We form some of our earliest athletic experiences on playgrounds and on the blacktop. Unfortunately injuries occur with some frequency in these areas. The key to stopping some of the 250,000 annual playground injuries in the United States is prevention. Monkey bars, swings, and slides account for the majority of injuries, with monkey bars causing more than 75,000 doctor’s visits annually and swings and slides causing around 50,000 injuries each. Here’s a few tips to help prevent a trip to the emergency room:
 
• Pay attention to the equipment, age, and activities of other children and general condition of the playground. Often it is not only the equipment, but a child’s behavior or actions that lead to injury.
 
• Look for loose, damaged, or missing supports, and exposed anchors, footings, nuts, bolts, or other connectors.
 
• Keep an eye out for bending, warping, rusting, or breakage of any components, or sharp edges due to wear or breakage.
 
• Clean up trash in the area (particularly glass or cans); don’t allow play around environmental hazards such as roots, rocks, or poor drainage areas.
 
• Keep your child on age-appropriate and height appropriate equipment.
 
• Utilize playgrounds that have surfaces constructed from appropriate softer material such as rubber or loose fill, such as double-shredded bark mulch, engineered wood fibers, sand, and fine or medium gravel of suitable depth. Unsuitable surfaces include asphalt, concrete, soil, packed dirt, grass, and turf.
 
• Don’t allow children under 3 to ride on slides in someone else’s lap. Their legs can get caught and twisted leading to lower leg fractures.
 
• Look for playgrounds with areas for active play such as swings separated from areas for quiet play like sandboxes. Play areas for preschoolers and older children should be kept apart as well.
 
• Make sure you can see your child at all times.
 
• Look for a barrier around the playground to prevent children from running into a street, especially near basketball or other ball courts.
 
• Ensure the landing area at the bottom of a slide or the area immediately surrounding a merry-go-round is free from other children.
 
Schools and cities should keep playgrounds in good condition by inspecting and maintaining the equipment throughout the year. Heavy rainfall, snow, extreme temperatures, and high winds can damage playground equipment. Heavy use can also cause equipment to wear out quickly. If you find a particular hazard, let the group responsible for the playground know as soon as possible! Most importantly, play safe and have fun!.

Alternative Workout Program

Boot camp workout regimens have long been associated with military physical fitness, but throughout the past five years they have gained more exposure to mainstream America. They are featured in prime-time weight-loss television shows and are now an alternative to traditional exercise programs. They have become popular due to the amount of calories that can be burned in a short time and can be made as challenging and unique as the instructor and participant cares to make them. These classes can help solve the common complaint of workout boredom.
 
Performed either indoors or outside, boot camp workouts typically blend military-style and athletic-performance drills. The workout is straightforward and intense. The challenge is to take your body to its limit, moving from one exercise to the next without the benefit of much rest. It can involve the use of calisthenics, free weights, and objects and tasks not normally employed in a typical workout.
 

Safety Also Essential

As with any athletic workout, injuries may occur. Common injuries associated with boot camp programs include sprains, strains, low back pain, foot pain, stress reactions, fractures, scrapes, cuts, bruises, dehydration, and heat-related illnesses. Warning signs of an injury include joint pain, swelling, loss of motion, dizziness, nausea, and constant fatigue. Any of these conditions should be taken seriously and evaluated by a licensed physician before continuing the program.
 
Due to the intensity involved, understanding what is involved in a class and how to prevent injury is critical:
 
• Assess your abilities and know your limitations and restrictions.
 
• Modify moves to adjust intensity levels.
 
• Discuss any pre-existing conditions with your doctor prior to participating or beginning any new fitness program; a fitness assessment should be performed to gauge the level of training that is appropriate.
 
• Choose an instructor that has a national personal training and/or group fitness certification along with CPR and first aid.
 
• Get instructions about unique pieces of equipment and unfamiliar activities.
 
• Instructors should be willing to answer all your questions and focus on your workout, while avoiding the promotion of supplements, vitamins, or other moneymaking ventures.
 
Keeping these tips in mind, boot camp workouts can be a fun, challenging, and effective workout to help you safely achieve your health and fitness goals..