Hockey injuries are common and can hurt an athlete at any level. Injuries can occur to your muscles, bones, ligaments, or tendons. It is important to be aware of the most common injuries to be able to prevent them from occurring in the first place. This article discusses the 5 most common hockey injuries and prevention.
1) Concussion
A concussion is one of the most common injuries in hockey. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that can result in death or disability. To properly prevent concussions, you must understand the symptoms and treatment options. Common signs and symptoms of concussion include headaches, fatigue, dizziness, or memory loss.
Prevention
Concussion prevention is pretty simple, always wear a helmet.Also, know that when heading into the boards or in a fight, avoid contact. When going into boards, be aware of what is around you. If any open areas can lead to head injury, avoid them. If there is no open space, know where your feet are at all times because this will save your head from getting injured.
If you are in a fight, protect your head by getting to the ice. Try to wear something on your head like a helmet or visor. If you feel any symptoms from the fight, take some time off from playing hockey and do not return until symptoms are gone and gone for at least 24 hours.
2) Separated Shoulder
A separated shoulder is a type of injury that results from the ligaments in your shoulder becoming stretched out. This can be very painful because it occurs around the joints. A separated shoulder results in the inability to move your arms in certain directions.
To prevent getting a separated shoulder, it is important to understand how to treat it properly and what causes it so you can watch out for that.
Prevention
To prevent a separated shoulder, you can wear a shoulder brace. This will help to keep your shoulders in the right position and not allow them to move too far out of place. If you wear a shoulder brace, make sure that it is the right fit for your body. In addition, if you are playing hockey, try not to fall on your wrist or elbow because this results in more injuries than anything else.
3) Wrist Injuries
A wrist injury is an injury that occurs at the wrist and results in the inability to move your fingers. A wrist injury is different from a separated shoulder because it only affects one body part, the arm. To prevent injuries from wrists, you must understand how much force is normally needed to break a bone.
Prevention
The most common way to prevent a wrist injury is by wearing a brace. Wrist braces help keep your wrists straight and not allow them to move too far out of place by pushing back against them. You should also avoid recklessly working out by ensuring that you use the proper technique to exercise your wrist.
4) Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are another highly prevalent hockey injury, and they occur around the knee joint. Because this area is so important, it is important that you understand exactly what can happen to your knee when you play hockey and take preventative measures to keep yourself safe.
Prevention
There are many things that you can do to prevent injuries to your knees. One is by wearing the proper gear. Knee pads help prevent injury by absorbing the impact when you fall onto the ice or get hit by someone.
If you wear knee pads, make sure that they fit properly because it could cause more problems if it does not fit correctly. This way, the knee pad will absorb the impact instead of your knees, and there will be less risk for injury. It is important to know how to sharpen ice skates at home to skate on the ice properly.
Another way to prevent injuries is by wearing the proper boots for your hockey level. For example, if you are playing at a younger age, you can wear hockey skates with just one wheel. This will allow you to have a more stable skate and prevent injury from happening. If it does happen, it will be easier for you to get off of the ice to get medical attention quickly.
5) Groin/Hamstring Pull
A groin or hamstring pull is an injury that occurs when the muscles in your groin are stretched or torn. The groin area is very important to any athlete because it allows your legs to move in different directions and even helps to support your thighs.
However, when there’s a tear or strain in this area, you can experience severe pain. This can lead to pain and muscle strain, which will make moving around painful.
Prevention
One way to prevent groin or hamstring pulls is by making sure that your groin is flexible enough to withstand more physical activity. By stretching at least once a day, you can help to prevent injury. For added support, you can wear a cap to help protect your groin area and prevent any chance of injury.
Conclusion
To avoid injuries while playing hockey, make sure that you take the precautions listed above into consideration. This way, you can play safely and with a greater sense of enjoyment because you know that you won’t have to worry about any side effects of your actions.
