I think we can all agree that your face and head pretty vital, which is why there are so many precautions in place to protect these areas while playing extreme sports. But what kind of face guards are available, and what types of sports should you wear them for? Here’s a quick guide to protective facial masks to help you know what to look for.

• Softball and Baseball Helmet/Mask Combo

This combination helmet/facial mask provides complete protection to softball and baseball players. It is also made of a patented bullet-proof material!

• Softball Defensive Facemask

 The Emask Facemask is shatter-proof, and protects all areas of the face from blows and blunt trauma. It also comes in a variety of bright colors.

• Baseball and Softball Game Face

 The Game Face mask protects against both facial and dental injuries, while also providing plenty of ventilation to increase comfortability.

• Mueller Nose Guard

 This nose guard is designed specifically for use in basketball, wrestling, karate, and other sports where helmets are not required.

• ProForce MA Lightning Clear Face Shield

This versatile face shield can be used for nearly any sport, and is designed to maximize breathing and air flow.

• Saddle Barn Face Mask

 This face mask is intended for use in barns, stables, corrals, or any other place where horses may be. It is designed to protect the cheek bones, chin, forehead, and temple regions.

No matter what type of face guard you are looking for, always remember to choose one that offers plenty of protection while also being comfortable enough to play your best in.

Do you know the correct way to wear a helmet?

Wear the helmet flat atop your head, not tilted back at an angle!







Make sure the helmet fits snugly and does not obstruct your field of vision. Make

sure the chin strap fits securely and that the buckle stays fastened.

Helmets Greatly reduce the risk of head injuries among skiers and snowboarders, a Norwegian study found.

CHICAGO (AP by Carla K. Johnson)—Helmets greatly reduce the risk of head injuries among skiers and snowboarders, a Norwegian study found.

Researchers hope their study, along with helmet-clad Olympic athletes like Shaun “The Flying Tomato” White, will lead to greater use of protective headgear on the slopes.

“Do as the Olympians do,” said study co-author Dr. Roald Bahr of the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo. “Wear a helmet, even if you're not an elite skier or snowboarder _ especially if you're not.”

Some critics argue helmets may lead to accidents by giving daredevil skiers a false sense of security or cause more neck injuries because of the weight of the headgear.

The study found that while risk takers were more likely to wear helmets, helmet wearers overall were 60 percent less likely to suffer head injuries. It also found a lower risk of neck injuries with helmet wear, but that finding was not statistically significant, meaning it could have been due to chance.

The study looked at data on more than 6,000 skiers and snowboarders at eight Norwegian ski resorts during the 2002 winter season. It appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

With about 39 fatalities a year, skiing and snowboarding are safer than bicycling or swimming, which have higher death rates, according to the National Ski Areas Association, a trade group.

Helmet use is increasing, the group said, with one-third of skiers and snowboarders surveyed last season wearing helmets, compared with 28 percent the year before.

Over the past five years, almost 40 percent of skiers and snowboarders who died in ski accidents wore helmets, said Jasper Healy, professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, who does similar research but was not involved in the new study.

“I do wear a helmet,” Healy said. “But if you hit a tree, don't think a helmet will make the difference in being alive or being dead. It won't.”

Dr. Pietro Tonino, chief of sports medicine at Loyola University Health System, said the study will lead parents to buy helmets for their children. But he predicted the Olympics will persuade young people to wear them.

“You can still be cool even when you're wearing a helmet,” Tonino said

Dental professionals want to make mouthguards mandatory in the UK for schoolchildren contact sports.



Recent studies reveal that between 13% and 39% of all dental injuries are sports-related and about one in four children in the UK will injure – and sometimes lose – a front tooth at some stage.



With numbers of contact sport participants on the increase – a contact sport being one that involves significant physical contact between opposing players – traumatic accidents resulting in dental injuries are also on the rise.



This risk of tooth damage is also increased in physical sports where speed or moving objects – such as bats and balls – are involved.

 

The British Orthodontic Society (BOS) says that mouthguards are just as important for players who wear braces ‘to avoid a laceration to the mouth from the brace; to avoid damage to the brace; and to prevent injury to the teeth'.



Some dental insurance plans refuse to pay out if damage to teeth occurs during a contact sport and a mouthguard was not worn to mitigate the risk.



Many contact sport official bodies recommend the wearing of mouthguards.



On the England field hockey website – www.englandhockey.co.uk – it's noted that the sport's rules ‘clearly state that field players are recommended to wear mouth, shin and ankle protection.



‘England hockey stresses that this recommendation cannot be emphasised enough and we confirm that it should apply not only when participating in competition, but also to training games and any warm-up where a hockey ball/s are being used.'



And rugby union rules dictate that ‘all players on the rugby field must have a mouthguard… It is an essential part of the safety equipment needed to play for rugby. The guard protects the teeth, the gums and it also prevents a player from biting their tongue.'