Sports Safety
Posted on October 20, 2014
Many of us as parents spend numerous hours on school and town fields and playgrounds watching or coaching our children playing town or school sports. There is so much in the news today about concussions, in amateur and professional athletes alike. If you have a child in organized school sports they now need to get a baseline evaluation for concussion prior to engaging in the sport. There are a lot of things that we as parents, coaches, teachers, and participants can do to prevent sports injuries.
Throughout the week I will be sharing sports safety tips that will help keep your young athlete safe!
Top Safety Tips from SafeKids.org
- For organized sports, make sure your child has a pre-participation physical exam, or PPE, by the family doctor, before playing. This can help rule out any potential medical conditions that may place your young athlete at risk.
- Encourage children to drink water before, during and after athletic activities or play.
- Adults should be present at all times to ensure a safe playing environment and the enforcement of safety rules. This is particularly important for younger kids.
- An off-season is important. It is recommended that kids get 10 consecutive weeks of rest from any one sport every year.
- Make sure your coach is trained in first aid and CPR, and understands how to prevent, recognize and/or respond to concussions and overuse injuries.
It is also important your children wear the correct sports safety gear for the sport they are participating in such as helmets, shin pads, mouth guards, etc. Even if they are riding their bikes, scooters or roller-blading around the neighborhood, be sure your children are wearing their helmets!
Following is an excerpt from kidshealth.org
Helmets Are Key
The equipment you wear while participating in sports and other activities is key to preventing injuries.
Start with helmets: They’re important for sports such as football, hockey, baseball, softball, biking, skateboarding, inline skating, skiing, and snowboarding — to name just a few.
- Always wear a helmet made for the sport you’re playing.
- When choosing a bike helmet, look for a sticker that says the helmet meets the safety standard set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal regulatory agency that creates safety standards for bike helmets and other safety equipment.
- If you use a multi-sport helmet for inline skating and skateboarding, it is not considered safe for bicycle riding unless it has the CPSC sticker.
- Any helmet should fit snugly but comfortably on your head and shouldn’t tilt backward or forward.
Eye Protection
Eye protection also is a must for many sports:
- The most protective eye gear is made from a plastic called polycarbonate and has been tested especially for sports use.
- Face masks or polycarbonate guards or shields that attach to a helmet are worn in sports such as football, ice hockey, and softball and baseball when batting.
- Goggles are often worn for soccer, basketball, racquet sports, snowboarding, street hockey, and baseball and softball when fielding.
- If you wear glasses, you’ll probably need prescription polycarbonate goggles — don’t just wear your regular glasses when you’re on the court or field.
- All eye protection should fit securely and have cushions above your eyebrows and over your nose.
More Essential Equipment
Mouth guards can protect your mouth, teeth, and tongue:
- You should wear a mouth guard if you play a contact sport or other sport where head injury is a risk, such as football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, martial arts, boxing, or wrestling.
- Mouth guards can be fitted for your mouth by a dentist or purchased at sports stores.
- If you wear a retainer, always take it out before you start to exercise, practice, or play.
Wrist, knee, and elbow guards are important gear, too:
If you inline skate, skateboard, or ride a scooter, you should wear guards. Elbow and wrist guards can prevent arm and wrist fractures, and knee guards can shield your knees from cuts and breaks.
If you play certain sports, especially contact sports, pads are essential:
- All kinds of sports, from hockey to inline skating, use pads. There are shin, knee, elbow, wrist, chest, shoulder, hip, and thigh pads.
- Check with your coach or doctor to find out what kinds of pads you might need for your sport.
- Guys who play hockey, football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and other contact sports should use a protective cup.
- For non-contact sports that involve running, guys should wear an athletic supporter.
- If you’re unsure, ask your coach, athletic trainer, or parent if you need a cup for your sport.
And last but not least, the right footwear can keep you from tripping and falling:
- You know that sports like football, baseball, softball, and soccer require cleats. But you may not realize that sports like skateboarding and biking need special types of shoes, too. Ask your coach or doctor what shoes are best for your sport.
- Replace shoes and cleats that have worn out or are no longer supportive.
Not only is the right kind of equipment important, so is the right fit. If you don’t know if your equipment fits properly, check with a coach, gym teacher, athletic trainer, or parent to make sure you have the right size and that you’re wearing it correctly. Many sporting goods stores can also help you find the right fit.
The bottom line: Wearing the right equipment with the right fit dramatically decreases your chances of getting hurt.
Health New England has a great sports safety story book, Sammy Sports, geared toward children between the ages of 5 and 12. Check it out our online version here!
Don’t forget to take my quick weekly quiz to see how much you have learned today. There is a reward at the end of the quiz, so act now before they are all gone!
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