Health & Safety

In conjunction with May as Exercise is Medicine® Month, "The World's Largest Exercise Class" is coming to children and schools around the world May 1, as millions of participants across the globe celebrate the 25th annual Project ACES® Day beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1.

An increase in time spent in physical education class helps kids develop stronger muscles and that increasing weekly physical activity does not increase the risk of bone fractures, says a new Swedish study. That's fine, but there's one problem: P.E. time in the U.S. is declining, not increasing, with predictable results.

The most important way to reduce the short- and long-term affects of poorly positioned kneecaps (patellofemoral dysfunction) is early intervention: physical therapy to strengthen the quad, teach stretching exercises, and guide appropriate biomechanics. Allowing knee pain to persist only decreases the potential for return to pain free sport.

What factors predict which athletes recover quickly from concussion and which will take longer has proved to be a vexing question. A new study suggests an elegantly simple and intuitive answer: the athletes who take longer to recover report the most severe symptoms right after injury; the more severe the initial symptoms, the more likely a longer recovery.

Dental and orofacial injuries are common in sport, but most are preventable with proper equipment, reports a 2013 study.

Active Schools Acceleration Project (ASAP), an initiative of ChildObesity180, has developed a creative grant opportunity to get kids moving in America's schools. ASAP Acceleration Grants totaling $1,000,000 will be awarded to 1,000 schools to award-winning and innovative physical activity programs. First Lady Michelle Obama is encouraging schools to apply for a grant through her "Let's Move! Active Schools" campaign.

Athletes with sickle cell trait (SCT) are at increased risk of life-threatening heat stroke from a condition called exertional sickling, with heat, dehydration, asthma, high-intensity exercise and high altitude known risk factors. But why do some SCT athletes never suffer from exertional sickling or heat illness while others do (with some cases resulting in death)? A new study hopes to answer that question.

The most recent international consensus statement on sport-related concussions identifies several important differences in the way concussions are diagnosed and treated in children and adolescents, including the need for age-appropriate symptom checklists, additional cognitive rest and a longer recovery period before return to sports.

According to the most recent international consensus of concussion experts, concussion signs (those noticed by coaches, parents and teammates) and symptoms (feelings or problems experienced by the athlete) fall into five "clusters."