Show
Sports teach players all sorts of important hallmarks such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and dedication to a singular pursuit of winning. It can also teach the importance of safety since sports can be dangerous without the right gear. Let's take a look at the importance of protective equipment for your player. Sports-Related Injury StatisticsAccording to a study performed by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are more than 3.5 million sports-related injuries for children and teens each year. They also report that of all childhood related injuries across the board, at least one-third of the injuries are related to playing sports. Let's take a look at a few other interesting figures the report found:
While sports can be dangerous to play, there are plenty of ways to ensure proper safety. With the use of the right protective gear, players can enjoy all the things sports has to offer without as much risk for minor or serious injury. Here are the main protective items used to prevent injuries in sports and why they are important. HelmetsWhen looking at the importance of protective equipment, helmets are always the first to come up because of the nature of the injury. Head injuries for players are a serious matter, especially in sports like baseball where a ball can travel upwards of 75-100 miles per hour. The impact of a ball traveling at that speed with a hit to the head can lead to concussion, skull fracture, and other serious injuries. Even in sports like football where the ball travels at a slower speed, a helmet protects the head from impacts so it is a must-wear protective item. FootwearWhile the head is important, the feet are always worth looking at in terms of the importance of protective equipment. The foot of an athlete needs more support when playing as well as specialized soles such as cleats to get traction in the grass for field sports. While most people think of sports injuries as the more dramatic ones of a fastball to the head, ankle and foot injuries are more common. Without proper support, the potential for sprained ankles and overuse injuries becomes a greater risk. Mouth GuardsWhile a helmet is important, the use of a mouth guard is crucial in some sports, especially those with contact involved. A mouth guard is typically worn in sports such as hockey, boxing, and football. They protect the gums and teeth from damage in the event of a strong impact. They can also prevent biting the tongue on accident during an impact. A mouth guard can even prevent things like a concussion or fractured jaw. EyewearIt is reported that upwards of 90 percent of all sports-related eye injuries are preventable with the use of protective eyewear, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The use of goggles or protective eyewear, while less common in most sports, is certainly worth considering for the benefits. It protects the eyes from injuries and there are even options with a tint to reduce glare from the sun for outdoor games. Protective PaddingThe most common type of protection people think of for sports, protective padding is a no brainer in any contact sport such as football, hockey, or lacrosse. This type of padding comes in the form of guards for legs, knees, elbows, chest, and wrists. The hard plastic not only prevents cuts or scrapes, it also prevents damaging impacts from reaching the vulnerable soft tissue. It also protects bones in more fragile areas, such as the wrists, from breaking upon impact. This type of gear can be either padded for maximum absorption of impacts or a plastic shield which also helps provide support to the area. Source: Stanford Children's Health
Use of protective equipment helps to promote athlete safety and well being. Protective equipment is purposely designed to help protect the athlete from injuries that may otherwise occur. Many sports have rules that govern compulsory equipment, while other athletes choose to wear certain protective equipment for their safety. Protective equipment can refer to equipment that players wear, or other forms of protective equipment. Protective Equipment Players WearMost protective equipment falls into this category. Equipment such as skin pads, mouth guards, face masks and shoulder pads are all examples of equipment worn by athletes. Some of which are compulsory, including: mouth guards in rugby union, shin pads in football, and face masks for the catcher in baseball. Other personal protective equipment is not compulsory: such as helmets in cricket, shoulder pads in rugby league and face shields for ice-hockey (goal keeper has to wear a mask). Other Protective EquipmentMany sports have equipment that is not often thought about when thinking about protection. However, there are many examples of equipment that is not worn by athletes. These include: mats that athletes land on in sports like gymnastics and athletics (high jump, pole vault etc), padding around poles in netball, and all rugby codes, goal posts in ice-hockey that move when a player crashes into them, or the soft balls used for indoor cricket. You can access lists of safety equipment for various sports and activities at smartplay.com.au such as Football, AFL, or skateboarding. Critically analyse equipment to determine the degree to which they promote safe participationProtective equipment is all designed specifically for the sports or activities involved. Shin pads use din football are not the same as the leg pads used in cricket or the padding used for the goal keeper in ice-hockey. Each sport has their own piece of protective equipment designed for that sport. This equipment promotes safe participation in their particular sports. For example, the use of helmets in cricket has prevented many head injuries that could be lethal. Padding on netball hoop poles has also prevented injuries from contact with the pole during the game. These types of protective equipment improve the safety of the sport, decrease injury risk and promote athlete wellbeing.
Sports injuries are very common in both contact sports and non contact sports. In the USA more than 3.5 million children under the age of 14 receive medical treatment related to sports injuries each year. High school athletes account for about 2 million injuries each year.[1] According to CDC, more than half of the sports injuries in children are preventable. Hootman et al[2] collected data over a 16 year period and found that injury rates were statistically more significant in games than in practice. They calculated the injuries per 1000 A-E (athlete-exposure per game or practice), and they reported about 13.8 injuries per 1000 A-E in games, and about 4.0 injuries per 1000 A-E in practice. Sports can be briefly categorized into contact/collision sports, limited-contact sports and non-contact sports. Injuries in contact sports and adventurous sports can be fatal. Although death from sports injury is very rare, sports and recreational injuries account for about 21% of traumatic brain injuries among American children. One of the important aspects in sports medicine and in the prevention of athletic injuries is protective gears. The physical therapist's role is to ensure safety, prevention of injuries and protecting existing injuries. Knowledge on different types of athletic equipment available may help physical therapists in proper selection and fitting of the equipment, as this can play a key role in preventing injuries[3]. There are various regulatory bodies/organizations who undertake the responsibility of the durability of the equipment and have a set standards for the equipment. US athletic equipment standards are issued by NOCSAE (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment), and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) is another regulatory body. NOCSAE is most widely recognized certification. The committee started initially with the primary focus on football helmets and its effectiveness in reducing injuries. All helmets has to be reconditioned and re-certified every year[4]. It also requires manufacturers to post a warning on the football helmet. Other governing bodies are, ISO (International Organization of Standardization), ANSI (American National Standard Institute), and CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission). Protective Materials[edit | edit source]Highly resilient materials are used when protection from repeated impacts is required. Non-resilient materials can be used when one time or occasional impact is expected. Different types of protective materials include:
Head Protection[edit | edit source]List of sports requiring head protection include: Amateur boxing, baseball, cycling, football, ice hockey, men’s’ lacrosse, softball, cricket and whitewater sports. Football Helmet
[5] Ice Hockey Helmet – Must only absorb singular as opposed to multiple impacts in football. Helmet should also protect the head from low-mass, high-velocity impact forces (like hit with stick or puck) in addition to high-mass, low velocity (like fall). Must be certified by Canadian standards association (CSA). Use of full-face shield reduces the number and severity of facial injuries. Baseball Helmets – should absorb high-velocity impacts. Ability to prevent head injury is questionable. Face Protection[edit | edit source]Face guards
Chin Straps
Eye and Ear Protection[edit | edit source]Eye Protection
Ear Protection
Mouth Guard[edit | edit source]
Most neck protection does not protect from cervical injuries such as “burners”. Most neck protectors serve as more of a reminder to use proper technique while tackling.
[7] In collegiate and professional football, no rigid material can be worn at the elbow or below unless it is adequately padded with closed-cell foam.Chest protection is also very commonly used. Baseball catchers, Lacrosse and Ice hockey goalies at every level of play are required to wear a chest protector. Most of these chest guards do nothing more than prevent mild contusions. In animal models it has shown that chest protectors are ineffective in preventing ventricular fibrillation triggered by blows to the chest. Sports that use a high-velocity projectile such as a baseball, lacrosse ball or hockey puck require protection of the genitalia for the male participants known as Jocks. Lower Extremities Protection[edit | edit source]Thigh and hip protection
Knee protection
Shin guards – Soccer, Ice hockey and field hockey players as well as baseball catchers are required to wear shin guards in intercollegiate play.
References[edit | edit source]
|