Staying Safe with Your Extreme Sports: What to Do

When you love extreme sports, you must remember to stay safe. Otherwise, it’ll impact your health either now or in the future. That crash and burn off the skateboard could twist up a knee that is hardly felt today, but requires a trip to a chiropractor years later. Certainly, becoming proficient at your chosen extreme sport while keeping the speed low until you are pretty good avoids many of the pitfalls that beginners do face. It always keeps you enjoying getting out there and having fun.

Let’s look at some smart ways to avoid issues when out getting “your crazy on!”

©Angelo Poulis

Protective Gear

Depending on the extreme sport you enjoy the most, there is almost always some gear you can use to cover your most vulnerable spots. With skateboarding, a helmet to protect the head andbrain, gloves to touch the ground for sharp turnsthat don’t scrape the skin off your hands, and protective knee pads all work to ensure your safety. Similar gear should be worn when doing parkour and free-running, and even with paddle boarding, you should use the ankle connection to your board and supportive knee pads if you require added support from an old knee injury.

If you have an active interest in the health side of things, then you might like to get an online masters in health administration. The EMHA degree online helps students to learn how to work in the healthcare field dealing with risk assessment, health implementation, and leading a workforce. It’s the perfect balance between an active outside-of-work lifestyle and being able to manage performance in a caring healthcare role. Hopefully, you won’t come across some of your fellow adventurers on the wards, but you never know!

Check the Course Rating

When picking out a venue that has a rating, check the rating before you go. If you’ve never done a particular extreme sport, be aware of the rating system so you can start with the easier courses and work up to the intermediate and then the advanced ones.

In a situation where there is no rating system, ask around with fellow participants in that sport to see what they recommend if you’re starting out, so you don’t pick a place that’s going to be too difficult for you to advance your skills.

©Michael February (ZAF)

Learn the Safe Conditions

If you’re a surfer or a paddler boarder, learn when it’s prudent to avoid the taller waves and seek calmer watersfor your SUP. Sure, as a surfer you want to catch the waves, but sometimes the waters are too choppy, especially if you’re inexperienced in that sport. There are surf reports to check online like Swellwatch or Surfline to catch the best swells if you’re looking for the optimal days to get out there, or are willing to travel to other counties with better surf predictions.

Have fun with extreme sports, but always have a safety factor so you live to tell the tale. Being reckless is likely to be a bad idea for you and anyone who’s near you when you crash and burn. Take the time to use smart precautions to avoid serious injury and you’ll have more fun days being active.