Cross country runners practice

High school athletes across the country will soon feel the pressure as teams begin training for various sports such as football, cross country and soccer.

While student-athletes and coaches can’t wait for the season to begin, experts say it’s important to stay safe, especially when training during the grueling August temperatures.

“Summer heat is very dangerous for many different reasons, and it is important to know and identify the risk factors associated with heat-related illnesses. This is especially true for athletes, their coaches, and the staff who work with them,” says Faheem Ahmad, MD, a primary care physician at OSF HealthCare who is board-certified in sports medicine.

According to the National Center for Research on Severe Sports InjuriesHeat stroke is the third leading cause of sudden death among high school athletes, after cardiac arrest and traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Ahmad says athletes can experience anything from fatigue from heat exhaustion to symptoms of heat stroke, which can include fainting, loss of consciousness and a body temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius.

“Other signs include headaches, nausea, aching limbs, muscle cramps. A dry mouth is also a sign, because dehydration and heat illnesses go hand in hand,” he says.

It’s also important to stay hydrated. Are you training for more than an hour? Then frequent water breaks and sports drinks are also necessary. “I usually recommend sports drinks because they contain the electrolytes you need to replenish, since you lose sodium and other electrolytes when you sweat,” he says. He added that it’s important to stay hydrated four hours before a game or practice and throughout the competition.

But it’s not just the heat that student-athletes will have to contend with over the next month. Injuries such as ankle sprains, muscle strains and broken bones are another potential danger as teams prepare for the upcoming season. In the United States, more than 3.5 million injuries occur each year among the 30 million children and adolescents who participate in some form of organized sport.

“There is an increased incidence of Cruciate ligament tear and ankle injuries, be it the ATFL (anterior talofibular ligament), one of the ligaments in the ankle. They tend to get injured more often in the summer and require more medical personnel,” says Dr. Ahmad.

Regardless of the sport or activity, Dr. Ahmad says it’s important to have an emergency plan that everyone involved is familiar with. Emergency situations can arise at any time during practice and games. Knowing what to do and how to respond quickly is critical, he says, to providing the best possible care to athletes in emergency situations.

“As an athlete, coach or instructor, you need to know the risk factors associated with all of these conditions,” he says. “If you know the UV index is going to be high, if you know the temperature is going to be high in the dry air, if you know you’re going to have a very humid day, try to avoid peak times on that day because the peaks of that temperature and risk factors are going to cause damage.”

Dr. Ahmad says the most important thing is not to overdo it, know your limits and be aware of early symptoms of a potential health problem, whether it’s headaches, weakness, tingling or numbness. If you have any concerns, speak to your trainers and caregivers as soon as possible.

The American Red Cross offers the following tips:

• Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation, how to use a defibrillator, and how to treat heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
• Schedule your exercises early in the day or later in the evening, rather than during the hottest times of the day.
• Reduce the intensity of training until athletes become accustomed to the heat.
• Make sure players drink plenty of water to avoid muscle cramps or heat-related illnesses. Fluids should be consumed frequently during strenuous activity and within half an hour after exercise.
• Do warm-up exercises before strenuous exercise to prevent injuries.
• Plan frequent and long breaks. Ideally, you should stop training every 20 minutes so that athletes can drink something and, if possible, rest in the shade.
• Reduce the amount of heavy gear athletes wear in extremely hot weather. Encourage lightweight, light-colored cotton t-shirts and shorts.
• Use the buddy system to encourage athletes to drink water and monitor for signs of illness in their teammates.