All Articles by Lindsey Barton Straus, JD

To help swimmers, their families, and others from contracting recreational water illnesses (RWIs) coming into contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed the Triple A's of healthy swimming: Awareness, Action and Advocacy.

How do you teach your children to enjoy hiking? Start early and make it fun! So says award-winning author, expert hiker and adventure planner Jeff Alt, who has lots of great advice about how to make sure you and the kids have a great time outdoors.

Kids are often times more intuitive than adults, and what they think is best for them in terms of health, nutrition and exercise often times is. It's time we truly listened to what they have to say, says certified natural chef, holistic nutrition expert and founder of DirectionFive.org, Patty James.

 

An overwhelming majority of both athletes returning to the classroom after a concussion and their parents are "very concerned" that academic performance will be negatively affected, finds a new survey.  Majorities of both athletes and parents surveyed called for schools to do more to support the recovery of students from concussions through academic accommodations, such as extra time to complete tasks, reduced homework, and rest breaks. 

On April 21,2011, Arizona enacted became the fifteenth state in the nation to enact a comprehensive youth sports concussion safety law since May 2009.

On April 21, 2011, North Dakota governor Jack Dalrymple signed Senate Bill 2281 into law requiring that all schools in the state that sponsor or sanction athletic activities adopt a concussion management program and outlining the specific requirements that must be included in the program.  North Dakota became the fourteenth state to enact a strong youth sports concussion safety law since May 2009.

On April 7, 2011, Iowa governor Terry Brandstat signed the state's youth sports concussion safety law into law.  It will take effect July 1, 2011.

Pencil and paper neuropsychological tests have proven useful for identifying cognitive deficits resulting from concussions, and have been available to sports medicine clinicians for years but have a number of limitations.

Computerized neuropsycognitive testing for concussions has become increasingly popular in recent years and have been shown to have value in making the all-important return to play decision.

Girls who play sports more than 8 hours per week are twice as likely as their less active peers to suffer a stress fracture, a new study finds. Most at risk were those engaged in three activities (running, basketball and cheerleading/gymnastics) which involve repeated jumping and landing which place particuarly high stress on bone, with the risk of injury increasing about 8 percent for each extra hour of activity over four per week.