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Recommendations and Guidelines
To safely and sufficiently acclimatize in the early season and improve the safety profile for each player, teams should use graduated repeated exposure to heat stress,
training intensity and volume, and the football uniform, combined with appropriate alterations of practice intensity and duration, equipment cover, and betweenpractice
recovery time. This will allow players to adapt more safely and effectively.
As high school and college football practices begin in the summer heat, it has become especially important to monitor health and the effects of heat stroke, according to a report on catastrophic injuries in sports released Tuesday.
Increases in football-related deaths because of heat stroke is one of the most concerning issues raised in the 25th version of the report, issued by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Frederick O. Mueller, who wrote the report, examined "catastrophic injuries" -- defined as fatalities, non-fatalities with permanent severe functional disability, or serious injuries with no permanent functional disability -- in high school and college sports.
Rachel Ullrich
June 26, 2009
© Copyright 2009, The News & Observer Publishing Company
Superintendent Sheldon Berman said he was "outraged" that Pleasure Ridge Park football players were told at a practice last August that they would have to continue running until one of them quit the team.
But releasing the findings of what he called the most extensive investigation in the history of Jefferson County Public Schools, Berman said Wednesday that neither then-head coach Jason Stinson nor his assistants violated state rules or district policy at the Aug. 20 practice where sophomore lineman Max Gilpin collapsed from heat exhaustion and later died.
Antoinette Konz and Andrew Wolfson
The Courier-Journal
July 1, 2009
Q: My grandson has several energy drinks a day. Is this bad for his health?
A: It certainly could be. Energy drinks come in a variety of formulations but most contain lots of caffeine and sugar - and possibly herbal stimulants and a supplementary amino acid known as taurine. However, it can be difficult to determine what's in them or how much.
Having an occasional energy drink isn't necessarily bad, especially those that contain about the same amount of caffeine as a cup or two of coffee and a similar amount of sugar as a can of soda. But many energy drinks contain much higher amounts of caffeine and other substances.
Alina Popa, M.D.
6-29-09
Copyright © 2009 Daily Herald Inc.
NEW YORK -- July 6, 2009 -- Health experts are sounding the alarm over the possible effects on young athletes of popular energy drinks such as Red Bull, the leading brand in a growing market.
Researchers found that chocolate milkshake's "natural" muscle recovery benefits match or may even surpass a specially designed carbohydrate sports drink.
They discovered that muscle damage was actually lower in those players that drank the milk after training than those that drank the commercial energy drinks.
The team at James Madison University in Virginia, USA, tested the level of muscle damage in 13 football players after intensive training.
They found that the half of the players that were given chocolate milkshake showed lower levels than those given sports drinks. The actual performance of the two groups was, however, similar.
There were also no differences between the two beverages in effects on perceived muscle soreness, mental and physical fatigue and other measures of muscle strength.
This new study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting milk may be just as effective as some commercial sports drinks in helping athletes recover and rehydrate.
Richard Alleyne
June 1, 2009
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
They’re full of caffeine and can pack a punch. Last week, energy drinks were the topic of a public standing committee hearing.And what’s being said about the high-caffeine drinks should serve as a wake-up call to parents who allow their children to consume these beverages.
According to the president of the P.E.I. Medical Society, the drinks could potentially cause death and should be banned.
“In some energy drinks there’s more caffeine in a single can than the daily recommended amount for even an adult, never mind a 12-year-old child,” Dr. Bill Scantlebury told the Standing Committee on Social Development.
The Journal Pioneer
03/09/09
Health experts agree that proper fluid intake during exercise can reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses. But parents should be mindful of what their children are drinking. As children’s activity level increases, so does loss of essential body fluids. Even when children are thirsty, they might not drink enough because the taste of plain water can be unappealing. As a result, parents may turn to flavored sports drinks. However, some sport drinks or energy enhancers may do more harm than good because they contain unhealthy amounts of sugar and caffeine. Water should be the beverage of choice because it is the main body fluid initially lost during exercise.
How do you reduce problems with exercising in heat?
Virginia Tech Sports Medicine
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