Univ. of Calgary study underway on prevention & treatment of bone/joint injuries in figure skaters

[Sylvia]

University of Calgary news/health article (Patrick Chan and Kaetlyn Osmond are pictured being tested): http://www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue...can-take-toll-figure-skaters-bones-and-joints
This version includes a photo of Eric Radford: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-06-extreme-athleticism-toll-figure-skaters.html

Overhead lifts, quad jumps, double Salchows and sit spins—the artistry of figure skating is awe inspiring, but these moves also require extreme athleticism, which can take a toll on the body's bones and joints.
Some of Canada's top figure skaters are participating in a new research study in the Cumming School of Medicine's Centre for Mobility and Joint Health (MoJo), located in the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, that looks at the relationship between training frequency, impact load, nutrition and bone microarchitecture. The findings of this study, designed in partnership with the Canadian Sport Institute (CSI) Calgary, Skate Canada, and funded by the Own the Podium Innovations for Gold initiative, will inform health guidelines in the prevention, early detection and treatment of bone and joint injuries in elite and developing Canadian figure skaters.

The study is recruiting 34 national team athletes and junior development athletes from across the country. Each skater will undergo testing a total of three times over a period of two years.

 

[chapis]

wow, And what will follow? They will say that the world is round?

 

[overedge]

wow, And what will follow? They will say that the world is round?

Knowing exactly how much stress is being exerted and what parts of the body it affects the most (and how) will be extremely useful information. It might help skaters/coaches design their training to maximize the results they want while minimizing the damage to the skaters' bodies.

 

[Vagabond]

If double salchows can take a toll on the body's bones and joints, I dread to think what quadruple salchows do.

 

[skatesindreams]

This should not be a surprise to anyone.
The only surprise would be if no effects were found!

 

[Skate Talker]

wow, And what will follow? They will say that the world is round?

LOL - my first thought reading the thread/article title was "DUH!" The study and possible benefits are a good thing but somebody seriously could have chosen a better title so it doesn't read like a joke.

 

[Sylvia]

... somebody seriously could have chosen a better title so it doesn't read like a joke.

What would you (or anyone else) suggest?

I couldn't come up with a title quickly and so I just went with the article headline when I started this thread. I can change it.

ETA: I've since revised the thread title.

 

[barbarafan]

What would you (or anyone else) suggest?

I couldn't come up with a title quickly and so I just went with the article headline when I started this thread. I can change it.

I don't see it looking as a joke...I would have put something like Univers.of Cgy starts a study on damages sustained to bones &joints of "Elite" figure skaters.

 

[watchthis!!]

It is reports like this that will take all of the fun out of our sacrificing our youth to the Sports Gods.

 

[el henry]

I guess I must be missing my snark gene, because I saw nothing at all that was "Duh" or "Sooo obvious" or about the headline. And I have rarely been accused of missing the snark gene.

I did think that the article might address, as it did, what can we do and should study to improve/ameliorate/stop the effects and to address something even more important than "winning" (gasp!), lifelong health.

Because for some of us, "everyone is doing it", "how do you stop an elite athlete from just going for it" "hard work, and overtraining, separating the *real* skaters from the rest of the herd", etc., etc.

is just so much hooey.

 

[arakwafan2006]

wow, And what will follow? They will say that the world is round?

To me, this type of " oh dear...what shall they do?" is only seen in sports like Figure Skating. In other sports, athletes count the cost of what they're doing and it's a "comes with" type of situation. There is no report that is going to force skaters into learning perfect technique, and even when they are doing jumps correctly, every individual's body can handle what it can handle. This study is not really shedding any more light on the situation.

Unless a federation insisted that skaters only train certain hours per day and lift certain amounts, the skaters will do whatever it takes to push limits. I don't think these studies are bad but we already knew this.

 

[Dobre]

Fact based research can be very valuable.

For grant writing. For convincing managers & administrators to prioritize specific aspects of training. For doctors trying to advise their patients. For people who do set the rules within a sport and those who design the equipment.

I'm sure we can all think of more specific questions we would like to see answered with regards to our favorite sports.

As a gymnastics fan, I was oh-so-not-a-fan of the post-1992 hubbub questioning the safety/validity of the sport. (To me, it stank of sexism, and the very idea that Kim Zmeskal--of all people--was being used as a poster child to malign women's gymnastics annoyed me to no end). But a lot of good things came out of it. The vaulting table was redesigned. The floor mats have more spring. The training equipment is different. The elite-level age requirement was raised one year, and now instead of two top athletes above the age of sixteen at the Olympics we have almost an entire field and high-level athletes that know they can choose to continue in their twenties.

Study away. You never know what the results will be down the road.

 

[Skate Talker]

What would you (or anyone else) suggest?

I couldn't come up with a title quickly and so I just went with the article headline when I started this thread. I can change it.

Sorry, Sylvia.
I appreciate you posting the link and I realized you just used the article headline. I should have made it clearer that I meant whomever titled the news article could have made better choices. But like you nothing came quickly to mind when I wrote my initial post. barbarafan's suggestion, or something like it, works for me. Really it wasn't important but just the first reaction I had to reading the headline.

 

[Sylvia]

Really it wasn't important but just the first reaction I had to reading the headline.

No problem ; I didn't like the article headline either. I've changed the thread title but couldn't squeeze "early detection" into it.

ETA:

Photo of Reynolds, Moscovitch, Osmond, Radford, Chan & Lubov I.: https://twitter.com/McCaigInstitute/status/880501241180061696

 

[aftershocks]

Good that it's happening with more studies underway. There have been other independent, and figure-skating related sponsored studies, but nothing extensive or well-funded. Something is better than nothing. It's like fighting the scourge of cigarette-smoking though. Too little, very late in the game, but much welcomed and needed. Uphill battle ...

It is reports like this that will take all of the fun out of our sacrificing our youth to the Sports Gods.

Somehow your comment reminds me of the movie, The Hunger Games. ...

 

[Sylvia]

More info on the study by a research associate there: https://wcm.ucalgary.ca/mccaig/bone_health_figure_skaters

The research study includes the following:

• XtremeCT scans: The tibia and radius (shin and wrist) of athletes will be scanned to look at bone microarchitecture. These images will provide a detailed look at bone density and strength.
• A full body profile: This includes weight, height, and skinfold measurements of various points in the body.
• Food questionnaire: Participants will fill out a detailed food frequency questionnaire to estimate nutrient intake.
• Health history: This includes blood work and a detailed account of previous injuries.

The study is recruiting 34 national team athletes and junior development athletes from across the country. Each skater will undergo testing a total of three times over a period of two years.