition fit this (our suggestion); our HIIT (high-intensity interval training) guide explains how.
Spirals, laybacks and spins need range you can hold and control. Tight hamstrings and thigh muscles are among the possible risk factors in a 2025 review, but stretching programmes didn't prevent injuries in other sports. Our splits guide explains building range you can use, and in a growth spurt keep flexibility rather than pushing for more.
Young skaters had denser bone in the pelvis and legs than non-athletes, singles skaters more than ice dancers, and the landing leg more than the take-off leg, but elite skaters' forearm bone was below average. Eating enough protects bone, and upper-body strength work is a sensible addition (our suggestion).
No taper study has been done in figure skating. Cut off-ice volume over the last 7 to 10 days before a major competition, keep a few short, fast jumps, run your programmes at competition intensity, and don't add new elements that week.
Off-season: 2 to 3 off-ice strength and landing sessions a week (the balance trial used 3) and 1 or 2 conditioning sessions. In season: 1 or 2 shorter strength sessions early in the week, and no maximal jumping or heavy leg work in the 48 hours before a competition (our suggestion).
Young skaters: build jump totals gradually and keep sessions below 12 a week where you can (our suggestion), and do strength training with a qualified adult watching, as our children's guide explains. Adults and recreational skaters: lessons, a helmet while learning and wrist guards matter more than any exercise.
Skate Canada's helmet use policy (last updated 8 December 2021): all CanSkate and Adult CanSkate skaters "up to and including Stage 5 must wear a CSA approved hockey helmet while on the ice" (CSA: the Canadian Standards Association's certification), and so must "anyone who lacks good control/balance when skating forward, backward and has difficulty stopping", in every Skate Canada programme. Clubs enforce it at competitions and carnivals, and older skaters who choose to wear one aren't marked down.
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We didn't find a helmet rule or learn-to-skate helmet guidance from British Ice Skating among its published policies. A helmet makes sense for children learning, for anyone who can't yet stop, and on busy or outdoor ice (our suggestion).
On video, children falling on ice tried to break more than 90% of their falls with their hands, but hands slide on ice, so 13.0% of falls hit the head, against 3.0% on wheels. In one US children's hospital, head injuries were 20.0% of ice skating injuries against 4.9% of in-line skating injuries, and nationally, ice skaters had the most concussions of any skating type.
An all-ages policy at a Canadian university rink raised helmet use from 10% of adults and 97% of children under 12 to 99% of all skaters, with the same number of people skating. Ottawa's policy for children under 11 and inexperienced skaters at indoor public sessions raised helmet use, without fewer people coming. Neither study measured head injuries afterwards.
Skate Canada names a CSA-approved hockey helmet; we found no helmet standard made for ice skating. A certified hockey or bicycle helmet that fits snugly is better than none (our suggestion).
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The authors of rink and natural-ice studies recommend wrist protection, and the video researchers suggested a guard with a non-slip palm for children on ice, an idea that hasn't been tested. No trial has been done in ice skaters; in-line skaters without guards had about 10 times the odds of a wrist injury, and in snowboarding trials guards cut wrist injuries by about three-quarters.
In laboratory falls, squatting in backward falls, bending the elbows in forward falls and rolling in sideways falls all cut the impact. Older guidance for rinks adds elbow and knee pads and thick gloves for beginners, and no alcohol at the rink.
In 132 young female skaters, the 62% who had specialised trained 11.3 hours a week against 7.6, though back injury rates were similar. An expert consensus found no proven benefit from early specialisation in most sports; as our children's guide explains, it names figure skating as a possible exception, because the top level comes in the teens and early twenties. Children who train more hours a week than their age in years should be watched for overuse injury and burnout.
In 57 young skaters, 35.1% screened positive for an eating disorder or disordered eating, and 51.8% had had comments about their weight or shape, which went with positive screens; fewer than 16% had heard of relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs). In 712 young female skaters, dancers and runners, 60% were at risk on a scale for the female athlete triad, and elite synchronised skaters' ideal body shape differed from how they saw their own.
The International Olympic Committee's 2023 consensus: low energy availability harms health and performance in both sexes, and can happen without meaning to. In 74 young artistic athletes, including 14 skaters, 45.9% showed at least one main sign of REDs. Young skaters who skipped more meals had more injuries, and 44% of UK elite skaters had been diagnosed with a nutritional deficiency.
Coaches don't comment on bodies or weigh skaters. Skaters eat enough for training, including around early-morning ice sessions. Periods that stop or become irregular need a GP. Our eating disorders and menstrual cycle guides explain more.
Only 32% of 95 skaters wore the right size, and oversized boots and a boot that didn't match the foot's length went with bursitis and skin damage. A review advises boots as flexible as the skater can control, carefully fitted. Lace bite and pressure sores come from ill-fitting skates and lacing.
Bursitis over the ankle bones usually settled with boot stretching and padding, and most skaters could keep skating without surgery. A boot fitter can stretch the boot over a bony bump, and padding helps while it settles (our suggestion). Our Haglund's deformity and accessory navicular guides cover two common bumps.
When tested at the rinkside, 30% of 100 and 35% of 124 competitive skaters had airways that narrowed with exercise, and the authors call for screening. Cough, wheeze or a tight chest after skating needs a GP. Our asthma guide explains warm-ups with short, hard bursts and using inhalers as your plan says.
In the 1990s, indoor rinks with fuel-powered ice resurfacers had far more nitrogen dioxide than the air outside (a median of 180 parts per billion in 70 US rinks), up to 40% of 332 rinks in 9 countries were estimated to exceed the World Health Organization's 1-hour guideline, and rinks with electric resurfacers had the lowest levels. We didn't find current UK figures.
"Stay off the ice": "Frozen water can look stronger and more solid than it really is. If the ice cracks and you fall into freezing water, you're at risk of hypothermia, cardiac arrest and drowning." Supervise children near frozen water, keep dogs on a lead, and if someone is in trouble in freezing water, don't attempt a rescue: call 999 and give clear information about where you are.
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Signs include shivering, pale, cold and dry skin, slurred speech, slow breathing, and tiredness or confusion. The NHS: go to A&E (accident and emergency) or call 999 if you think you or your child have hypothermia.
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When Amsterdam's canals froze in January 2009, wrist fractures rose 5.5-fold, mostly in women aged 50 and over, and the authors suggest wrist protection when natural ice returns.
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The UK guidelines for grassroots sport: if in doubt, sit them out; off the ice straight away and no return that day; assessed within 24 hours by a healthcare professional or NHS 111; relative rest, then a graduated return; and no competition before day 21. A suspected neck injury is moved only by trained healthcare professionals. We didn't find a concussion policy from British Ice Skating. Our concussion guide sets out each stage.
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A 2025 clinical commentary adapts the international return-to-sport steps for elite skaters: at the sport-specific step, stroking, edge work, step sequences and choreography only, with no multi-turn jumps or fast spins and away from partner work; jumps, spins and inversions such as laybacks and death spirals come back gradually after that, and skaters need several full days of normal training before competing. It's expert commentary, not a tested protocol, and in the UK it sits inside the guidelines above.
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Built on the site's warm-up guide (editorial): no warm-up has been tested on skating injuries. The doses come from the site's gymnastics, skateboarding and ice hockey warm-ups; the one-leg balance follows the off-ice balance trial, and the short bursts the asthma guide's advice. The tuck jumps and sprints are editorial.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Single-leg hop and stick
The off-ice workout's balance, landings, jumps, legs, hips, ankles and trunk. Each has a 3D demo.
3D demoSingle-leg standBeginner · A wall
3D demoSingle-leg hop and stickIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSnapdown to athletic landingBeginner · No equipment
3D demoBox drop landingIntermediate · A step
3D demoJump squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoTuck jumpIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoLateral bound (skater jump)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoSingle-leg Romanian deadliftAdvanced · A dumbbell
3D demoCopenhagen plankAdvanced · A bench or box
3D demoSingle-leg calf raise from a stepIntermediate · A step + A wall
3D demoHollow body holdIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoDead bugBeginner · No equipmentThe first two are new: an off-ice workout and a warm-up. The others add gymnastics and hockey conditioning, jumps, balance, ankles, groins, splits, intervals and light exercise after a concussion.
A 45-minute off-ice session for skaters: landing-position balance, drop landings, hops, jump squats, tuck jumps, bounds, single-leg strength, groins and trunk.
45 minIntermediate22 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA 15-minute off-ice warm-up for skaters: skips, ankle circles and rocks, leg swings, hip circles, cat-cow, band walks, landing balance, jumps and bursts.
15 minBeginner15 movesA wall, A bandA gymnastics conditioning session: jumps from the youth vault trial, landings, wrist and shoulder strength, wall handstands, and hollow and arch holds.
45 minIntermediate22 movesOther / check instructions, A stepA 50-minute off-ice session for ice hockey: lateral bounds and broad jumps, squats, split squats, single-leg hinges, chin-ups, Copenhagen planks and trunk work.
50 minIntermediate13 movesA wall, A bandA staged jump session for 8 weeks: landings and small jumps, then box and broad jumps, then depth jumps, each followed by squats, hinges and calf work.
40 minIntermediate16 movesA step, A bench or boxAn advanced jump training session: pogo hops, box jumps, split squat jumps, broad jumps and depth jumps.
30 minAdvanced8 movesA bench or box, A stepBalance practice in 10 minutes: tandem stance, single-leg stands, marches, heel walks, tree pose and floor transfers.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 15-minute barefoot routine for stronger toes, arches, calves and ankles, finishing with balance. You need only a towel, a wall and a resistance band.
15 minBeginner11 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsThe Nordic hamstring and Copenhagen adduction programmes from the football trials: a 10-week build, three adductor levels, then once a week in season.
15 minIntermediate6 movesA wall, An anchor pointFront-split and middle-split days: hip flexor, hamstring and inner-thigh stretches, then strength in the stretched position. Alternate them 3 to 4 times a week.
25 minIntermediate16 movesA wall, An anchor pointA 25-minute interval session on a bike or rower: one-minute hard efforts with two minutes easy, building from 4 to 8 rounds.
25 minIntermediate1 movesCardio machineA 20-minute light session after a concussion: a symptom check, 10 to 15 minutes of easy cycling or walking, gentle bodyweight moves and a cool-down.
20 minBeginner8 movesCardio machine, A bench or boxTwo strength sessions a week sit well alongside skating; skip the heavy days in competition weeks.
Two full-body strength sessions a week: the minimum that meets health guidelines, with every set, rep and rest, and an 8-week progression.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA beginner gym plan: three full-body sessions a week, alternating workouts A and B, with sets, reps, rest and an 8-week progression.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week calisthenics plan for beginners: three bodyweight sessions a week with push-up, pull-up, squat and dip ladders, and a bar if you have one.
3 training days40 minBeginner3 days a weekA weekly workout plan for women: three strength days, cardio and pelvic floor training, with the evidence on periods, pregnancy and menopause.
3 training days45 minBeginnerThe PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your doctor or a qualified exercise professional first. If you're over 45 and not used to hard exercise, ask a qualified exercise professional before the hardest sessions, and delay if you're ill.
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Falls on ice hit the head more often. Wear a snug, certified helmet until you can stop and control your skating, take lessons, and choose quieter sessions (our suggestion).
Wrist fractures on the ice were commonest in women, and in women aged 50 and over on natural ice. Wear wrist guards and hold the barrier while learning (our suggestion); our osteoporosis guide has more. After a scaphoid fracture, no skating until you're cleared, as our scaphoid fracture guide explains.
Stress fractures were twice as common with 12 or more sessions a week, and older young skaters had more injuries and back injuries. Count jumps and build up gradually; follow the growth-spurt advice on our gymnastics page.
Back pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks or is worse arching back, and bone pain that builds with training, need a GP or sports physiotherapist before more jumping. Our spondylolisthesis and stress fracture guides explain why.
See a GP, and tell the club's welfare officer about comments on bodies (our suggestion). Our eating disorders and menstrual cycle guides explain more.
About a third of competitive skaters tested at the rinkside had exercise-induced asthma. See a GP; our asthma guide explains more.
The NHS: "do not do sports or activities where there's a risk of falling or bumping your tummy". Skating carries that risk (our reading). Talk to your midwife; our pregnancy guide has safer options.
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Our epilepsy guide explains that in the International League Against Epilepsy's grouping, skating is a sport where a seizure could injure you but not others. Wear a helmet, and never skate on natural ice (our suggestion).
No skating until you're cleared under the UK guidelines' graduated return, and no competition before day 21.
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The NHS says to call 999 if someone has hit their head and:
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Off the ice: if in doubt, sit them out. No return that day, and an assessment within 24 hours by a healthcare professional or NHS 111. Get help from NHS 111 straight away if they're being sick, feel dizzy, take medicine that thins the blood, or had been drinking alcohol.
Don't move them: the UK guidelines say someone with a suspected neck injury should be moved only by healthcare professionals with the right training. Call 999 (our suggestion).
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Go to A&E or call 999 if the arm or wrist is numb, tingling or has pins and needles, a bone is sticking out, or it has changed colour or shape or is at an odd angle. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, you can't use it, or the swelling or bruising is large or getting worse. Pain in the hollow at the base of the thumb after a fall needs checking the same day: see our scaphoid fracture guide.
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Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the joint has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin around it is blue or grey or cold. Get help from NHS 111 if you can't put any weight on it or walk more than a few steps. Go to A&E for a knee that has changed shape, swelled very quickly, or went with a pop or snap.
Call 999 or go to A&E if a cut won't stop bleeding, the blood spurts out bright red, you lose feeling near the wound or can't move it properly, there's a bad cut on your face or palm, or the wound is very large or deep.
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Call 999 or go to A&E for back pain after a serious accident, with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or anus, or changes in your bladder or bowels.
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Don't attempt a rescue: call 999. Once they're out, shivering, pale, cold skin, slurred speech, slow breathing, tiredness or confusion can mean hypothermia: go to A&E or call 999.
Call 999 if someone faints while exercising, or has chest pain that doesn't go away, spreads to the arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness.
In 8 elite skaters, a competitive programme ran at 89% of maximal oxygen uptake, with blood lactate at 8.0 mmol/L after 4 minutes, and skaters land harder than non-skaters.
In young competitive skaters, 68.9% of injuries came from overuse. Falls matter most in the partner and team disciplines and at public rinks.
Nearly 1 in 3 young skaters seen for back pain had a stress injury at the back of a vertebra. Pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks, or is worse arching back, needs checking.
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Children's falls on ice hit the head about four times as often as falls on wheels, and Skate Canada requires helmets for learners. No study has measured whether helmet rules cut head injuries.
No study shows that weighing less makes skating safer. Skipped meals went with more injuries, comments about weight with disordered eating, and low energy availability harms bone and performance.
Across other sports, stretching programmes didn't prevent injuries while strength training did, and adult skaters who warmed up and stretched weren't injured less.
We found no study showing that recreational skating harms knees. Jumper's knee and Osgood-Schlatter disease are overuse problems in competitive jumpers.
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RoSPA: frozen water can look stronger and more solid than it really is. Stay off the ice.
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Balance and landing practice on each leg, jumps, single-leg strength, hip and ankle work, and trunk strength. In the one off-ice trial, 4 weeks of supervised balance-based training 3 times a week improved landing control, and jump height went with fast knee strength. Our off-ice workout puts these together.
Height comes from a powerful push off the ice, and better skaters leave the ice faster upwards. Jump training raised jump height in a trial in young gymnasts, and leg strength and power work, built up gradually, is the closest evidence for skaters. Our jump guide explains the method.
Ankle sprains are the commonest sudden injury and jumper's knee the commonest overuse injury. In young competitive skaters, overuse injuries of the foot and ankle, knee and back lead, and about 1 in 10 injuries is a bone stress injury. Recreational skaters mostly break wrists in falls.
Yes. The Compendium of Physical Activities rates general ice skating at 7 METs, a vigorous effort, and it trains balance too. Wear a helmet while you learn, and consider wrist guards.
Children's falls on ice hit the head about four times as often as falls on wheels, and Skate Canada requires a CSA-approved hockey helmet until skaters can control their skating and stop. There's no UK rule, but a snug, certified helmet is sensible while learning.
No trial has tested them in ice skaters, but wrist fractures are the commonest serious injury at public rinks. Guards cut wrist injuries in in-line skaters and snowboarders, so they're a sensible choice, especially for adults and beginners.
Repeated landings and arched positions load the lower back, and in young skaters back pain is often a bone stress injury: nearly 1 in 3 at one group of clinics. Pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks or is worse arching back needs a doctor. Our spondylolisthesis guide explains more.
There's no agreed limit. Stress fractures were twice as common with 12 or more sessions a week, and children who train more hours a week than their age in years have more overuse injuries. Build jumps up gradually and keep rest days.
Off the ice at once, checked within 24 hours, then a graduated return, with no competition before day 21 under the UK guidelines. An expert commentary for elite skaters, not a tested protocol, brings back stroking and edges first and jumps, spins and inversions later.
RoSPA says stay off the ice: it can look stronger than it is, and falling through risks hypothermia, cardiac arrest and drowning. If someone falls in, don't try to rescue them yourself: call 999.
Exercise education for people who play sport, not a personal prescription or a diagnosis, and clinical review of these pages is pending. Check with a GP or physiotherapist before hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or an injury that isn't settling, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
