By Louise Jimera
Have you been playing sports for a long time?
Well, me too. I’ve been at it for 13 long years, in fact. I’m fond of team sports the most like Frisbee and soccer but I don’t mind playing solo tennis, though. Although I never really took up any sport professionally, I did play for interschool competitions back when I was a student. Now that I’m a working adult, I still participate in company events and play for leisure every now and then. I guess the “me” that loves breaking a sweat and playing with good friends is always going to be around.
And I want to keep it that way.
However, playing sports isn’t always fun and games. There are times when you have to get really serious too. If you don’t, it can cause you a finger, a limb – or more commonly, an ankle! I’m not kidding. Engaging in physical activities always come with a significant amount of risk. When you’re getting in the zone, it’s easy to get lost in the moment after all. You start playing with no regard for your safety. It is during times like these that you need something else to do the “protecting” for you.
If it’s not obvious enough, I’m talking about gear. If you are going to play rigorously, you should at least make prior arrangements to ensure your safety while you play. I have friends who would say “they don’t need this” and “they don’t need that.” They would insist that they are careful and vigilant enough to keep themselves out of trouble even without protective gear. And guess what happened? They all ended up injured in some way.
Sports injuries happen all the time. They’re normal for anyone who actively plays in the field or in court. It doesn’t matter how hard you train your body. When you reach a certain limit, some parts of you will just voluntarily give up even if you personally didn’t want them too. Training only helps you build resistance; it doesn’t make you invincible.
Unsurprisingly, the most common sports-related injury is ankle sprains (check this out). They can happen to anyone, any day, and in any sport. Heck, you can trip over something and end up with an ankle sprain even if you’re just playing chess! All kidding aside, ankle sprains are so common that I bet every athlete or sportsman in the world has experienced it at least once in their life. I bet you too have had your fair share of ankle injuries, so I hope you don’t take them too likely. If you’re into sports that require heavy training or long hours of play, don’t wait for the unthinkable to happen.
Protect yourself from ankle-related injuries by buying an ankle brace and putting it on whenever you’re out on the play field. If you want to check out which ones are great to buy, maybe this Official Top 5 Review – ankle braces can help!
If you still don’t understand the urgency of wearing such gear, here are the real costs of not wearing ankle braces:
You Can Miss Out On Training
Instead of getting the chance to improve yourself even further, an ankle injury can prevent you from pursuing your training for a significant amount of time. If you’re a dedicated athlete, watching your teammates train hard while you sit on the bench waiting for your injury to heal can be pretty frustrating. But hey, that’s what you get for not taking protective gear seriously. If you don’t want this happening to you then please, wear the braces.
An Ankle Injury Can Cost You A Good Game
What hurts more than missing training is missing the BIG game. As a sportsman, you train hard every day for big games where you get to test just how far you’ve gotten with your training exactly. If you sit out of big games because of a foot injury, I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t just be your foot swelling but your heart too. Putting on ankle braces for a couple of seconds is nothing compared to missing big games.
Some Ankle Injuries Turn For The Worst
If you’re not careful enough, a simple injury may turn into something worse – and all because you refuse to follow safety protocols. It may seem minor for now, but constant foot injuries can lead to irreversible conditions that may compel you to stop doing sports altogether. I hope that day never comes so always be careful!
Anyway, you should always regard ankle injuries as a serious concern especially when you’re really into sports. Your physical health heavily affects how you perform on the field so it’s always best that you keep yourself in tip-top shape. Aside from being careful, you should also see to it that you wear the right gear whenever you go out to play. And I’m not just talking about your ankle.
If the sport you’re playing has a high risk of injuries, then you should really make prior preparations. Buy something to support not just your ankles but your elbows and knees as well. It is often these areas that get hurt the most when you play for long periods of time. You should also see to it that your body gets enough rest. Training can wait, you know. Everything will be for naught if you’re not careful about your physical health so always make sure that your body is not pushed to its limits – all the time. Save some of that energy for the real games!
