Why don't all sports participants use the safety gear that they should use when involved in a sport? Some athletes want to appear as though they are too tough or hard-core to need safety equipment. They feel as though using safety gear is somehow a sign of weakness.

Other athletes don't like the protective gear because they feel as though it inhibits their performance. Some skateboarders loathe the helmets and pads they are required to wear in competitions because they say the equipment gets in their way. Still other athletes feel as though protective gear is unnecessary.

After all, they have never seen a fellow player whacked in the head with a baseball, so why should they don the cumbersome equipment? Of course, there are the athletes who feel as though protective gear makes them look silly, and refuse to wear it citing aesthetics as a reason.

The truth of the matter is that protective safety gear within sports is one of the single best ways to avoid sports injuries. Much of the protective gear is designed to allow athletes to avoid major, life threatening injuries. A motocross biker may break his arm relatively easily in a crash, but his skull remains in one piece because of the safety helmet he was required to wear.

Not all sport injuries can be avoided, and most athletes recognize that the possibility of sports injuries is just a part of the game. Protective gear, however, can keep an injury from being incredibly devastating or even ending an athlete's life. The helmets, pads, and other protective equipment are there to protect the most important parts of the athlete's body. It's not such a big deal if a finger is broken or if a muscle gets a bit of a strain. It becomes a big deal when career ending and life threatening sports injuries take place.

Can protective sports gear stop all injuries? Certainly not, but the protective gear surely is better than no gear at all. Many athletes complain about the protective gear they have to wear until a scenario occurs which would have seriously injured the athlete without the proper safety equipment, and then after that the athlete has no problem using the gear every time. One of the single best ways to avoid sports injuries is to use the proper safety equipment, and to use it properly and as intended by the manufacturer. A helmet that is not worn tightly enough won't protect you during a huge tackle in football; it will merely fly off your head.