Injuries and Health Issues
Competitive skaters generally do not wear helmets or other protective gear. There is a risk of head injuries, particularly in pair skating as a result of falls from lifts. Although pair skaters are most susceptible, serious head injuries can occur in all disciplines, including ice dancing. Partners have accidentally slashed each other; this has sometimes occurred when partners drift too close during side-by-side camel spins. Several female pair skaters have suffered head/face injuries during this element, including Elena Berezhnaya, Jessica Dubé, Mandy Wötzel, Galina Maniachenko (Efremenko), and Elena Riabchuk. Single and pair skaters may develop serious damage to their hips after many years of practicing jumps and throws. Foot, knee, and back injuries may affect all four disciplines. In rare cases, intensive training of spins may result in subtle concussions (Lucinda Ruh).
Injuries have also been sustained by skaters from different teams when there are many skaters practicing on the ice. Midori Ito collided with Laetitia Hubert at the 1991 World Championships, while Oksana Baiul and Tanja Szewczenko collided at the 1994 Olympics, but all went on to compete. On practice sessions with multiple skaters on the ice, the skater whose music is playing conventionally has right of way. In addition, pairs and ice dancers skating as a unit have right of way over those skating separately as changing course is more difficult for a couple.
Eating disorders are reportedly common in figure skating.
Read more about this topic: Figure Skating
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