Preventing Winter Sports Injuries

Winter Safety Tips to Prevent Childhood Injuries

Winter is officially here. With its arrival, we can put our worries to rest about child injuries while swimming or playing baseball, softball or football. But as parents, we can never be completely worry-free. With the new season comes new safety concerns about our favorite winter sports like wrestling, basketball and hockey.

Traumatic brain injuries are my biggest sports injury concern; especially with notoriously rough sports like hockey and wrestling. While basketball isn’t always a contact sport, injuries still happen.

Traumatic brain injuries, which include concussions, have not been properly diagnosed or treated in the past. Mistreatment of a concussions can lead to long-term brain damage. Because of the growing awareness and research, sports leagues have started enforcing stricter standards regarding concussions sustained during play from the pro leagues to school sports.

Preventing Childhood Injuries

Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries can be avoided by wearing proper equipment related to the sport. For hockey especially, helmets that have ample padding are crucial to be worn while playing. Other hockey protection includes body padding and shin guards to prevent injury.

For wrestlers, protection and headgear worn is minimal. Feel confident in the abilities of your child’s coaches, but remember to reinforce safety with your children by talking outside of practice. It is important for wrestlers to remember that safety should come first. If they are in a position during a match or practice where they feel discomfort, they should stop immediately.

While basketball is not usually considered a contact sport, it can still be dangerous. Falls can occur, causing head trauma or sprains or breaks to bones and ligaments. Teach your children the importance of stretching, warming up and cooling down before and after play.

Get Involved!

While some scrapes and bruises are common and even expected when children play sports, more serious injuries are not. Get involved with your child’s winter sports team to prevent childhood injuries from happening. Even if you don’t have experience or prior knowledge of the sport, volunteer to be an extra body and set of eyes at practice.

——–

Ken Levinson is a child injury lawyer in Chicago. If you have a story about a winter sports injury, share with Ken today for a free case review.

Photo credit: kennymatic

Has Your Child Been Hurt?

One child injured is one too many. Call Ken at (312) 346-9270 or fill out the form below to have him personally review your case. There is no obligation and it’s completely free.