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Injuries in extreme sports are very much like the sports themselves, extreme. The reason is because athletes in extreme sports are literally reaching new heights and speeds. Unlike can spill on a wooden court, they are occasionally dropping like stones from 30-40 feet, throwing themselves down flights of stairs and flipping over mounds of dirt under the weight of a 250lbs motorcycle.

The damage caused by accidents in extreme sports are then usually pretty severe. That’s why you see athletes sporting protective gear in the elite competitions on TV. Safety gear for extreme sports are specially designed for major spills and support many parts of the body.

Helmets

Whenever engaging in activities at a fast speeds or great heights where you noggin is going to be exposed, it’s essential to wear a helmet. They are seen in traditional sports like football and hockey, and are a staple of extreme sports as well.

Helmets for skateboarding, BMX and rollerblading are the same. A rather bowl shaped apparatus meant to absorb blunt impacts. Meanwhile, helmets for faster extreme sports like motocross and snowboarding also have areodymanic accents to limit the impact of wind.

Knee and Elbow Pads

With the forward momentum associated with extreme sports, the knees and elbows are especially exposed when some goes awry. Most extreme athletes have scars in the same places to attest to that. Wearing knee and elbow pads with plastic exteriors can brunt the impact as well as the scrapes and burns that can be caused by concrete or wood surfaces.

While they do wearing knee pads, BMX riders don’t often don elbow pads. They can inhibit movement of the arms when trying to pull tricks with the handle bars.

Wrist Guards

The natural reaction when falling is to put a hand down to the ground to stop the fall. The same is done by extreme athletes. That pressure though can take a toll on the wrists, which is why some of them wear wrist guards.

Extreme

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Whatever you call them–spills, slams, crashes, nutters, etc.–falls in extreme sports are always some of the worst to see on television. They also lead to some major injuries from broken bones to internal organ damage to severe brain trauma.

In some cases, because of the angle or speed, avoiding injury while falling is impossible but in most incidents it can be easily avoided by falling the right way. Here are some of the safest ways to fall:

The Barrel Roll

This is the most widely used defense against injury while falling. This is because it is very effective when going forward at a high rate of speed, which characterizes pretty much all extreme sports. It is used in nearly all of them including: skateboarding, rollerblading, skiing, BMXing and many more.

Pulling off the barrel roll is accomplished by using your own inertia. Instead of trying to come to a complete stop, simply lower your shoulder and roll your body on the ground with the force of your momentum. At the right moment, you can pop out of it and walk away.

The Knee Slide

Sliding on the knees is traditionally done on a smooth surface that extreme athletes can find on half-pipes and other park obstacles while wearing kneepads. You wouldn’t want to try and slide on a slab of concrete.

When you find yourself out of control in mid-air, it’s best to first and foremost not panic. Instead of flailing your body, use gravity to turn it around and place your knees forward. Once you come to the ramp’s lip, lean back and enjoy the ride.

Rail Grab

Without going into detail, men especially can find falling on handrails to be exceptionally painful. The hardest part about thwarting injury on a handrail is the limited amount time to brace for a fall.

Thus, men have to tap their inner gymnast and grasp the rail and hold on like an Olympian. That way, the impact affects their arms and not something else.

Remember, extreme sports can be very safe when you fall the right way.