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Preparticipation Physical Evaluations & Exams (Sports Physicals)

SmartTeams™ Talk: Does Child's Doctor Know How Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation Differs From Regular Exam?

It is important for parents to ask the doctor doing their child's pre-participation physical exam (PPE) is they can know and can articulate how it its different from a regular physical, says James MacDonald, MD, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine, The Ohio State University, Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. If the doctor isn't familiar with the PPE monograph, parents should consider having the PPE done by a different doctor.

Texas Youth Football and Cheer Program: Ten Ways It Is Walking The Talk On Safety

Participation in youth sports in general, and in youth football in particular, is on the decline in some parts of the nation.  One of the biggest factors driving the decline is a concern about injuries. 

Lots of youth sports programs say they want to improve safety, but how many are actually making the effort to implement best health and safety practices?

Lots of youth sports programs say they want to improve safety, but how many are actually making the effort to implement best health and safety practices? I can't speak for every program, but I know one that is definitely walking the talk: the youth tackle and flag football and cheer program in Grand Prairie, Texas, where I spent the first week of August educating and training kids, parents, coaches, and administrators on ways to make football safer as part of MomsTEAM Institute's SmartTeams| UNICEF International Safeguards of Children in Sports project.

Preparticipation Sports Physicals: Not Foolproof

While athletes should undergo regular preparticipation sports physical, parents need to understand that they are limited in their ability to detect all serious or life-threatening medical conditions, and, as a result, a "normal" evaluation does not imply absence of risk.

Illinois Concussion Class Action Lawsuit: More Questions Than Answers

A longtime high school sports administrator argues that the Illinois high school concussion class action lawsuit raises many questions that shouldn't be decided by the first lawyer to get to the courthouse but only after careful consideration by state legislatures and high school sports administrators of all the issues arising from concussions and other aspects of athlete safety.

SmartTeams™ Talks: Dr. Tamara Valovich McLeod Introduces The SmartTeams Program

Tamara C. Valovich McLeod, Ph.D., ATC, FNATA, Chair of the Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Program at A.T. Still University, provides an overview of the SmartTeams program which implemented best youth sports health and safety practices in six pilot programs around the country in the fall of 2014.

Study Finds Few Doctors, Schools, and States Use National Preparticipation Physical Evaluation Form

The medical community is largely unaware of national sports preparticipation physical evaluation (PPE) guidelines and only 11% of athletes at US high schools are guaranteed to receive a PPE fully consistent with the national standard, finds a 2014 study. The findings come despite efforts to standardize the screening process, and nearly unanimous public support for screening by a qualified health care professional before participation in a consistent manner across the country.

Standardizing Preparticipation Physical Exams Is Goal Of New NATA Position Statement

A standardized process for conducting the preparticipation physical examination is needed to ensure a safe playing environment for athletes and to help identify those conditions that may predispose an athlete to injury or sudden death, says the National Athletic Trainers' Association in a new position statement.

Survey To Collect Data On Health Screening Of Athletes

We've been asked by Gloria Wu, M.D., a physician active in the Sudden Cardiac Death Association of San Jose, California, and an Associate Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, for help on a research project she is working on in the area of health screening (a/k/a pre-participation physical evaluations) and its importance to athletes. Please help Gloria and her team by taking this 1-minute survey to help them learn more about this issue.

Return-to-School Tips: Regular Check-Up with Pediatrician Tops List

As summer winds to a close and parents prepare their children to return to a regular routine of packed lunches and homework, it is important for parents to take steps to ease anxiety, keep kids healthy and improve concentration in the classroom. To ensure the best academic performance, kids need to be in good physical and mental health. So before going back to school, we advise parents take their children for a regular check-up with their pediatrician.

What Should The Ideal Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation (PPE) Include?

Lyle Micheli, M.D., Director, Division of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, discusses the elements of an ideal pre-participation physical evaluation (PPE).
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