Most times, when the word “sports” is brought up, what comes to mind is a thought full of excitement and fun. However, the fact that it’s not as commonly associated with participating in sports of any kind. The hazard of a potential injury, whether it be small or large, should always be accounted for. Injuries can occur anywhere, but by playing sports, these injuries increase. All sports, contact or not, individual or team, can bring the possibility of an injury. A lot of factors play a role in sports-related injuries such as age group, weather conditions, and the type of sport. Sports injuries can be prevented with proper knowledge of each sport as well as a good diet.
Additionally, the most physical sport is Football. It involves a lot of physical contact from play to play. In Football, it is required for each player to wear a helmet, mouth guard, shoulder pads, and lower pads such as hip pads. The sport is split into age groups: PeeWee (ages 13 and under), high school (ages 14-18), college (ages 18-22), and pro (adults). Each level gets progressively harder and more physical. Frankly, Football is either played on a grass field or a turf field meaning fake grass. Due to this, many injuries could potentially occur while playing football, depending on where the individual plays.
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Football is typically an all-year sport, like many, that requires off-season workouts. A mandatory of those workouts comes in the summer with summer camp and practice. The weather tends to be dangerously hot and humid. To increase the danger, most football fields are outdoors with no shade or protection from the sun. A study done by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine explains, “Heat injuries are a major concern for youth football players, especially at the start of training camp. This usually occurs in August when some of the highest temperatures and humidity of the year occur” (cite). This type of injury can be fatal with running around and sweating in the hot weather; it can potentially lead to the player losing a lot of fluid. This is common in younger players because he or she does not know better and has not been given any knowledge of it. This can easily be prevented with frequent water breaks and the coach telling the players the importance of staying hydrated throughout the day while eating properly as well.
As the players get older, the bigger and more physical they may get. This means these players are bringing more power when they make contact with another player on the field. Thus, increasing the chance of injury in the sport. However, the sport is becoming more physical each year at all age levels. Because of this, injuries are occurring more often in all ages. The football community is coming together and coming up with ways to help prevent these injuries from happening. Christopher C. Dodson writes, “Players, coaches, and families can take steps to help reduce the chances of an injury on the gridiron. Three categories to focus on are equipment, fitness, and wellness” (cite). The coaches are ultimately responsible for providing good conditions for the players and making sure these players stay healthy. They can also increase the knowledge of players in health and nutrition. Prevention of injury can start with the coach providing proper equipment for players. As for the families of the players, they must prepare proper meals for the players. Most importantly, it is crucial the player takes upon his or her responsibilities and makes healthy decisions.
Not only is Football a dangerous, injury-filled sport, but so is Baseball. This sport has no time limits involved and can keep going on. Baseball consists of nine players on defense and one player at a time up to bat for the offense. The fielder's uniform does not consist of much, just a regular uniform with a hat, baseball glove, and cleats. The fielders do not have much protection when playing defense. The catcher is protected with a mask, chest plate, and shin guards. The batter wears a helmet and has a choice to wear guards to protect their arms, elbows, and legs. They also have an option to wear a helmet with a full face protector similar to those in Softball.
Baseball is split up into various age groups similar to football. It consists of little league, high school, college, single A, double A, triple A, and lastly, the major league. The season length varies from group to group, as the season is not too long for most, besides the major league (professionals). The major league plays 162 games in a regular season, not including if the team makes it to the playoffs. The higher the level gets, the more work an athlete has to put in. The average major league season starts around March and ends in September. If the team goes into playoffs, the season can be extended another two months. All these different groups and various lengths of seasons, bring a lot more injuries. Interestingly enough, a pitcher in a regular game is more prone to injuries than an average batter. These injuries can include, but are not limited to: damage to the ulnar collateral ligament, elbow, and shoulder. An ulnar collateral ligament helps stabilize the elbow for the motion of pitching. Within Stop Sport Injuries article states, “If a young athlete is throwing too hard, too much, too early, and without rest, a serious elbow or shoulder injury may be on the horizon” (cite). Although the article only mentions a young athlete, this injury can happen at every level of Baseball. The injury usually occurs when a pitcher throws over their limit of pitches for the game, throwing too hard, or a lack of rest. The pitcher is more naturally inclined to throw hard while pitching and if he goes over the limit of pitches, injury is more likely to happen.
It is up to the athlete to tell their coach if they are feeling pain, as this is the only way to tell if an injury has occured. This injury will cause discomfort and can affect the pitching. It is relatively easy to treat the injury if it is minor, as it consists of icing and rest. However, if the injury is major it may require surgery. Prevention is key, as there are many ways to keep the injury from happening. For example: staying loose and stretching every day. It is important to stretch because it will help loosen the muscles and tearing a muscle can be less common after stretching. Another way is for the coach to have pitchers on a rotation so that they are allowed to rest. As for younger athletes, they should learn the basic pitches first, such as the fastball and change-up, to advance with much harder pitches. Advanced pitches require more power behind them. This would affect the younger players for they’re not fully developed and shouldn’t be throwing advanced pitches. The young athlete can injure himself more easily, as he should learn the basic pitches fully first. As for the older athletes, they can begin to learn the more efficient pitches. This leads pitchers to get enough rest especially when they start throwing more complex pitches that generate more power.
On the contrary, injuries in batters are not as common, but they can strain a muscle. This usually occurs from swinging the bat too hard. It is appropriate for the batter to use a proper bat that best suits them because bats come in different sizes. To prevent injury from swinging the bat, the athlete must do research for their personal best fit for a bat and continue practicing on their swing. Batters are prone to getting hit by a ball every once in a while when a pitcher makes a mistake. Which results in an occasional bruise that would just need some ice. As for the baserunners, they are prone to jamming their finger or two while sliding into a base. Unlike football, the weather does not affect baseball; when it rains, the game gets delayed and/or canceled. Thus not making baseball players in the mud. Where playing in the rain increases the chances of injury due to the wetness. For the baseball game is delayed and a tarp is put over the field to keep the dirt dry. As if it stops raining the tarp comes off, with the dirt still being dry making it safe to play.
It is also important for baseball players to stay well-hydrated in the summer. Since baseball is a long season, diet is very important for the athletes. A proper diet will go a long way and benefit the athlete throughout the season. A bad diet will only hurt the athlete’s body. Maria Scinto from LiveStrong writes, “Be sure to eat a balanced diet, including plenty of lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, and complex carbohydrates” (cite). For athletes eating a balanced, it can only help them not hurt them. Baseball athletes must keep a good diet to perform well during the season. Eating poorly signifies that the athlete is not taking care of their body. Having a bad diet can cause the athlete to perform poorly and make mistakes. Additionally, the athlete may not feel so good from eating the wrong things. With the baseball season being long the athletes need to maintain a good balanced diet to stay healthy and perform well.
Coincidentally, basketball is another sport that has injury precautions. Similar to the previous sports, basketball is split up into different groups. It consists of development league/little league, high school, college, and the professionals. Basketball is mainly an indoor sport, unlike football or baseball. However, basketball leagues do exist outdoors. It is a fast-paced game unlike baseball, and consists of four quarters. The quarter lengths depend on the level of play. High school games are at least eight to ten-minute quarters. However, college basketball games have two-quarters of around fifteen to twenty-minute quarters.
The uniform does not have much, similar to baseball, but the opposite of football. The requirements are shorts, sneakers, and a shirt or tank top. Some basketball athletes wear compression sleeves or pants under the shorts. The compression sleeves and pants come with a built-in pad option for the athlete for protection. The athlete’s main concern is the sneakers. Many athletes choose the “hightop look” as it produces more support on the ankles. The sneaker can also allow the athlete to show off a little bit as they are free to choose their style. Some athletes choose to wear wristbands or headbands mainly for the style and flash, but it also helps catch the sweat from the athletes. Similar to shoes, socks have different styles with different feel. Some athletes like a tighter sock, and some like a more loose sock while they play. The sock gives the feel of there being more support for the athlete as they perform on the court.
Just like every other sport basketball comes with injuries as well. Since basketball is a fast-paced game, injury can happen more rapidly. Injuries such as ankle sprains, Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears (ACL), and patellar tendonitis. An ankle sprain is a tear in the ligaments of the ankle. These usually occur when the athlete lands funny while jumping for a ball, or just wearing the wrong type of sneaker. Surgery is not required for this type of injury, just stay off of the foot and ice it. When it comes to this type of injury, the athlete has little control to prevent it as they are jumping for the ball or making a jump shot. The only thing the athlete can do is make sure they have the sneaker that best supports them. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament or ACL tear is common in this kind of sport. The ACL ligament controls the movement of the shinbone and the femur. UPMC Sports Medicine states, “When the ACL tears and that restraint disappears, your knee can become unstable and may buckle or give away.” With basketball, there are a lot of fast sudden movements that can cause the tear. The injury usually requires surgery to repair the ACL and a nine to twelve-month recovery time. Unfortunately, there is nothing the athlete can do to prevent the injury from happening. Due to the fact of frequent movements and always changing direction, there is a higher risk of the tear occurring. That is the main cause of an Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear, as basketball has a sudden change of direction the whole game. Another injury is patellar tendonitis or jumper’s knee. The injury occurs when there the athlete puts too much stress on the patellar tendon and overuses it. The patellar tendon allows the straightening of the knee, it connects the kneecap to the shinbone. Athletes playing basketball are at high risk for injury. Usually with just rest the body takes care of the injury. To help prevent athletes can work more on conditioning properly, and always stretching before, during, and after the game. Diet is a big part of any athlete, especially basketball athletes. Jill Corleone writes “ A basketball player’s diet is high in carbs and low in fat. Most carbs should come from healthy foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and milk to maximize vitamin and mineral intake.” This is important for the athlete as the sport involves a lot of running, which means a lot of calories being burned. Thus the diet makes sure the athlete has plenty of energy to perform to the greatest of their ability.
In conclusion, playing any type of sport can increase the chances of an injury occurring to a person or athlete. Sports are full of excitement for the sports fans. However not always fun for the athlete as they are putting their body on the line. As most athletes play for the love of the sport, but doing so comes with a high risk. That risk is an increased chance of getting hurt. The sport can be contact like football or noncontact like baseball. The athlete can still get injured no matter the sport. There are a lot of factors that play a role in sports injuries such as age group, weather conditions, and the type of sport. These can be prevented with proper knowledge of the sport and a good diet as well.
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