Student-athlete health should be top priority
Nothing brings a community or school together more than our area sports and the athletes that participate in them. It doesn't matter if it's a little league baseball game, rotary basketball, soccer game or the Friday night high school football game being played under the lights.
The only thing that could possibly bring the fans and athletes together more than a big, important win over a rival or playing a playoff game is the tragic death of one of our athletes.
As a Certified Athletic Trainer and licensed allied health care professional, I have been responsible for the health and safety of athletes of all ages, from youth soccer and hockey players to college and professional sports athletes.
There are not many weeks that go by that I don't read about an athlete that has collapsed on the field, court or rink and has passed away. In the large majority of these instances, the athlete is reported to have been "perfectly healthy."
The two most commonly attributed causes are due to an undiagnosed heart condition and exertional heat illnesses. Just last week, a Maryland teenager died of possible heat stroke while participating in a voluntary off-season conditioning program, and in 2008, there were four high school and two college deaths attributed to exertional heat illnesses.
In June, the National Athletic Trainers' Association released a set of preseason heat-acclimatization guidelines that encourage gradual heat acclimatization for all secondary school sports. The program focuses on the first 14 days of practice and recommends a gradual increase in practice intensity and makes recommendations on practice philosophies such as two-a-day sessions and full equipment workouts.
With the proliferation in popularity of voluntary off-season conditioning programs being conducted at our area high schools, it is important that the coaches conducting these programs be educated and trained in recognizing the signs and symptoms of exertional heat illnesses (heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke) and the proper precautionary and treatment steps that should be followed.
I have spoke with several students and parents of students that are participating in these programs that have reported to me that either they have seen athletes vomiting or have been the athlete vomiting during these sessions. And being the parent of a soon to be high school student athlete, the safety of my child while participating in school sponsored sports and activities such as these, is very important to me.
Unless an athlete is ill, in which case they should not be participating in a practice, vomiting during a workout is not only a sign that an athlete may be out of shape; it is also a warning sign of heat exhaustion. Other signs of heat exhaustion include dry mouth, thirst, irritability, general discomfort, headache, apathy, weakness, dizziness, cramps, chills, nausea, head or neck heat sensations, excessive fatigue and/or decreased performance.
By ignoring or dismissing these warning signs and if left untreated and unmonitored, it can suddenly and quickly progress into heat stroke, even in what may be considered "cool weather" because hydration levels can be a factor in the onset and progression of these conditions. Symptoms of heat stroke include; high body temperature, absence of sweating, rapid pulse, difficulty breathing, strange behavior, hallucinations, confusion, agitation, disorientation, seizure and coma.
I would encourage every athlete, coach, parent and grandparent of a student athlete to review the Inter-Association Task Force for Preseason Secondary School Athletics Participants consensus statement on Preseason Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines for Secondary School Athletes and encourage the school, district and state to adopt these guidelines to help minimize the risk of exertional heat illnesses. The full consensus statement can be found by visiting www.NATA.org and searching "heat guidelines."
Mike Carey is a Licensed and Certified Athletic Trainer, the owner of Flathead Performance Training and the concerned parent of two student-athletes.