Preventing Nasal Fractures: Tips for Athletes

Posted on by Goodyear Office

When you play sports, whether you’re just tossing a ball around with your friends or joining a league, there are a number of injuries you need to protect yourself against. One such injury that an ENT can help you with is a nasal fracture.

Identifying Nasal Fractures

Dynamic image of athletic young man, tennis player in motion on court.

Watch out for these signs of a nasal fracture following an impact:

  • Pain, swelling and bruising around the nose and eyes
  • Bleeding from the nose
  • Mucus drainage
  • Crooked nose
  • Blocked or difficult breathing

Why Are Nasal Fractures Common During Sports?

Broken noses account for between 40% and 50% of all facial fractures. When you play sports, you expose your nose to anything from a head-on collision to a fast tennis ball from an overpowerful swing at Goodyear Recreation Campus. While you can’t predict every injury, there are a few ways you can make them less common.

Tips to Protect Your Nose

Take the following four tips into consideration before your next game:

  • Wear protective gear. Depending on your sport, protective gear may include a helmet, face guard, nose guard or other items. Wear your protective gear every time you play a sport, even if you’re just practicing.
  • Grab the right helmet. A helmet is a great way to protect your nose and head from injury. Make sure you grab the right helmet for the type of sport you’re playing. For example, a hockey goalie will wear a full helmet with a face guard. A cyclist, on the other hand, will wear a helmet with an extended bumper for face-forward crashes.
  • Listen to safety instructions. Every sport has different safety instructions. Rock climbers, for instance, always check the alignment of their ropes, and roller skaters always wear a helmet and knee, elbow and wrist guards. If you’re new to a sport, listen to or read the safety instructions and follow them strictly.
  • Don’t rush. Rushing into a sport without learning how to protect yourself is a clear path to injury. Remember to learn each part of the sport. That means taking just as much time learning how to avoid pucks to the face as you do practicing your slap shots when joining a hockey team. 

Sports should be fun! Learning how to protect your nose is one of the best ways to keep enjoying all that fun. For more information on nasal fractures, contact Goodyear Office today.