Can You Play Football With a Cast on Your Arm?
Football season has finally kicked off! With all the hitting and tackling that takes place on the Friday nights, athletes participating in the sport are at risk of injury. While there are many injuries that can occur playing football — a concussion being the most notorious — it is not uncommon for some players to experience a fractured arm or hand. Experiencing this type of injury during the season can be detrimental, many athletes under the impression that their season has come to an end. However, just because an athlete has a broken arm or hand does not necessarily mean they have to spend the remainder of the season on the sidelines.
In this blog, we will cover how football players wearing casts due to an injury may still be able to play throughout the rest of the season.
Can You Play Football With a Cast on Your Arm?
After an injury, one of the first questions that comes to an athlete’s mind is whether or not they will be able to continue to play. If the injury is bad enough, it may require wearing a padded cast in order for the injury to properly heal. However, just because a football player is wearing a cast does not completely rule them out of competing during the season. In fact, there are a variety of components that will determine whether or not a football player is able to still participate. Let’s take a look at a few of the components to whether or not athletes can play football while wearing a cast on the hand or arm.
Protection of the Injury
One of the first components of determining whether or not you can play football with a cast on is if the injury will remain protected. The decision between playing with an injury and remaining on the sidelines should be determined by whether or not participating will injure or worsen the injury. If there is a chance that you can re-injure yourself — even with a padded cast on — it is not a wise decision. This is usually the case with most surgical fractures. However, with a non-surgical fracture, the cast will not only help the injury heal, but it should also help prevent the injury from getting worse. Remember, due to there being variation in injury-to-injury athletes can experience, it is always a good idea to talk to your doctor or orthopedic specialist and coach to make sure that it is okay to resume
High-School Guidelines
According to National Federation of State High School Associations guidelines, in order to participate in a sport while wearing a cast, the cast must be padded to a certain amount of thickness. This is because the hardness of a cast can become dangerous in gameplay. The fiberglass material is very hard, so much so that it could potentially be a risk to others on the field. The guidelines state that any casts, splints, and braces must be padded with at least ½” of all closed-cell, slow-recovery rubber, or another material of the same minimum thickness and similar physical properties. If these guidelines are not properly met, the chances of being cleared to play during a game is unlikely.
These are a few of the main components that will help determine whether or not you can play football while wearing a cast. As long as an athlete’s injury is protected, their position does not require handling the ball and they meet the set guidelines, they should have no problem competing.
Stay In The Game With Help From The Cast Protector
If a broken hand or arm is keeping you from playing football this season, get back in the action with help from The Cast Protector! The Cast Protector is one of the few foam cast covers that comply with NFSA guideline requirements. This cast padding for sports protects the other players on the field from the hard cast or splint of the wearer. Available in three sizes, The Cast Protector can be used in youth sports, high school and college athletics, and more!
To learn more about The Cast Protector today, visit our site!
