按照这个专家的建议，安全地回到学校运动

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当然，暑假的结束让很多孩子抱怨. 但许多人也会为秋季运动的回归而欢呼. That's a good thing, experts say.

运动习惯从小养成，终生受益. Benjamin Levine, director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. For kids to see that payoff, though, 他说，锻炼“必须成为你个人卫生的一部分, like brushing your teeth, taking a shower or changing your underwear."

把比赛作为学校活动的一部分是灌输锻炼习惯的好方法. 但家长和教练都知道，这并不像给学生一个足球那么简单, pompom or clarinet and saying, "Go play.“因此，我们向专家咨询了如何尽可能保持安全和健康的建议. Here's what they said.

Take that sports physical seriously

Many families deal with pre-participation medical exams by dashing into an urgent care clinic or getting a quick check at school. Resist that temptation if you can, said Dr. Neeru Jayanthi, co-director of the Youth Sports Medicine program at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta.

这应该是你的“医疗之家”的一次咨询," such as a pediatrician or family doctor, said Jayanthi, who is team physician for several high school, college and professional teams.

A school-based exam might make sense in under-resourced areas with no other option, he said. But important discussions about heart health, menstrual cycles or other personal issues are best handled in a physician's office with someone your family knows and trusts, 而不是在学校的一个小房间里匆忙的面试, he said.

Dr. Alyssa Vermeulen, a pediatric cardiologist at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, agreed that sports screenings should be done by someone who knows the student's family history and can make a referral to a specialist if needed.

Heart concerns? Don't panic …

In the wake of high-profile incidents with the NFL's Damar Hamlin and college basketball's Bronny James, 许多家长和教练可能会担心心脏骤停, when the heart suddenly stops.

Expert consensus is to be aware but not worried. "These are very, very rare and unusual circumstances," said Levine, 他还是德州大学西南医学中心的医学和心脏病学教授.

Levine helped write a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology that recommends a 14-point screening questionnaire to evaluate high school athletes' heart risks. 阳性结果的运动员应转诊进行进一步的评估和检测. The AHA and ACC do not endorse a mandatory electrocardiogram (also known as an ECG or EKG) for everyone, though.

The idea of universal EKGs has advocates, but Levine said mass testing of symptomless athletes can "hurt more people than we will help."

First, he said, the tests are prone to false positives, which can alarm parents needlessly and put young people at risk "of being exposed to unnecessary testing and unnecessary procedures that don't save lives" while preventing them from playing.

At the same time, Levine said, EKGs can miss problems that actually lead to cardiac arrest.

Parents and coaches do need to ask young athletes about symptoms such as lightheadedness, heart palpitations, chest pain and shortness of breath, Levine said. A video series 他帮助创建了大学校际联盟, or UIL, 可以帮助学生运动员了解这些症状是什么样的. Parents also should watch for signs their children are struggling on the field or falling behind in drills they once kept up with.

If a student does need an EKG, Vermeulen said the person reading it should have pediatric expertise. "There's a lot of changes that happen during growth and development that can be normal in kids' EKGs that would strike an adult cardiologist as abnormalities," she said.

… but be prepared

In the event of a cardiac arrest, 快速采取心肺复苏术和自动体外除颤器可以挽救生命.

"It is so critical to ensure that your school, or wherever you're exercising, 是否有使用AED和明确的应急行动计划," Levine said. 如果他是一位担心心脏骤停的家长, he said "the single most important thing" would be to ask the head athletic trainer or athletic director, "Where's your AED? And do all the coaches know where it is?"

当哈姆林在1月9日的“周一足球之夜”中铲球后倒下时. 2、急救医务人员立即开始心肺复苏术并使用除颤器. The Buffalo Bills safety announced in April that his cardiac arrest was caused by commotio cordis, a rare event caused by a blow to the chest.

Vermeulen works with Project ADAM, 一个帮助学校建立心脏紧急反应计划的组织. 她把这种准备比作龙卷风演习:灾难是不可能发生的, but everyone needs to know what to do in one. 她说，父母也可以参加心肺复苏术课程，学习如何自己使用AED.

Hamlin, meanwhile, is working with the AHA on a new initiative to teach people about CPR and AED use, and to assist communities, schools and youth sports organizations in putting cardiac emergency response plans in place.

When the heat is on

它们被称为秋季运动，但对美国大部分地区来说，现在的气温就像夏天一样. 所以，热防护对任何户外活动都很重要——包括军乐队. A 2021 study 在《沙巴体育平台点击进入》上发现，在排练和表演期间, band members' core body temperatures rose to levels similar to what would be expected in a football player or cross-country runner.

“我认为最重要的是要知道热适应可以挽救生命," said Levine, 谁和来自世界各地的优秀运动员一起工作过. “你能做的最糟糕的事情就是在足球训练的第一天, 带一个没出去过的孩子，让他在90度的天气里做风力冲刺. 每次训练的第一天都会有严重的热伤."

Water breaks are important, he said – not just to prevent dehydration, 而是为了给肌肉降温的机会. "Muscles generate a huge amount of heat when you're doing high-intensity exercise," Levine said. "And in hot weather, you cannot get rid of it."

Jayanthi said protection against heat illness and death involves three simple things: a thorough sports physical, so a physician can spot conditions that could put a young athlete at risk; coaches and athletic trainers who are trained to look for warning signs of heat illness; and an emergency action plan, which means fast access to rapid cooling with ice or a tub.

Organizations such as the National Athletic Trainers' Association and the UIL have additional guidance. “与高温有关的灾难性死亡几乎是100%可以预防的，”Jayanthi说.

Beware what they eat

Vermeulen said that this time of year, her office gets many referrals from students with concerns that end up being related to hydration or nutrition. 一个突然出现的问题是:流行的运动前粉末, which often are laced with caffeine and other ingredients that can cause reactions that mimic symptoms of cardiac stress.

Sports provide a good opportunity to talk about healthy eating and the problems with a typical teen's fast-food diet, she said. “试图尽早灌输这些良好的营养习惯, especially for student-athletes, is really important."

Keep sports fun

Children can't reap the benefits of sports if they're overpressured and burn out, Vermeulen said. 运动应该是“找到他们真正喜欢做的事情”, 这样他们就可以继续享受他们的余生," she said.

Levine agreed. “让孩子来决定他们想要达到的强度，”他说. "Make the training load appropriate."

Jayanthi said coaches and parents can help by being aware of how young bodies develop and the biological limits associated with that.

他说，总的来说，学校体育运动是“保持孩子健康的好方法”." If parents get their children properly screened and ensure that their team has access to an athletic trainer; that the staff has planned for medical emergencies; and that coaches are thinking about the athlete beyond just the sport they coach, "then I think most other things will work out."

"Except I can't guarantee a win," Jayanthi added. "That's out of my scope."