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Ice
Skating Health & Injuries
Hosted by
San Diego Figure Skating Communications sdfsc-enews.org |
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Protective Equipment for
Young Athletes in Ice Sports Beginners should always take lessons to learn the correct skating techniques. Some rink owners/ managers have established policies requiring protective helmets for skaters enrolling in beginning group classes. The muscle strength and balance that are needed to participate safely in recreational skating requires following a workout routine that includes core body exercise, proprioception training, and thigh and calf strengthening, starting with a schedule of three to four days a week and expanding to five to six days a week for competitive skaters in hockey, speed, and figure skating. Ice Hockey Helmets are considered essential
to protect hockey players from head injuries, specially concussions.
Gloves and padding for hips, shoulders, knees, and elbows also provide
protection for other body parts. Custom fitted mouth guards and groin
protection
are extremely important too. Note: A heavily padded, boxer-style
cup is better than the traditional small plastic cup for boys.
Girls should also wear especially designed equipment to protect their
reproductive organs.
Speed Skating Prevention of Ice Hockey Injuries is very important as the participation of girls and women grows every year. The need for protection was documented by a recent study funded by USA Hockey. Shock Doc Womens Comp Protective Pant Also refer to: The ISU has approved short track
speed skating helmet that provides protection against impact
and protection against skates entering through gaps in the helmet.
Protective headgear must be worn by all speed skating participants. For younger skaters in Novice or Development, a hockey helmet, roller blading helmet, or bike helmet can be used. For skaters in the Competitive program, specifically designed speed skating helmets meeting the ASTM standard must be used. SSC and ISU rules state that these helmets must be worn in all SSC or ISU sanctioned meets. All About Speed skating Equipment
There seems to be a prevailing
feeling among skaters that helmets would not prevent head injuries in
figure skating and their weight would make it more difficult to acquire
advanced multi-revolution jumps and advanced spin positions.
Many skaters do rely on various devices to provide protection for knee, elbows, hips, and tail bones. Skating
Safe gel pads.
These protective ice skating gel pads are designed to protect you
without the lumpy, bumpy, uncomfortable feeling of ordinary crash pads.
You can find gel pads for your ankles, knees, hips, spine and elbows.
The Ice Halo web site claims that their protective head band can reduce an impact force by 250G. Reducing the impact could be a very real benefit to wearing one of these with out wearing a bulky helmet that can be expected affect balance in spins and especially in jumps. Figure Skating and Recreational Ice Skating Helmets Children who ice skate and skateboard can be seriously injured doing both sports; however, relative fewer children on ice skates wearing protective head gear. Shopwiki.com feature knee, elbow, wrist pads. Skate boarders and Inline skaters tend to wear much more protective gear than recreational ice skaters and competitive figure skaters. References: Individual Differences and Sport Performance
Many factors contribute to an athlete's performance. In the fields of psychology and motor behavior, individual differences are stable, enduring qualities that contribute to sport success. Helmets for Ice Skating Kids The July issue of the journal Pediatrics, the proportion of head injuries among ice skaters is greater than for other types of skating for which helmet use is recommended and often required. Children who are going ice skating should therefore wear a helmet. Resources: The following internet
links have been
gleaned from personal communications
combined with information from public institutions and athletic organizations/ associations that have a web presence with information concerning team and individual sports programs: All
materials are copy protected.
The limited use of the materials for education purposes is allowed providing credit is given for the source of the materials.
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