Why People Fear Doing Combat Sports Despite Regular Sports Like Baseball Having Higher Injury Rates?

I just realised it could look like I was advocating for not playing sports if you attend a martial arts class.

I definitely wasn't! A couple of weeks off for a sprain or whatever is no big deal. It's a hobby. People should do as much physical exercise that makes them happy as they can.

 

The below article sort of shows the benefits or doing something as you get older as opposed to nothing, I have also spoken to enough friends in the physio world to know they prefer seeing people in their 50s with sports injuries which can be fixed than people in their 40s whose bodies are wrecked from doing nothing
At 74-years old...these are your legs on triathlon & these are your legs without triathlon

 

Absolutely. And it's also why martial arts, imho, should provide multiple benefits outside of combat effectiveness.
I got into martial arts because I was a nervous teen, afraid of conflict and violence.
And yet outside a few angry words and the odd bit of pushing and posturing haven't had a "fight" in decades.
But I've picked up multiple injuries from doing martial arts. A couple of broken bones, a few mild concussions, 1 bad concussion, various stitches, strains and a bad lower back that dogs me to this day.
Although some of these things are maybe due to age, sitting all day, etc and may have happened anyway I've no doubt that I'd have been physically better off not doing martial arts at all. If my sole aim was to save myself from physical harm.
It's a weird dichotomy that in order to stop myself potentially being hurt in a fight I embarked on an activity that caused me physical damage.
BUT...and it's a big but...I've got so much from doing martial arts I wouldn't go back and change a thing. It was worth it.
The connections with people, experiences, confidence building, self knowledge, going on courses, seminars, meeting truly inspirational people and managing to do things I wouldn't think possible when I first started.

 

In fairness, it seems that when horse-riding goes bad it goes REALLY bad.

If I ever have children, they'll be allowed to do full-contact combat sports long before I'll allow them anywhere near a horse.