Do You Really Need Protective Equipment in Sports?
People participate in sports because it’s a good physical activity, a good way to bond, and to just have fun in general. Because people enjoy it so much, there is a high chance of developing a severe injury because of collisions, tripping, accidental hits, and many more. Long-term injuries from sports are possible and can cause life-altering changes to the athlete.
Protective equipment is worn to prevent these. They are varied according to the sport an athlete plays.
To Ensure Safety
Safety is a must when playing to ensure that the athletes can play comfortably throughout the game. They can’t play the game comfortably when they are already injured from the start. Athletes should be educated as to why they need to wear the equipment. Furthermore, they should also be taught how to wear them. Protective equipment is nothing if the athletes are already poorly conditioned before the game.
To Reduce the Severity of the Injuries
Whether you like it or not, there is still a possibility that you will have an injury from the game no matter how careful you are. It just reduces its impact. The injury you will possibly have is manageable as compared to wearing to the injury you’ll have of not wearing the equipment. The common injuries you get in sports are strains, sprains, dislocations, fractures, and knee injuries. They can be remedied with a cold compress, rest, elevation, and compression.
Protective Equipment for Sports
Protective equipment is unique for each sport. They’re designed to protect particular body parts that are more likely to be hit while playing. Furthermore, they’re also designed to help the athlete perform efficiently while playing. Here are the common types of protective equipment for sports:
Mouthguards
Mouthguards prevent dental injuries during a game. You see athletes wear them in sports such as boxing, basketball, football, and other contact sports. You don’t want to lose a tooth or have a chipped tooth by failing to wear a mouthguard. Damage-control mouthguards come in different types: custom-made, stock, and boil-and-bite. These come at different prices and at different levels of comfort.
Athletic Shoes
Athletic shoes are not the same for every sport. There are shoes for football, basketball, and running. They are used to prevent foot pain and help you play the game efficiently. As an athlete, you have to maintain your shoes properly so that they can serve their purpose well.
Helmets
Helmets are used to prevent serious head injuries in sports such as hockey, football, skiing, skateboarding, cycling, and snowboarding. The athlete can suffer serious head injuries and even death if a helmet is not worn when playing these sports. During sports, the helmet absorbs some impact. The helmet must be worn properly and be in the right size for the wearer for it to be efficient.
Protective Cup
A protective cup is worn by athletic boys in the groin area to protect it from blunt trauma injuries when playing contact sports such as hockey, soccer, football, and basketball. Some serious testicular injuries you get from not wearing a cup during sports are testicular rupture and testicular torsion. Make sure to get the right size so that it can protect you effectively.
Eye Protection
About 90% of serious eye injuries could be prevented if proper eye protection is considered. Eye protection is important in sports such as ice hockey, skiing, baseball, soccer, basketball, and football. It is usually made up of polycarbonate lenses that are shatterproof. Some eye injuries you can get without the appropriate eye protection are corneal abrasion, orbital fractures, penetrating eyelid injuries, retrobulbar hemorrhage, hyphema, and retinal injury.
Sports is a fun game to play and to watch. It is enjoyed by a lot of people globally because of its thrill and excitement. As the sport becomes aggressive, the chances of sustaining an injury also rise. Athletes get elbowed, kicked, punched, tripped because of the intensity of the game. To prevent short-term and long-term injuries, athletes must wear the appropriate protective equipment for that sport. The protective equipment will take the brunt of the force that is sustained from the sport.
The protective equipment makes the sport an enjoyable activity for everyone. You can’t enjoy the game if you keep on sustaining injuries in every game. They make sure that the athletes can keep on playing the game for as long as they can. You’ll still get injuries, but they’ll be reduced, and won’t have the strong impact as when you don’t wear the protective equipment. Consult your doctor for the appropriate equipment to wear for your sport.
