Injuries in sports became a common scenario for the sportsperson. They are the major cause of sportsperson discontinuing the sports at a very a young age or not playing on the day of the match.
According to research, many injuries in sports mostly occur during the time of practice and 9.1% of all the spinal cord injuries are usually sports related.
It’s not always necessary that the accidents happen and are expected to heal in a few days or few months. Some injuries are so serious that the lives of the sportsperson can be at risk, leads to death in worst cases.
The instance which happened recently and can be taken as a significant message by others is of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes. He died few days after a ball struck him on the neck while the match was going on, Hence, it is very necessary to be careful and be with protection while playing the sports (even if it is a personal level).
One of the most common ways for safeguarding oneself is making use of the sports equipment helmets. Head injuries can be fatal at any point of time in life (both off-field and in-field). Therefore, it’s always better to have head protected via the use of helmets.
Helmets are employed in various sports like Football, Cricket, Hockey, Bicycling, Rugby, etc.
1. Football:
Contact sports like football are expected to result in a higher number of injuries because the higher numbers of injuries in sports involve contact and collisions. Prior to the invention of the helmet for football, players used to grow their hair thinking that it would protect their head from severe injuries.
The man who made helmet for football was George Barclay. In the year 1986, he made headgear which was called head harness in those days.
The present day helmet contains a rigid plastic shell with solid padding inside, a face mask which is made of one or more plastic-coated metal bars and a chinstrap. The chinstrap as the name suggests is for protecting the chin from injury.
According to research, it is found that the football sports helmets can withstand 2,500 Newtons or about 562 pounds of force.
2. Cricket:
In cricket, helmets are mainly for the protection of the head from the ball. A cricket ball is usually made with a core of cork, layered with firmly wound string and wrapped by a leather case with a slightly raised sewn seam.
The helmet in this sport is used by the wicket keeper along with the batsman. The ball used in the cricket is of extremely superior quality and in order to protect themselves, cricketers need to wear this sports equipment. British Standard BS 5339 states the construction details, dimensions, quality and performance of cricket balls.
Hence, it is always necessary that an individual always be equipped with protection equipments from their end and make use of it during the match. Apart from helmets, there are other protection equipments like eye shield, rib protector, mouth guard, shoulder pads, gloves, etc.
After all, prevention is always better than cure.
