Ice-skating and roller disco injuries in Dublin.

A comparative study was carried out on a series of 72 ice-skating and 57 roller skating injuries over a sixteen month period. The average patient age was 20.5 years in the ice-skating group and 16.5 years in the roller skating group. Females predominated in both groups accounting for 72% of ice-skaters injured and 77% of roller skaters injured. Ice-skaters sustained more serious injuries than roller skaters as was evident from the significant difference in fracture numbers in the two groups. Ice-skating fractures accounted for 40% of all injuries while roller skating fractures were only 14% of their total injuries. The majority of ice-skating fractures occurred in females. As a result of our study we recommended several preventative measures.