Health & Safety

Of the many variables that affect survivability for a person who experiences sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), one of the most important is how rapidly the AED is physically delivered to the victim's side. Indeed, few life threatening emergencies are as time sensitive as SCA. AEDs should be located within a 2-minute brisk walk of every nook and cranny of a school or to the farthest reaches of an athletic field.

According to the September 12, 2004 story in the Macon (Georgia) Telegraph, when rising football star Ryan Boslet suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) during a workout at his school gym on February 20, 2003, the AED the school had only recently purchased wasn't used - even though it was just the length of a basketball court away in the athletic director's office - because a staff member couldn't find the adhesive electrode pads, which were tucked under a flap inside the AED. Thinking the device was inoperable, coaches called 911, and administered CPR to the 6-foot-4, 270 pound defensive tackle, but the 17-year old died later that day. Boslet's death, said the story, points to a larger problem: "Ordinary people, even with training, often can't use the increasingly popular defibrillators under the pressure of an emergency."

Locating playing fields near busy highways pose serous risks to the developing lungs of young athletes. A substantial and growing body of scientific evidence has linked airborne toxic pollution from motor vehicles, trains and aircraft to significant health problems, especially in children, including aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, heart attack and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

Despite the risks, asthma shouldn't keep your child out of sports. With proper precautions, they can play, as long as parents follow these safety tips:

One of the biggest hazards in outside field sports, yet often the most overlooked, is the field itself. Because parents can't count on the referee or their child's coach to inspect the field before a game begins to ensure that it is in a playable condition, the best injury prevention strategy is to set up a field detail of parents to do the inspection.

Instant or chemical cold or gel packs are among the items that most experts say should be included in a well-stocked first aid kit. But, while instant cold or gel packs are easy to store and are more convenient than ice, experts say that they may damage the skin because of the cold temperatures they reach.

The first four steps of first aid for sports injuries to joints such (elbow, ankle, knee, finger, wrist sprains) are known by the acronym "RICE," which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

If your child's ankle gives way more and more easily during sports, and, eventually, during everyday activities, he has developed chronic ankle instability. Often times, such instability is the result of an ankle sprain that has not been allowed to fully heal. Repeated ankle sprains cause a loss of proprioception (communication between the central nervous system and the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the ankle), which, in turn can lead to faulty technique or a sudden loss of control or balance, either of which can, in turn, lead to even more sprains! If your child has a chronically unstable ankle, sports medicine experts say that a rehabilitation program supervised by a physical therapist or athletic trainer (ATC) is absolutely essential.

Along with strains sprains are among the most common injuries in sports. All sports and exercises, even walking, carry a risk of such injuries. Sprains can take as little as a few days to heal or as long as a few weeks. To reduce the risk of sprains, experts, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, make a number of easy-to-follow recommendations.

Ankle sprains are common in youth sports. Here's advice for parents on what should be done when your child suffers an ankle sprain, how to know when your child is ready to return to sports, and what he should do when he returns.