A Look At Sports Protective Wear

By Lila Barry


With more and more people being active in sports these days, safety is becoming a bigger issue than ever before. There are several ways to help ensure the safety of those who participate, including specific rules designed to protect their well-being and proper care and maintenance of equipment and facilities. One area that has seen tremendous improvement in this regard is in the design, production and use of sports protective wear.

Many types of protective wear are available and can be chosen depending on the specific needs of the person playing as well as the demands of the chosen sport. Some types of protection are mandated by the rules of the games, particularly in more dangerous sports. In some instances people may choose to utilize additional equipment to suit their needs.

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.

The type of safety gear that is used more than any other is probably helmets. Because concussions and other head injuries can be severely debilitating, these are particularly important pieces to be worn. Besides the aforementioned American football and ice hockey, cycling, skiing, snowboarding, auto racing, horse riding, baseball and many others utilize them as well.

In some instances this type of equipment is a bit less obvious. For example, in surfing one can wear a rash guard that serves two purposes. One is to prevent chafing from the board rubbing directly on the skin and the other is to prevent sunburn. The leash that attaches to the surfer's leg and the board could also be considered a type of protection, not only for that particular surfer but to keep the board from getting away and endangering others.

In cases where one has already suffered an injury, extra equipment may be used. This can be the case when one is returning from an acute injury, such as wearing a brace or using tape on an ankle that was recently sprained. It is also common in instances where one has chronic problems, such at taping or using a brace on an ankle that is currently healthy but tends to suffer from sprains.

Every sport has its inherent dangers and injury risk. Anyone who chooses to participate should consider taking measures to ensure their safety. Using sports protective wear is an easy and effective method of doing just this.




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