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Experts available to discuss factors concerning heat-related deaths on football fields
Aug. 1, 2001
EDITORS: In light of the recent deaths of football players due to high temperatures -- including Minnesota Vikings All-Pro tackle Korey Stringer today (Aug. 1) -- here are two experts in health and medicine at Indiana University who are available for interviews.
The hot weather throughout most of the United States is creating a stage for disaster for athletes, according to Joel Stager, an exercise physiologist at IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Stager, who has 30 years of teaching and research experience in exercise physiology, said sweating is the body's chief mechanism to deal with high temperatures.
"When the relative humidity hits 100 percent, sweating becomes ineffective," Stager said. "Sweat has to evaporate to be effective in cooling the body, and at 100 percent humidity this just isn't possible. Evaporation simply doesn't occur. We have athletes in fall football practice right now who are greatly increasing their heat gain at the same time high temperatures are shutting down their body's ability to dissipate heat. This becomes a recipe for disaster, which we have unfortunately learned in recent days can be fatal."
Stager, who directs the IU Human Performance Laboratory in HPER, said coaches need to plan practice sessions in the early morning and evenings, when temperatures are cooler, and even consider shortening the practice time for the safety of their athletes. Stager can be reached at 812-855-1637 (office), 812-333-6951 (home) or stagerj@indiana.edu.
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A pre-participation physical exam is essential for any student involved in demanding physical activities, according to Dr. Kevin B. Gebke of the IU Center for Sports Medicine at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis. A pre-participation physical is a brief overall assessment of health. This assessment can also function as an entry into the medical care system for students who have not previously required medical care.
Gebke said the pre-participation physical accomplishes several important goals: arrangements can be made for students with chronic diseases, such as asthma, to have increased medical counseling during strenuous activity; students with a history of previous injury can be screened for underlying abnormalities and monitored according to return-to-play guidelines; and the physical can identify diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or potentially fatal heart conditions that have no outward symptoms.
For interviews with Gebke, contact Joe Stuteville at the IU School of Medicine, 317-274-8881 (office) or 317-212-1275 (pager) or at jstutev@iupui.edu.#
(Richard Doty or George Vlahakis, 812-855-3911 or rgdoty@indiana.edu, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)