Three Potential Injuries You Could Avoid With Elbow And Shin Guards On

Hockey, just like any contact sport, entails together with it a whole lot of risks in incurring some injuries. Surely, this kind of sport is only for those who have strong wills and high thresholds of pain. But despite all that bravery and willingness to put your body at risk of injury, there are measures and practices in place to ensure that injuries are kept at a minimum despite all that physical contact among competing teams.

Some of these measures are rules and regulations that dictate what players can and can't do on the ice. This is to make sure that the game remains fair for players and to decrease the risk of injury by prohibiting acts done that intend on actually causing harm and potential harm to other players.

Elbow and shin guards are unsung heroes of this sport that athletes from Europe to the Americas have all been thankful for. For you to have a clearer picture on how important these protective gears are, here are a couple of injuries that could be avoided thanks to elbow and shin guards.

1. Avoid bruising on your elbows and knees and shins the next time you fall down on them.

It's hard to not fall down in a sport that's played on the ice with ice skates with opponents desperately trying to stop your advancement to their goal with whatever means possible as long as the rules allow them. Falling elbow or knee first on the ice isn't really a very enjoyable thing to experience. In fact, depending on how hard you fall, falling on your knees and shins or elbows could potentially cause you injuries to those specific joints.

It could be as severe as a dislocated joint, a torn ACL or as minor as a bruise. If you're lucky enough, you might come out of that fall without any injuries at all. However, playing it safe meaning you'd be wearing elbow and shin guards, would increase your chances of coming out of falls unscathed by giving your knees and shins and elbows that much needed support and cushion to help absorb and disperse the force of your fall before it causes any injuries.

2. If you manage to avoid a wipe out by sliding on your knees and shins, not having a pair of shin guards on might leave you bloody and bruised on the knees and shins.

The habit of sliding on your knees and shins is quite common when it comes to extreme sports like skateboarding. Quite similarly, people who play hockey practice the same thing as well. Whether you are a goaltender defending the goal line or attacking it, you may very well get to experience a slide on the ice most likely more than once.

3. Getting hit on the shin by a hockey puck or stick is a whole lot more painful than you think.

There are several sports that require their players to wear shin guards during play. This is to avoid sustaining injuries and bruises to the shin. If you haven't noticed yet, getting hit on the shin involves a great deal of pain almost immediately after you get hit. With shin guards on, they could potentially save you from any injuries to your shin.