You are riding a skateboard. Ripping up the
pavement, you wiz by your friends. You drop into the bowl and try some old
tricks. You have been skateboarding practically since you could walk;
you are an elite skateboarder, and have fallen so many times it isn’t
funny. You are speeding back and forth, sweat in your eyes. You raise your
hand to wipe the sweat from your forehead. You start to lose your balance
but regain it quickly. You speed up on your way to jump off a ramp. One of
your friends decides it would be cooler to see you fall than speed around
and show off. After all, you are a legendary skateboarder in your
town. He jumps out in front of you and you veer to the left to avoid
him. You lose your balance and fall. You skid about a foot and a half and
pain etches through your leg. Your friend rushes to help you up and
apologizes for his antics. You wobble unsteadily and grope at
your friend’s arm to sustain yourself. You lift your pant leg. You breathe
a sigh of relief. Luckily, this time it was just a bad cut. If you broke
your knee again, you would have to give up skateboarding.
Every day, incidents like this
happen. Seventy-five percent of these incidents occur because the
“Extreme Athlete” is not wearing the proper protective equipment. A lot of
the injuries also occur because the athlete does not have proper training.
Most young athletes over-estimate their ability and attempt stunts that are
far too difficult. The most common time for injuries to occur is when an
athlete is still just in the process of learning their sport. Every year,
65,000 injuries occur in inline skating alone. About 32,000 of these
injuries are broken bones and about 7,000 are injuries to the head. The
bottom line is: the increasing popularity of extreme sports results in the
increasing number of injuries.
One baby extreme sport,
or one that is very new, is Parkour. This new-age sport is a
combination of gymnastics and cross country running. Injuries from Broken
face bones to bruised livers are minimal but have happened. This sport
involves high jumps, like jumping from a roof or a high ledge, which, if not
executed right, result in injury and even sometimes death. Many times,
athletes get separated shoulders. Everyone falls at one point or another.
Professionals just do not get hurt badly because they learn to fall
“properly”.
Some Parkour clubs have waivers
that participants have to sign stating: “I AGREE TO EXPRESSLY ASSUME ALL
RISKS OF INJURY OR DEATH”. This is done because if a participant is injured,
the club does not want to assume responsibility for the actions of the
participant. All of the injuries in Parkour occur because of human
clumsiness. You need discipline and a strong urge to improve yourself in
order to succeed.
Air sports are some of the most
dangerous. One out of every seven B.A.S.E. (Building,
Antenna, Span, and Earth) jumpers suffer severe
injuries or even death. Many things can go wrong in a jump. A parachute can
wind up not opening, or only opening halfway. Chords can break in the
parachute, causing the jumper to sway and hit something.
B.A.S.E. jumping is illegal in most states.
A lot can go wrong in Bungee Jumping
too. Though it is very unlikely, the bungee may snap. A bungee may be too
long; resulting in not enough tension, meaning the jumper will hit the
ground with a painful
CRUNCH.
Human “sandbagging” has causes countless injuries and many deaths because
the jumper bounces back past the jumping point. Despite all of this, bungee
jumping is the safest extreme sport; it’s even safer than driving a car.
One of the most dangerous extreme sports is
High Wiring. This is very similar to tight-rope walking, but
it is done over canyons and without a net. The Wire-Walkers use a 20-foot
pole to steady themselves and keep their balance. One wrong move, and the
walker will fall to his death.
Sport Climbing
is very dangerous. As the difficulty of the climb increases, so does the
chance that there will be injury. Many climbers choose routes that are too
difficult and they are not able to complete them without getting injured.
Most injuries that occur, occur to the fingers and underarms, and the elbows
and shoulders because fingers are weak and cannot support the body for long.
Climber’s knees and ankles are usually only injured when they fall.
Rock and Ice Climbing
is a team sport. The team consists of two people, the climber, and the
belay. Climbing is trusting your partner with your life. Most injuries are
caused when the climber slips and falls because the climber is being
suspended from their fingers, which are not meant to hold the weight of your
entire body. The belay system that is used usually prevents most injuries.
Even with this system, nearly every climber falls. In some instances,
falling can cause the loss of the use of your limbs.
Stunt Riding
is extremely dangerous.
Fire-Jumping in stunt riding has to be the most dangerous type of jumping.
Fire-Jumping is when a person on a dirt-bike or a moped goes off a ramp
through a hoop of fire. Each participant wears fire-resistant clothes and
are sometimes soaked in a fire-resistant jell. At all times when someone is
Fire-Jumping, fire-extinguishers have to be present. People-Jumping is a lot
like Fire-Jumping but you don’t jump through a flaming hoop. The rider is on
a moped, or dirt-bike, or motorcycle, or some kind of bike and the rider
goes off of a ramp. There are people right below the ramp that must be
jumped over. Many things can go wrong. Almost always when an error occurs,
injury occurs also.
There are three types of land-sport
injuries. The first is road rash. These injuries consist of grazes,
minor injuries, and high-speed burns which feel like to burn under the skin.
The second is heavy impact. Something usually winds up breaking. The
athlete hits the ground or a wall hard. Heavy impact in quading usually
results in injuries to the base of the spine. The most common heavy impact
injury is hyper-extension of the wrist. One specific type of heavy impact
injury is a kinetic injury. This is basically a injury that occurred while
the athlete is moving at a high speed. The more speed, the worse the injury
is. The last type is psysio. These are injuries that gradually get worse.
They result because someone is constantly doing something wrong, and is
usually using poor technique and poor style. This type of injury often ends
in back injuries.
Many athletes don’t take their injuries
seriously enough. Many ignore their injuries which soon lead to more
problems that can be harder to fix. When the pain goes away, most people
believe it is healed and go on doing what they did before they got hurt.
Head injuries need medical treatment immediately, as well as swollen joints.
Usually abdominal pain means that there is some kind of damage to the
internal organs.
There are so many injuries that can occur in
extreme sports. All of which should receive medical treatment right away.
Some common injuries are: spleen injuries, broken femurs, broken shins,
broken wrists, and any other bones that can be broken may be broken.
Concussions, sprained ankles, sprained wrists, and head injuries can occur
also. Injuries can result in drastic measures. Surgery is one solution to
injuries. But sometimes, it is not possible. Sometimes, you can wind up in a
coma. Head injuries are the worst type of injury, and can not be assessed
while the athlete is unconscious.
The best way to protect yourself is by using
the proper protective equipment. If you are going to try anything, make sure
that you have a proper trainer and supervision.
