Did you know avoiding risky behaviors can help prevent damage to your kidney, testicles and bladder? It’s true. The most important steps you can take during these winter months (and other months in the year) to protect your urologic health are to use protective athletic gear when doing outdoor sports and wearing a seatbelt in any vehicle.

High-contact winter sports such as snowboarding, ice hockey, sledding and skiing can cause such injuries as a ruptured kidney or testicular and bladder injuries. Most people believe these types of injuries are a result of a ski pole or tree branch going into the belly and puncturing the kidney. However, in reality, these injuries most often happen due to a fall or from a direct blow to the stomach, groin, side or mid-to-low back. More men suffer a kidney injury from sports than do women.

To avoid winter sports-related accidents:

• Wear the right gear: skiing and snowboarding have their own special gear. The right gear and the right fit are as vital as knowing what you are doing on the slopes. They will lower your chances of getting hurt.
• Know the conditions: ice skating injuries are often the result of tripping on bumps in the ice or bumping and crashing into other skaters. Know about the state of the ice before you step onto it, and be aware of others around you when skating. 
• Cover up head to toe: hockey-related injuries can happen on the ice or in the street. Always wear protective gear such as a helmet, pads, hockey pants, gloves, jockstrap or cup, and neck protector. 
• Know your surroundings: avoid unsafe sledding spots such as nearby streets, parking lots and bodies of water, such as ponds.

Traumatic events can do damage to the urinary system (including the kidney and bladder) or reproductive organs. In turn, this can affect a person’s sexual function, ability to reproduce or to urinate. This type of trauma can be caused by injuries from sports accidents or even high-speed auto or off-road accidents. This is one more reason why it’s so important to wear a seatbelt in a vehicle.