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Common Paintball Injuries

paintball hit


Paintball is a sport that is a lot of fun, but it can also come equipped with substantial risk of injury. While the safety gear that is used to play paintball is generally sufficient for protection, it cannot always 100 percent effective. Players can suffer injuries that range from mild to very severe, but the vast majority of players will remain relatively safe providing they wear the right gear and take safety precautions. Here is a look at some of the most common paintball injuries that players incur.

Scrapes and Cuts

While people think that the most common paintball injuries result from getting hit by  fast-flying paintballs; scrapes and cuts are more likely to occur. Players can easily scrape, bruise and cut themselves when they are in the midst of heavy paintball action. They may jump behind a barrier for safety or dive out of the way, forcefully brushing against an object with enough impact to leave a mark. Players can help to prevent these types of injuries by wearing ample safety padding and being careful about how they maneuver through the paintball course.

Knee and Ankle Injuries

Just like all other types of action sports, a very common type of injury in paintball is twisting a knee or ankle. Players frequently make sharp turns while they are engaging in a paintball battle. These types of sudden movements can certainly lead to injuries if players are not careful. It is best to warm up and get a good stretch in before playing to help prevent these kinds of injuries. Wearing supportive footwear, ankle braces and knee braces can also help in prevention.


Paintballs are fired out of the muzzles of paintball guns at around 300 feet per second. When the balls hit unprotected skin at this speed, they are highly likely to leave a nasty bruise. This is why it is so important for players to wear the right safety garments. Even with high quality paintball armor on, there will always be little gaps where paintballs have a chance to impact the skin. Luckily, these injuries are not serious even though they may be a bit sensitive to the touch and even gruesome to look at.

Head and Eye Injuries

Although these are the least common types of injuries that occur to paintball players, they need to be discussed due to the seriousness of their damage. A paintball that hits a player’s eye could be so severe it could potentially lead to the loss of the eye. Players must always wear high-quality safety goggles to prevent such a scenario. Also, players should never shoot at each other inside of a distance of 10 feet to help thwart any accidents.

Head injuries can be even more dangerous. Players who fall and bang their head while playing could experience concussions, brain hemorrhaging and even death. It is crucial that players always wear quality safety helmets to constantly keep their heads protected during paintball matches.

As long as players are always diligent about wearing the right safety equipment and playing safely, they can keep their paintball injuries to a minimum.