Thursday, June 27, 2013

A Look At Sports Protective Wear

By Lila Barry


There is growing concern over the safety of participating in sports in recent years as injuries seem to be more common with more people taking part in these types of activities. Rules designed to protect the players have evolved and there is more emphasis on properly maintaining and caring for facilities and equipment. The most visible safety measure, however, is the use of sports protective wear, which is also seeing a significant increase in its use.

A wide variety of this type of gear is available, varying according to which sport is being played and the particular needs of the user. Certain sports have rules requiring the use of specific types of protective wear because of the intrinsic dangers involved. There are also additional options for those with special needs or conditions.

One obvious example of a sport that requires the use of a significant amount of protective wear is American football. A helmet with a face mask, a mouth guard and shoulder pads are the absolute minimum. Pads for this hips, knees, thighs and tailbone are generally necessary as well.

Another sport in which the players have seemingly every body part covered is ice hockey. This game is also a demonstration of how the use of protective gear has evolved over time. Many years ago helmets were not commonly worn in hockey despite the violent nature of the game and the hardness of the ice. Surprisingly, not even goalies used head or face protection even though their role is to use their bodies to stop a hard piece of rubber that is flying at a great velocity. Now, however, helmets are mandatory in nearly every hockey league and goalies are well-padded.

Helmets are probably the most-used type of protective gear in sports, being seen in a wide variety of activities. This is due to the fact that suffering a head injury can have a tremendously negative effect on one's life and helmets can be effective ways of preventing this. In addition to American football and hockey, they are also standard in baseball, auto racing, cycling, horse riding, skiing and snowboarding among others.

Such examples are quite obvious but this isn't always the case. For instance, rash guards are often worn in surfing to protect the skin from both the sun and from excessive friction caused by rubbing against the board. The leash, which is worn on one leg and attaches to the board, can be viewed in this way too. The leash keeps the board from flying away and putting other surfers in danger of being hit by it.

There are times when items beyond what is required by the rules may be needed. When one has suffered an injury and is returning to play, they many choose to wear some type of brace or tape, such as with a sprained ankle. This is also commonly done for chronic injuries, for example bracing or taping an ankle that is not currently injured but has been in the past.

Naturally, different sports have different levels of injury risk and different parts of the body that are most in danger of being hurt. Whether one is trying to prevent an injury or to protect an already injured body part, sports protective wear can be very useful. Fortunately there are many high-quality options available to help one avoid serious injury.




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