1.2.c. Preventing injury in physical activity and training - Prevention of injury — OCR GCSE Physical Education
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1.2.c. Preventing injury in physical activity and training - Prevention of injury explained
1.2.c. Preventing injury in physical activity and training - Prevention of injury covers 2 specification points, including • personal protective equipment • correct… and • sports hall • fitness centre • playing field….
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understand how the risk of injury in physical activity and sport can be minimised and be able to apply examples, including: • personal protective equipment • correct clothing/footwear • appropriate level of competition • lifting and carrying equipment safely • use of warm up and cool down
Risk of injury is reduced by matching the performer and the environment to the demands of the activity. Personal protective equipment, such as a helmet in cycling or shin pads in football, guards the body where contact or falls are likely. Correct clothing and footwear give grip, support and freedom of movement, so studs suit a wet pitch and trainers suit a sports hall. An appropriate level of competition means choosing opponents, intensity and rules that match the performer's age, fitness and skill, so a beginner does not join an elite contact game. Lifting and carrying equipment safely uses a bent-knee, straight-back technique with the load close to the body. A warm up raises muscle temperature and prepares joints, and a cool down aids recovery, so both lower injury risk.
know potential hazards in a range of physical activity and sport settings and be able to apply examples, including: • sports hall • fitness centre • playing field • artificial outdoor areas • swimming pool.
A hazard is any condition in a setting that could cause injury. In a sports hall, hazards include a wet floor, equipment left near the court and wall fittings that a performer could strike. In a fitness centre, hazards include poorly maintained machines, loose weights left on the floor and incorrect use of equipment. On a playing field, hazards include uneven ground, stones, glass and poorly secured goalposts. On artificial outdoor areas, hazards include surface wear, standing water and loose edging. In a swimming pool, hazards include a slippery poolside, shallow water where diving is attempted and poor supervision. Learners should name the setting, identify the hazard and explain how it could cause harm.
Your focus
- Identify measures that minimise injury risk in physical activity and sport
- Apply each named measure to a specific activity or surface
- Distinguish measures that reduce risk from claims that eliminate it
Show all 6 objectives
- Identify potential hazards in each of the five named settings
- Apply a hazard example to the correct setting
- Explain how a named hazard could lead to injury
1.2.c. Preventing injury in physical activity and training - Prevention of injury exam tips
Marking Points
- Identifies personal protective equipment as a measure that guards the body against impact or falls in a named activity
- Selects correct clothing and footwear as a measure that improves grip, support and movement for a named surface
- Explains that an appropriate level of competition matches opponents, intensity and rules to the performer's age, fitness and skill
- Describes safe lifting and carrying as using a bent-knee, straight-back technique with the load held close to the body
- States that a warm up prepares muscles and joints and a cool down aids recovery, both reducing injury risk
- Names a hazard that belongs to a stated setting, such as a wet floor in a sports hall
- Explains how the named hazard could cause injury to a performer in that setting
- Applies a hazard to a second setting, such as loose weights in a fitness centre
- Distinguishes an environmental hazard from a performer's own unsafe action, such as diving into shallow water
Examiner Tips
- 💡Read the question stem to see whether it asks for a measure or an example, then give both a named measure and a named activity
- 💡Link each measure to the specific body part or surface it protects, such as shin pads for the shins in football
- 💡Reject options that describe warming up as a way to increase injury risk; a warm up prepares the body and lowers risk
- 💡Match each option to the setting named in the question before judging whether it is a hazard
- 💡Look for the option that describes a condition capable of causing harm, not a benefit of the setting
- 💡Use precise setting words such as poolside, court or pitch to check the hazard fits
Common Mistakes
- Treats any single measure as removing all injury risk; recognise that measures reduce rather than eliminate risk
- Chooses footwear that suits appearance rather than the surface and activity; match grip and support to the playing surface
- Ignores the level of competition and assumes all performers can play at any intensity; match demands to age, fitness and skill
- Describes lifting with a straight-leg, bent-back action; use a bent-knee, straight-back technique with the load close to the body
- Names a hazard without linking it to a setting; state the setting and the specific hazard together
- Confuses a hazard with an injury; describe the condition that could cause harm rather than the harm itself
- Assumes hazards exist only outdoors; recognise indoor settings such as a sports hall or fitness centre also carry hazards
- Overlooks supervision as a factor in a swimming pool; include poor supervision alongside physical hazards