Shin guards are used in a variety of sports, including soccer and hockey, and are designed to protect the sensitive shin bone from injury. Some sports have mandatory rules governing the use of shin guards to reduce the number of injuries. If you are a regular or even occasional player, make sure you invest in a good quality pair of shin guards to avoid long absences from the pitch due to injuries.

Although we often think of shin guards as a modern invention, perhaps due to the cutting-edge technologies often used in their construction, they are actually descended from the ancient armor worn by infantry troops. Read on to find out more, along with four other shin guard tips you probably didn’t know!

The shin guards descend from the greave. – Like many modern items, shin guards are descended from items used in battle. The greave was a piece of armor that protected the leg, made of materials including padded cloth and steel. They were used more by heavy infantry and were developed in antiquity, although they continued to be used through the Middle Ages.

Unions would like to see teachers wearing shin guards – in August 2011 in the UK, unions urged the government to provide teachers with shin guards to protect them from violence from school pupils, citing the number of students expelled each year for unruly behaviour. The GMB union said teachers and teaching assistants should be provided with protective equipment, including shin guards, to prevent injury.

Sports shin guards were first used in cricket – Shin guards were originally used in cricket to give the batsman a strategic advantage; by positioning his legs in front of the stumps, he could use his legs to block the path of the ball and prevent his wicket being taken away. Excessive use of this led to ‘leg before wicket’ rules being introduced in 1809. Leg guards continue to be used in cricket, mainly for protection, and are worn by the wicket-keeper, batsman and fielders close to the batsman .

The most expensive shin guards cost £150 ($233) – Shin guards range in price, from a couple of pounds for a non-branded pair of shin guards to £150 for a top-of-the-line pair of Diadora Totti Mondiali shin guards. Cast personally from Francesco Totti’s leg using F1 technology, these carbon fiber shin guards are made from a titanium fiber layer on the inside and a Kevlar fiber layer on the outside. If you have money to spare, these are the bee’s knees.

People initially laughed at the use of shin guards. – the first person to wear shin guards in association football, or soccer, was Sam Weller Widdowson in 1874. At the time, football was unregulated and brutal, and Widdowson was looking for ways to reduce injuries sustained during the course of a party . As a regular cricketer, Widdowson decided to cut up a pair of cricket shin guards and attach them to his legs with leather straps. And he was met with ridicule from the other players! However, they soon saw the advantages and so the practice began to spread.

We hope you found these facts interesting: remember to wear shin guards when you practice or play a game to keep your legs protected and comfortable.