sudden death in athletes

[momz]

It might be interesting to find out if the ambulances/paramedics are at ALL school competitions, or just some. I wouldn't be surprised to see them staff football games and possibly basketball, but are they at soccer (both boys/girls), baseball, wrestling, softball, volleyball, swimming, track & field, cross country, etc? Are they at the middle school competitions?

My kids play soccer, and while, at least for HS games, there's a certified trainer on site, it's rare to have ambulance/paramedic on site for the games.

more kids are injured at practices than at games. Practices can be rather intense workouts and ALL players are working out, whereas during the games, not all are exerting at the same time. There are more breaks for kids at games than at practices (with the exception of soccer perhaps). But the medics are at the games not only for the kids but also for the crowd.

Still, I don't think it's feasible to have medics at practices. This is why training the coaches to identify when a child is struggling is imperative.

 

[mousefan73]

i have found some surprising things through the years during sports physicals. you would be surprised how many kids out there don't have a primary doctor and don't get annual check-ups. There are so many things that are not caught during a sick visit...so we have sports physicals for the purpose of intentionally looking for those things that have not been caught yet. Some common findings are scoliosis, heart murmur, skin disorders, hyperlaxity of joints. Many of these things don't preclude a child from participating in sports, but they are things that can be helped. You would be floored by some of the things I have found. I cannot diagnose these things in a sports physical, but I can require further workup (if indicated). By referring kids I have found marfan's syndrome in a 21 year old, anorexia nervosa in a 14 year old, multiple heart murmurs (some innocent, come not), several hernias, lots of skin disorders including MRSA, and believe it or not I found Gigantism in an 8th grader...the family and coaches didn't pick up on their signs because they've seen this kid his whole life and didn't think anything of the changes, and that's ok, that's why we do sports physicals.

I wasn't questioning the reasoning for a sport physical, just the notion now having everyone incude a heart scan and if that will changes the statistics of already RARE sudden deaths when you look at the number of cases vs active kids in sports.. I recall in the 80s/90s we needed a sport physical. I think back in the day I had to go to my general practice. dont recall the school doing them. I honestly could not recall what was actually done... during these exams. I know they did not require any blood tests as that would have freaked me out back then. I am sure the need / benefit for these are in areas where kids might be lower income,/ less insured like you said never get a Drs. visit.

 

[sam_gordon]

more kids are injured at practices than at games. Practices can be rather intense workouts and ALL players are working out, whereas during the games, not all are exerting at the same time. There are more breaks for kids at games than at practices (with the exception of soccer perhaps). But the medics are at the games not only for the kids but also for the crowd.

Still, I don't think it's feasible to have medics at practices. This is why training the coaches to identify when a child is struggling is imperative.

Not denying that. I know at my kids' school, while a trainer needs to be at all games, they may be "supervising" multiple practices, that may not be nearby. I agree coaches are a good first step.

 

[momz]

I wasn't questioning the reasoning for a sport physical, just the notion now having everyone incude a heart scan and if that will changes the statistics of already RARE sudden deaths when you look at the number of cases vs active kids in sports.. I recall in the 80s/90s we needed a sport physical. I think back in the day I had to go to my general practice. dont recall the school doing them. I honestly could not recall what was actually done... during these exams. I know they did not require any blood tests as that would have freaked me out back then. I am sure the need / benefit for these are in areas where kids might be lower income,/ less insured like you said never get a Drs. visit.

I can say that yes, the heart screenings discover anomalies. I don't have statistics. But there are things found on these echocardiograms that were previously unknown.

An echocardiogram is like an ultrasound of the heart. it is not invasive. not scary. not a big deal and not costly.

 

[mousefan73]

When I see some of these schools where I grew up... Football stadiums with professional lightenig, professional theater infrastructure. competive pools, gyms with newest equipment.. The least a school can do is afford a diffib. I dont know do all schools have them now? and maybe one in school and one in the stadium due to distances if you have a large campus

 

[HopperFan]

this is why the coaches need to know cpr including AED. And how to detect if an athlete is struggling. On those really hot days, it takes more than just asking the child if they are ok. Watching and catching signs of heat exhaustion are imperative, because heat exhaustion comes BEFORE heat stroke. Coaches can help by cooling down the athletes, and then...not making it worse by resuming exertion until the next day. So many times, I've seen coaches tell kids to sit in the shade and have some water, then returning them to the turf. It's dangerous stuff.

We are also required to have an approved instrument called Wet Bulb Globe Temperature that is checked every hour starting before practices along with a list of protocols. DS says they watch all very closely and when it says no practice, there is no practice. He is extremely in tune to the medical/injury issues for his athletes, but I know not all are. He will even ask parents to get something checked out when he has concerns. He has had kids come back and say "yup they found this and I have to do this." It's just being in tune to your athletes you are responsible for and noticing any kind of changes.

Coaches here are all trained in CPR and more. All coaches do "re cert" class for all issues annually. All staff and many kids are trained in the AED. And there are professional trainers on campus during practices as well as competitions.

I ignore these stats, some things in life one simply cannot control or know before. MY DD was a cardiac patient for a while and based on what I recal having every kids get heart scans for a sport physcial probably won't change those stats.

Completely disagree and I'm sure the parents of those dead children who had preventable deaths would too.

When this became a campaign in our state to get Heart Screens for all teens ... there were 3 sudden deaths that year. It was determined 2 could have been avoided had the kids had screens. Having the screen means medical care, change in activities, awareness by everyone around them. These teens would be likely be adults today. General medical care of kids does not include evaluation of one's organs when there is no outward sign of an issue. These scans find anomalies and follow up care then happens. As a parent, I would like to make sure my child is physically able to compete in highly physical or grueling sports rather than ignore the possibility and hope for the best.

 

[momz]

We are also required to have an approved instrument called Wet Bulb Globe Temperature that is checked every hour starting before practices along with a list of protocols. DS says they watch all very closely and when it says no practice, there is no practice. He is extremely in tune to the medical/injury issues for his athletes, but I know not all are. He will even ask parents to get something checked out when he has concerns. He has had kids come back and say "yup they found this and I have to do this." It's just being in tune to your athletes you are responsible for and noticing any kind of changes.

Coaches here are all trained in CPR and more. All coaches do "re cert" class for all issues annually. All staff and many kids are trained in the AED. And there are professional trainers on campus during practices as well as competitions.


Completely disagree and I'm sure the parents of those dead children who had preventable deaths would too.

When this became a campaign in our state to get Heart Screens for all teens ... there were 3 sudden deaths that year. It was determined 2 could have been avoided had the kids had screens. Having the screen means medical care, change in activities, awareness by everyone around them. These teens would be likely be adults today. General medical care of kids does not include evaluation of one's organs when there is no outward sign of an issue. These scans find anomalies and follow up care then happens. As a parent, I would like to make sure my child is physically able to compete in highly physical or grueling sports rather than ignore the possibility and hope for the best.

this is fantastic! your community has taken this seriously. Thank you for sharing how your athletic department addresses these concerns. We can all learn by this example. It really does matter.

 

[leahgoogle]

When I see some of these schools where I grew up... Football stadiums with professional lightenig, professional theater infrastructure. competive pools, gyms with newest equipment.. The least a school can do is afford a diffib. I dont know do all schools have them now? and maybe one in school and one in the stadium due to distances if you have a large campus

We are a very small school (about 400 in middle and high school combined) and we have one. Our local Lions Club donated it to our school. I'm thankful for that!

 

[leahgoogle]

That's so scary to me! Our high school is tiny (500 students) and we have two athletic trainers for games. One would be at a football game, for instance, and the other one would go to soccer. Both are teachers at our school; one teaches bio, the other teaches health.

Our high school and middle school has 400 students combined. We used to have a program where college students studying to be athletic trainers partnered with the rural schools and worked every sporting event. There was a discounted cost given to the districts. They got rid of that program so now the only way we have athletic trainers at our events is if someone volunteers. We have a couple physical therapists that attend some of the events free of charge. I am thankful for that, but frustrated that our district doesn't prioritize paying a dedicated athletic trainer especially since sports are very popular at our school. They seem to find the money for less pressing issues....but that would be for another post....lol.

 

[kymom99]

We have our professional trainers at on-campus sports competitions along with ambulance and paramedics.

I think it will always vary based on urban/suburban/rural, large/small school districts, state law regarding these events etc. I see from this thread we are lucky that where I live there are lots of governing requirements and our district likely goes above and beyond. The heart scans though are offered state wide and open to any school/system setting up events for their students.

When my kids were younger all trainers were students who had gone to a class. Each team had one. Now they are professional licensed medical folks who work at the school full time.



Same. Our athletic trainers are degreed licensed medical professionals who are affiliated with the local hospital. If a student is sent to them with issues at practices they can assess and make a referral to specialist. They can offer wide array of services from therapy in their training room, workouts etc.

Our school where my son went also has a trainer in cooperation with the local hospital network. You mentioned competitions, but can they possibly be at every practice?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

No problem with advocating for heart screenings. I think the line about "We value sports at literally all costs" is flat out wrong.

Tell that to the music programs that get cut so the money can be used for football.

 

[amylevan]

The school where I used to coach and where my kids attend has a trainer on staff and the AD started as a trainer. They have a student from the local college as an assistant.

All practices must take place while the trainer is on campus. The coaches have his cell number, and in the event of an issue, he hops in his golf cart and comes to you. Obviously, time is of the essence in the event of a heart or other more serious issue, but he’s usually not far. We also have an AED in each gym, and the trainer has a portable one.

Either the trainer, the AD, or the student assistant trainer are present at all home games (although if multiple are happening at the same time, they do have to spread out a bit). The AD travels with the football team, but most schools seem to also have a trainer on staff. So I’m not sure if that is law here, or just an accepted part of school sports budgets.

And for the record, we are a small school, about 500 kids. The middle school also has a handful of sports covered by the same policies and trainers.

The state also requires all coaches to have yearly heart awareness and concussion awareness training. I have also coached youth sports voluntarily, and most organizations require the same.