Figure skating & safety

[yuzuangel]

So, I've been worrying about this since Ashley talked about her ~5 concussions in that Body interview. It seems pretty common for skaters to have something like a dozen concussions...does anyone know if Yuzu's ever had one? I know at CoC he was supposed to be pre-concussion but didn't ultimately get one, but it seems really easy to get them from a hard fall in practice or something... and if some skaters have 15-20 concussions how easy is it to get them?! Is it possible to be a top skater without getting any concussions?

 

And concussions have such a terrible long-lasting effect that you will never heal from...

 

The interview: http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/page/espnwbodywagner/figure-skater-ashley-wagner-talks-concussions-costumes-collisions-body-2017

 

 

Quote

Ashley Wagner: I used to be such a math and science person. Numbers just made sense to me. I was able to calculate things easily. Then, I slowly lost those abilities. When talking is hard enough for you, you can't even begin to solve pre-calculus.

Ashley: I was practicing triple flips. I was not being supervised by a coach. I didn't have the jump down solid yet. .... A very severe hit to the ice. Coming from an army family, it was one of those things you walk off. You don't think much of it. I never went to the doctor. I never specifically got diagnosed. 

Ashley: I recognized that something was not right. I started to panic. I had terrible headaches, so painful headaches. It got to the point where people would talk to me and I wouldn't recognize it as English. It sounded like garbled words coming out of their mouth. When I would try to find the words to respond to them, and try to tell them I didn't understand what was going on, I couldn't even find the words. I was stuck in this silent terror.

Ashley: I'm always actively trying to keep my brain working. I now make sure I read a lot, because that was one thing that became really hard for me to do. Just focusing on these tiny letters. I couldn't do it. It gave me a headache. Now I force myself to read books so I can keep that focus and ability. To keep a train of thought and push through.

Ashley: I feel so much more confident in my physical abilities than my cognitive abilities. This is the environment I should be in. This is where I'm going to thrive. I can figure out the next chapter of my life when I get there.

 

 

Quote

Interviewer: Do you think at some point, pads will be a requisite of figure skating?

Evan Lysacek: I don't know about pads. But a lot of sports are implementing helmet rules and trying to take precautions against concussions. I think that's something we should follow. I see people nail their heads all the time. I've done it so many times.

Interviewer: How many concussions have you had?

Evan: Oh, so many.

Interviewer: Just give me a guess, because this is big. I want to know. How many?

Evan: At least 15. Maybe 20.

Interviewer: Holy smokes.

Evan: Sometimes you fall at 20 miles an hour. Your neck just snaps back. You fall thousands of times learning the stuff. It's just trial and error, trying to figure out how to master these tricks but they're so dangerous. That's how I hurt myself. Working on the quad. Tore a labrum in my hip and had a lot of other stuff tear at the same time. Just one fall and *makes click sound*. It's a tough sport and really dangerous as well. I think people forget that.

 

This is terrifying..

[Hydroblade]

51 minutes ago, yuzuangel said:

This is terrifying..

I think that's an understatement 

[robin]

Well at least Yuzu seems to be far from being effecred in his cognitive abilities. But oh boy.... This post gave me a heartburn

[Altie]

I just came across this article about Gabriella Papadakis, where she talks about a concussion she  had in 2015 : http://www.parismatch.com/People/Sport/Un-ange-veille-sur-Gabriella-Papadakis-949480

It's terrifying too.

 

Quote

[...]

En août 2015, lors d’un entraînement, je suis tombée sur la tête. C’était à Montréal, où je vis. Je suis restée inerte sur la glace. Trente minutes après ma chute, je ne pouvais toujours ni bouger ni articuler un mot. Comme ce n’est pas mon genre de paniquer, je ne me suis pas affolée. J’ignorais que j’étais victime d’une commotion cérébrale. Les semaines qui ont suivi ont été très difficiles. Je ne sortais plus de chez moi. Je devais rester couchée, j’avais perdu le sens de l’équilibre, je parlais très lentement en inversant l’ordre des mots. Je n’arrivais pas à lire, les lignes se mélangeaient devant mes yeux, et j’avais d’horribles maux de tête. Pourtant, l’IRM n’avait rien montré.

Ma rééducation du cerveau a duré près de quatre mois. J’ai fini par consulter un spécialiste en neurofeedback. Il m’a confirmé que les connexions entre mes neurones étaient bien déréglées. Je ne m’attendais pas à ce que les dégâts soient si importants. Aujourd’hui encore, j’ai du mal à me concentrer, je me fatigue très rapidement. Les turbulences en avion me sont également très pénibles. Et il y en avait beaucoup sur le vol qui m’a ramenée ce matin de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon ! Après les plus fortes, j’ai ressenti un tournis épouvantable pendant vingt minutes. Je crois qu’il me faudra des années pour me remettre complètement de cet épisode.

 

Avez-vous craint de ne plus jamais pouvoir chausser vos patins ?
Bien sûr ! Pendant de longues semaines, Guillaume s’est entraîné tout seul. Puis j’ai repris doucement, pas plus d’une heure tous les deux jours, contre huit heures par jour ­auparavant. Guillaume a été très patient, très compréhensif. Pendant des mois, je n’ai fait ni portés, ni pirouettes, ni twizzles. Encore maintenant, j’ai du mal à me repérer dans l’espace quand je sors d’une pirouette.

Et vous avez tenu bon…
J’ai eu de grands moments de découragement, parce que j’étais très seule. Je n’avais qu’une envie : rentrer en France chez mes parents pour m’y faire dorloter. D’autant que les progrès étaient très lents et qu’il m’arrivait de régresser. Je ne pouvais pas mettre un pied dehors, les journées me paraissaient donc interminables. J’avais également perdu la mémoire. J’étais devenue un légume.

[...]

 

 

which means more or less :

 

Quote

G - In august 2015, during a training session, I fell on the head. It was in Montreal, where I live. I staid motionless on the ice. Thirty minutes after my fall, I still couldn't either move, nor say a word. Since it's not my style to panic, I didn't lose my head. I didn't know yet I had a concussion. The weeks after were very difficult - I didn't go out anymore. I had to stay in lying position, I had lost the sense of equilibrium, I talked very slowly and switched the words order. I couldn't manage to read, the lines got  muddled in front of my eyes, and I had horrible headaches. However, the MRI hadn't shown anything (yet). [...]

The brain reeducation last almost 4 months. In the end I consulted a neurofeedback specialist. He confirmed that the connections between my neurons weren't working properly. I didn't expect the damages to be that big. Today, I still have trouble focusing, and I get tired very quickly. The turbulence during plane travels is also very difficult for me. And there was a lot on the flight that brought me back this morning from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon ! After the strongest one I've felt dreadfully giddy for 20 minutes. I think it will take me years to heal properly.

 

Did you fear you wouldn't be able to skate anymore ?

Of course ! During long weeks, Guillaume trained alone. Then I got back slowly, never more than one hour every two days instead of eight hours a day before. Guillaume has been very patient, very understanding. During months I couldn't do any lifts, nor spins, nor twizzle. And still, now, I have trouble orienting myself when I go out of a spin.

 

And still, you hold on..

I had big moments of despondency, because I was very lonely. I was yearning to go back to my parents in France to be pampered. Especially as the progresses were very slow and sometimes I was even regressing. I couldn't go outside, the days felt as if they would never end. I had also lost memory. I had become a vegetable.

 

[ralucutzagy]

Omg, poor Gabby ... I read she had a concussion but, wow, this was so bad... Hitting your head is never something easy to go through and sometimes can have long-term consequences  ... hope she is healthy now ...

[Altie]

1 hour ago, ralucutzagy said:

Omg, poor Gabby ... I read she had a concussion but, wow, this was so bad... Hitting your head is never something easy to go through and sometimes can have long-term consequences  ... hope she is healthy now ...

 

Yeah, this is really heartbreaking. I've checked if there was an update on her health, but she doesn't mention the concussion anymore in her recent interviews. Hope she's getting better, I have no idea if you can heal from this kind of injury.

[kaeryth]

It's heartbreaking to read. She's a really strong person. I wouldn't know what to do if what happened to her happened to me (probably panic a lot). Glad she had good support from Guillaume and hoping  her recovery is going well!

[ralucutzagy]

1 minute ago, sublimeskating said:

reading all these news of skaters and their terrible injuries makes me really appreciate how much guts they have to keep going with this extremely difficult sport despite all the dangers and risks and injuries!  these skaters are all champs!  seriously, how strong must they be physically and mentally to keep going and working hard at something that is so risky!  i have so much respect for them!  

amazing, isn't it? I mean, think about Gabriella ... she was so brave, i don't think i would have the guts to go on the ice again, after something like that... they are all special human beings deserving the greatest respect and admiration ... that's why I don't understand the haters and ppl speaking bad things abt skaters... 

[SparkleSalad]

Re: Yuzu and concussions

 

When asked about CoC injuries and whether he had a concussion then, he said:

 

 

K: So your head was fine [as in you don’t have a concussion]?
Y: I didn’t feel like my brain was shaking. I thin I felt my brain shaking a few times before.

K: What?
Y: When I was small, after I got onto the podium in a novice competition, I thought I could go to olympics [and jump 3A] and I was like “I could jump and land everything”. So I went to practise 3A even though I couldn’t land a perfect single triple back then. So I thought I could just delayed* my 2A…

K: Delayed?
Y: When you open up and then go back to a tight position..do you know? Split [the jump]? When I tried to do my 3A, I landed on my ankle and my head hit the ground and I wasn’t conscious after that. Sometime after that I was moved to a warm room and I couldn’t move my arms and legs.

 

 

http://yuzuland.tumblr.com/post/129711465692/kenjis-room-with-yuzuru-hanyu-episode-4

 

So it seems he may have had at least one.

[Hydroblade]

14 minutes ago, SparkleSalad said:

Re: Yuzu and concussions

 

When asked about CoC injuries and whether he had a concussion then, he said:

 

 

K: So your head was fine [as in you don’t have a concussion]?
Y: I didn’t feel like my brain was shaking. I thin I felt my brain shaking a few times before.

K: What?
Y: When I was small, after I got onto the podium in a novice competition, I thought I could go to olympics [and jump 3A] and I was like “I could jump and land everything”. So I went to practise 3A even though I couldn’t land a perfect single triple back then. So I thought I could just delayed* my 2A…

K: Delayed?
Y: When you open up and then go back to a tight position..do you know? Split [the jump]? When I tried to do my 3A, I landed on my ankle and my head hit the ground and I wasn’t conscious after that. Sometime after that I was moved to a warm room and I couldn’t move my arms and legs.

 

 

http://yuzuland.tumblr.com/post/129711465692/kenjis-room-with-yuzuru-hanyu-episode-4

 

So it seems he may have had at least one.

[SparkleSalad]

6 minutes ago, Hydroblade said:

 

They really should insist baby skaters wear head protection, especially reckless boys. 

[yuzuangel]

Noo............................

[KatjaThera]

On 8/18/2017 at 4:52 AM, SparkleSalad said:

Re: Yuzu and concussions

 

When asked about CoC injuries and whether he had a concussion then, he said:

 

 

K: So your head was fine [as in you don’t have a concussion]?
Y: I didn’t feel like my brain was shaking. I thin I felt my brain shaking a few times before.

K: What?
Y: When I was small, after I got onto the podium in a novice competition, I thought I could go to olympics [and jump 3A] and I was like “I could jump and land everything”. So I went to practise 3A even though I couldn’t land a perfect single triple back then. So I thought I could just delayed* my 2A…

K: Delayed?
Y: When you open up and then go back to a tight position..do you know? Split [the jump]? When I tried to do my 3A, I landed on my ankle and my head hit the ground and I wasn’t conscious after that. Sometime after that I was moved to a warm room and I couldn’t move my arms and legs.

 

 

http://yuzuland.tumblr.com/post/129711465692/kenjis-room-with-yuzuru-hanyu-episode-4

 

So it seems he may have had at least one.

I'm really late here, but since I happened to be checking various threads here, I remember reading Yuzu - not very seriously - saying how when he was a kid he wore a helmet because he used to fall and hit his head a lot and had lost consciousness (don't remember if just once or more times). I'll try to find the source when I get home, but it was an interview early in his career, I think. Hopefully it's the same incident as here, and there weren't others. Of course, not every head injury equals concussion, also I think losing consciousness doesn't necessarily mean it was a concussion, but yeah, I guess I'd be surprised if he's never had any. >_<