NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — When we send our children to sports practice, we expect them to come home healthy and ready to go for another day. Yet over the last five years, there have been 12 deaths related to heat in high school football players alone, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.
Dr. Joel Brenner, medical director of CHKD’s sports medicine program, said heat illness is preventable with the right precautions.
“The things that can prevent heat illness for the most part is one, having trained personnel on site, ideally an athletic trainer,” Brenner said, “but if they’re not there, then the coaches and administrators should be trained in recognizing heat illness and ways to treat it.
“There needs to be cooling methods on site. It’s not acceptable to have to take someone five minutes away to get cold and stuff for even a couple of minutes, because minutes can mean the difference between life and death there.”
He also said unlimited fluids should be offered to the kids.
“There should never be a restriction on the amount of fluids,” Brenner said. “There should be enough breaks and recovery throughout any type of practice. We also need to — especially this time of year and kids coming off summer, a lot of kids are not as active during the summer, and so their fitness level is lower — … take that into account, along with allowing them to acclimatize to the heat and the humidity also. Then, as kids are gradually getting into it, we need to lower the intensity initially, and also look at what equipment they’re using or wearing. Whether it’s football helmets or whether it’s pads or whether it’s long sleeves, we need to modify these.”
Brenner said it is so important for every organized sport to have an emergency action plan that covers heat elements as well as other emergencies. Even if there is not a heat warning, he said the humidity can impact an athlete’s health.
“There’s a big difference between 90 degrees in dry heat versus 90 degrees in 100% humidity, because it’s not just the sweating that dripping off you that is cooling it, it’s sweat that will evaporate, too,” Brenner said. “So, it’s really hard to cool down if you’re in high humidity and high heat.”
You more than likely already know that hydration is also key, but is water or a sports drink better?
“Water is the best performance-enhancing substance out there for both performance and for hydration, and for preventing heat illness and for treating it,” Brenner said. “So, for most kids, it’s just fluid intake with water. If you’re exercising more than an hour, then you could incorporate some electrolyte, including fluids, and [for] kids who might be at higher risk because of a past history. At times, they might need more electrolyte-included fluids, but for the most part, water is the mainstay and it’s unlimited access to water.”
So, what exactly does the heat do to the body of athletes when practicing outside?
“What can happen is that the muscles can break down,” he said. “So, normally when we’re exercising, we are causing some minor damage to our muscles, and then when we rest and recover, the muscles are regenerating, recovering, and getting stronger.
“But if we’re doing it excessively, and in heat stress, then they can be breaking down, which then can also affect our kidneys and our liver and potentially cause permanent damage to those organs and then ending up in the hospital. It’s kind of a downward cascade from there.”
He said CHKD provides athletic training services for a number of local schools, including Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, and some private schools.
“We also provide free community education to rec coaches and other organizations because it’s not just school sports, it’s everyone else,” he said. “So, we try to get that information out there through athletic trainers, through physicians, because it’s important for everyone to continue to hear that.”
No matter what, Brenner said heat related illness is always top of mind.
“When we’re on the football field during the fall sports, we never let our guard down in terms of heat illness,” he said. “Maybe when it gets into November, we’re closer to Thanksgiving when it’s less likely, but it’s always on our mind. We’re always prepared on the sidelines for that just in case.”
