U.S. figure skater Jeremy Abbott took a hard fall on the ice Thursday after attempting a quadruple jump.
After the fall he nearly hit the boards and was almost motionless for 10 seconds. As he arose, he clutched his hip in pain, but continued on to finish his routine.
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A quad jump is one of the most difficult jumps to complete because not only does it require the skater to leave and land on the ice with the same blade, but also to complete four revolutions in the air. It has a big risk-reward ratio, but as can be seen here, the consequences of not landing it correctly can be disastrous.
Jeremy may have suffered a multitude of injures. The most common would be a bone contusion either to the side of his hip or to his ribs. With enough of a hit to the side of the hip, you can develop an acute tendonitis that can be very debilitating. He may also have suffered an abdominal muscle pull (I.e.: one of his oblique muscles).
These athletes are strong, very strong, and in order to get where Jeremy is now, this is not his first fall. More than likely, he will be very sore and badly bruised, but nothing that will keep him from competing.
You can be sure that he is getting the best care from our Olympic medical staff to get him ready for his next competition.
We wish him all the best.
Dr. James Bicos is a Beaumont orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Performance Orthopedics in Bingham Farms. He has cared for injured Olympic athletes during competitions and at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.
Dr. Bicos is blogging for Local 4 about his impressions of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
To visit Dr. Bicos' website, click here.