AMEN sister. I learn that way quite a bit. It's like "damn, don't wanna do that again, I guess I better pull in my arms after all." With no padding you have to be much more careful. Sort of like driving when a cop is behind you. But ultimately, that's how you SHOULD be skating/driving anyway. I agree about the false sense of security in that respect, as well.

I must say I agree with this as well. I know skating's enjoyable for many people, but if you run such a high risk of breaking your body apart with a single blow, why do it? There are other ways to have fun. Sure Olympic champions are often dealing with beaten up bodies, but they are Olympic champions. Their whole career is set from that one event, pretty much. I don't really understand the concept of running that high a risk of that serious an injury for a hobby.

haha, thats kinda what i wanted to say too, but i feel like if you say anything like that on here people start attacking you about the dangers of figure skating. Actually today i finally started to land by double sal just about consistently. Now i don't see why people do make such a big deal. Obviously I fell on my butt many many times as i was first learning it, but its never been anything so serious that i couldn't get up and try it again.

figure skating is no more dangerous than playing football, cheerleading, tennis, or even walking down the stairs every morning-there is always a risk of you falling and breaking your neck.

I suppose that could be true, but I wouldn't know from my own experience. Like I said before, my knees are on the edge, so when I started skating and whacked them once, I knew what I had to do to protect myself. As a coach, I do push them for my adult skaters, especially after one in her late 30's (not my student) broke her kneecap working on FXO's. For young competitive skaters and wannabe's, it is obviously not an issue. I don't even know why they are commenting here, as they are not in the group being addressed.

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I was wore knee pads because for ome reason I felt safer with them on. It had been a while since I had skated and well my knees aren't what they were when I was younger.

Though since I started lessons I have left them behind. Not because I don't want to look weird...because I know if I do compete one day, I won't be able to have my knee pads with me. I had to break myself of the habit of wearing the so I would be comfotable without them.

I have been doing fine without them, but I also have been cautious of what I am doing as well.

If I begin to work on big jumps, I will bring the padding back.

See I'm a pro-wrestler and I spent the first few years of my career not wearing knee pads simply becuase I didn't like them. Now I have knee pain on cold days and sometimes they use to just give out.

I started wearing them when I wrestled because I realized I needed to protection and would rather have them there. Then one day not be able to walk at all.

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beachbabe ... well.... if the day comes and you crack your knee bone and splinter it during a skating fall......you'll know about it THEN. Of course.....right now, you won't know about it. But if it does happen, make sure you think back to this thread.

For me, knee pads would be a distraction and a security blanket. I'm 26, I know my body pretty well, and while I have a pretty messed up right knee from other sports, it doesn't bother me while skating except when jumping.

Plus, when I do fall, I tend to miss all the areas that would be padded. I also worry somewhat that I'll be willing to put my hands down or land on my knees if they were protected and padded instead of learning to roll the fall properly.

I wear wrist guards when I rollerblade. Pavement tears.

I don't much care what other people do. I may change my mind when I'm older, but I don't think I'm being an idiot or in danger of DYING HORRIBLY because I don't have full body armor whilst practicing my three-turns, either.

No one here said anything like that. But since you mentioned three turns, you should know that one member of this board did break her ankle on a BO three. My former coach broke her wrist when she put her hand out to stop an approaching skater, something she had done many times before with no injury. I broke my wrist on BI edges, something I had done many times before with no injury. My daughter broke her pinky finger in a pillow fight. What does any of this have to do with whether or not knee pads are useful, a security blanket or anything else? NOTHING! Open up your own thread if you don't like this one - all of you who cannot stick to the subject at hand! That subject being simply that knee pads are for protection from injury when needed ... period... the end.

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Yes, but for some things there is a higher risk of breaking your neck. You are probably less likely to do it falling off your couch than falling out of a jump or being barreled into during a crowded session.

I managed to do that in a fairly unlikely situation (paintballing, actually) and now I'm very scared of falling in figure skating- but it's not stopping me from doing it. It might stop me from doing anything more than singles.

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But even that nasty injury wouldn't KILL you. I just think that your posts regarding injuries and skating are a little over the top and dramatic.

And I keep asking about your own skating level to wonder if you really do know what it's like to do these jumps, and you don't answer. I must've asked on 5 different threads. I'll assume you don't know what it's like then, and that's probably why you're imagining all these out-of-this-world worst case scenario.

You have pretty decent chances of getting run over by a bus everytime you cross the streets. Do you wear knee pads when you cross the streets "just in case"? You have a better chance of getting run over by a bus than of doing what you said above while skating if you have proper technique. It's just really not THAT dangerous. Not anymore than walking outside. And I don'tsee people all padded up.

PS: to the poster above; I have actually fallen backwards out of my computer chair when leaning and screwing around on it, and it hurt way more than 95 % of all falls I've taken in skating. Heh.

Eastonskater thinks figure skating is a dangerous sport.

Right - it's so dangerous that people are still doing it in their 70s and 80s! And yes, I've seen people jumping when nearer 80 than 70. And even I, who am the world's worst klutz, can do a couple of small jumps.

I don't wear kneepads, although I do sometimes wear an elastic bandage if my knee is playing up. Which it (touch wood) doesn't do so much now I've lost weight. Husband still has a painful knee from a fall on it a few weeks ago, and it, too, is inclined to play up if he jumps too much, but he doesn't wear pads or a brace. He does occasionally wear a wrist-guard, but I notice that, now he is getting back into figure skating (he abandoned it some years ago in favour of ice dancing), he's stopped doing so. We're both finding glucosamine helps with painful knees - at least, our knees are usually less painful! I take cod-liver-oil daily too.

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Don't fall out of your chair over this, but DON'T think that past skaters DIDN'T use harnesses. (Aha! I finally used a triple negative!) Harnesses are not new - they've been used for many years. The use of harnesses has declined as they've fallen out of vogue due to the growth of off-ice and concerns about liability. Hockey rinks just don't need 'em, so not every rink has a harness. Most new builds were focused on being NHL-sized and having adequate party facilities than providing figure skating harnesses.

While you wait for the "hard data" to arrive on your doorstep, you can look to the PSA for sports science analyses. They reprint articles in every PSA magazine. UDel has a good library, and NJUMDJ has been analyzing skating for some time. If you get to Lake Placid, or even better, Colorado, the Olympic Training centers could point you in the right direction. Maybe you'll find the data you're waiting for there.

I think that if you're at risk from a knee injury, wear the pads! If they give you confidence and keep you active, fine. I'd rather see you active doing something you enjoy than settling for another activity! Variety IS the spice of life, and accepting diversity and different views really does make you grow as a person.

I don't understand what the big controversy is all about - why do so many people care what others do with their knees?

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