Gender Males and females rarely compete against each other because of many differences in their physical make-up: Men have longer, heavier bonesbones Women have a wider and flatter pelvis Women carry more body fat than men A women’s menstrual cycle can affect her performance Men have higher testosterone levels and so bigger, stronger musclesmuscles Women tend to be more flexible due to a lower muscle massflexible Girls reach their physical maturity at 16 or 17, 3-4 years earlier than boys You would not find a professional male rugby player playing against a professional female rugby player because males generally have a bigger muscle mass and therefore may injure the female. There are however exceptions, for example mixed tennis.

Age As we age, weakness and inflexibility make us more prone to injury It also takes individuals longer to heal if they do get injured Diseases such as cancer and heart disease are more prominent in the older population Bones become more brittle with age therefore more likely to break Other things to consider: Children are not as strong as adults and therefore would not compete against each other Suppleness is lost with age Reaction times get slower with age Sports which don’t require strength, stamina or flexibility can be played by young and old without risk of injury. Many elderly people participate in low impact activities like bowls, swimming, badminton, dance, aqua aerobics

Height Height can play an important role in injury prevention in certain sports. If a short person plays against a tall person there may be an increased likelihood of injury so in these sports tall people normally mark the tall people on the opposing team, and short people would mark short people. Rugby is another sport where height plays an important role in injury prevention. Front row forwards are generally quite short, whereas the back row is normally taller. In this instance a short person tackling a taller player may run the risk of getting injured. The same could be said in a PE lesson when doing tackling. The teacher would not pair the smallest person with the tallest, thus helping prevent injury.

Weight Being overweight increases the load on the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints during weight bearing activities. Over an extended period of time this is likely to cause stress injuries. If an individual is underweight they may also risk getting injured. If an individual has little muscle mass surrounding their bones they may be more likely to suffer a fracture. In combat activities there are usually weight categories which help to prevent injuries from occurring. For example, a super heavyweight boxer would not fight a flyweight because of the weight difference. In this instance the flyweight would be likely to get injured. V???

Heart Rates Heart rate can play an important role in preventing injury. Here are some things that you need to consider: It is important to warm up before taking part in physical activity, this involves a gradual increase in heart rate to get the blood pumped round the body The fitter you are the lower your resting heart rate will be – this means that your heart is not having to work hard in order to get the blood around the body. The same can be said when exercising, if you are fit and have a strong heart muscle it is working more efficiently. Someone with poor fitness will put more stress on their heart, as their heart will have to work harder to get the blood round the body. In this case the individual could risk having a heart attack.

Body Composition There are 3 different body types, they are called Somatotypes: Endomorphs are generally short and have a high body fat percentage. Mesomorphs have a muscular build with broad shoulders and narrow hips Ectomorphs are tall and thin with a low body fat percentage. If an individual has a high percentage of body fat they are likely to put a lot of stress on their joints, ligaments and tendons. They are also more likely to suffer from heart disease and cancer. Someone with a high proportion of muscle mass is less likely to get injured as they are stronger and are more likely to have better overall fitness. Someone with very low body fat may risk injury as they have low protection.

Fitness Levels Strength Many injuries are caused by weak muscles that are just not ready to handle the demands of the sport It is wise to do some resistance training to improve muscle strength so that the risk of injury is prevented Strength of connective tissues is also very important – if an individual has weak tendons/ligaments they are more likely to get injured Strength plays a big role in injury prevention in some sports more than others. EG. A rugby player needs strength to withstand hard contact The stronger the muscles are the more stable the joint will be Speed Speed can prevent injuries because it enables the performer to avoid potentially harmful situations. If someone has fast speed of reactions they could avoid a tackle or punch in boxing Without speed it would be harder to avoid collisions with an opponent or object

Fitness Levels Stamina The greater an athletes stamina the less likely they are to fatigue or become exhausted If an individual becomes exhausted they are more likely to make mistakes in their technique and also in their mental performance Additionally, the individual’s speed of reactions will suffer and they will find it more difficult to avoid potentially harmful situations Suppleness The easier a joint can move round its normal range the more it can cope with forces put onto the body during sport A good range of movement can avoid damage to joints and ligaments

Ability Levels For this section you will need to research the different stages of learning and explain how that would help to prevent injuries in sport. Here are some things to think about: A high level performer does not need to think about the skills they need to perform, whereas a beginner must concentrate on their performance. Therefore a beginner would find it more difficult to avoid potentially harmful situations. Leagues exist to help prevent injuries from occurring because high level performers are more likely to be stronger, faster and fitter. If they were to play against low level performers there would be an increased chance of injury.