Sports « Weekly Gravy

Young athletes who’ve had moderate COVID-19 symptoms should be symptom-free for 14 days and get their doctor’s OK before returning to practices or games, according to a leading group of U.S. pediatricians. An electrocardiogram (EKG) is also recommended for those who’ve had moderate COVID-19 symptoms, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said in updated guidance. “Exercise and sports offer so many health benefits to youth, and we know that many are eager to return to play,” Dr. Susannah Briskin, an author of the guidance, said in an AAP news release. “We have many suggestions on how to reduce the risks, and they require being candid and forthcoming about anyone who is feeling unwell. Parents, children and coaches need to make safety protocols a priority,” Briskin said. According to the recommendations: Children and teens who’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, regardless of whether they have symptoms, shouldn’t attend any practices or games for a minimum of 14 days. Parents and guardians must report if a young athlete or anyone in their household has any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive for the virus, even if they have no symptoms. Children and teens who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or test positive for the virus shouldn’t participate in sports and should be asymptomatic for 14 days before beginning a gradual return to physical activity. If… read on >

Exercise is often recommended to combat stress and anxiety. But it might not be the solution to your pandemic-related worries, new research indicates. For the study, researchers analyzed data gathered from more than 900 pairs of identical and same-sex fraternal twins in Washington state during the early stages of the pandemic. While 42% said their physical activity levels fell, 27% said they rose. Another 31% reported no change. Those who said their physical activity levels had declined in the first two weeks after stay-at-home orders were issued reported higher levels of stress and anxiety, a finding that the researchers expected. But they were surprised that the same was true among many twins who boosted their physical activity levels, according to the study. “Certainly, people who don’t exercise know that there are associations with mental health outcomes, yet the ones that increased their exercise also reported increased anxiety and stress,” said study co-author Glen Duncan. He’s a professor at Washington State University College of Medicine, in Spokane. “It’s hard to know exactly what’s going on, but it could be that they are trying to use exercise as a means to counter that stress and anxiety they’re feeling because of COVID,” Duncan added in a university news release. The link between decreased physical activity and stress was confounded by genetic and environmental factors, the researchers noted. In… read on >

Want to fend off high blood pressure? New research adds to the pile of evidence showing that living healthy can help you avoid hypertension. The study included nearly 3,000 Black and white U.S. adults, aged 45 and older, who didn’t have high blood pressure at the start of the study. The participants’ heart health was assessed with the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 tool, which measures seven risk factors: body mass index, diet, smoking, physical activity, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. A score of 10 to 14 is ideal; 5 to 9 is average, and 0 to 4 is poor. The median score among the participants was 9. Over about nine years of follow-up, 42% of participants developed high blood pressure. The rates among Black adults were 52% in women and 50% in men. Among white adults the rates were 37% in women and 42% in men. Each 1-point higher score was associated with a 6% lower risk of high blood pressure, without significant difference by race or sex, according to the study published Sept. 15 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “High blood pressure is among the most common conditions in the U.S., and it contributes to the greatest burden of disability and largest reduction in healthy life expectancy among any disease,” said lead author Dr. Timothy Plante, an… read on >

As some school sports return this fall, a number of measures should be followed to keep students safe from the new coronavirus, an expert says. “The best way to prevent risk is to remind students of frequent hand-washing or have hand sanitizers readily available, especially before, during and after practice,” said Dr. Irvin Sulapas, a primary care sports medicine physician and assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “It depends on the sport, but if you are touching surfaces or working with something like a football or basketball, just remember to use hand sanitizer after you’re done using it and clean the ball as well,” he said in a Baylor news release. Whenever school athletes go to a practice or game, they should practice good hygiene by: bringing their own water bottle; not borrowing other people’s athletic equipment; disinfecting equipment such as sports balls, helmets or gloves after they’re used; using hand sanitizer, and washing hands frequently. Athletes who feel sick should stay home. They or their parents should keep a daily symptom checklist as reference, Sulapas suggested. Maintaining distance is also important when practicing. Even if a practice traditionally takes place indoors, try to hold it outdoors. Limit the number of people in or around the practice area. Stagger the number of athletes who are on the… read on >

People with the heart-rhythm disorder known as atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, may ease their symptoms with the help of a slower-paced yoga, a preliminary study finds. Researchers from India found that over 16 weeks of yoga sessions, a-fib patients saw their symptom episodes drop by about half. Their mental well-being got a boost as well. The findings, which were presented this week at an online meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. But the report adds to evidence that yoga can help control a-fib symptoms, which include palpitations, dizziness and breathlessness. In 2013, Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy led a small study of a-fib patients that came to similar conclusions: Slower-paced yoga, with a focus on breathing and mindful physical poses, helped people reduce their symptoms. The benefits may stem from yoga’s calming effects on the nervous system, explained Lakkireddy, who is medical director of the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute, at HCA Midwest Health in Kansas. He was not involved with the new report. People with a-fib, Lakkireddy said, tend to have an exaggerated “sympathetic tone” — which refers to the arm of the nervous system that, among other jobs, revs up heart rate and blood pressure. Yoga may counter that, according to Lakkireddy. But in a world where yoga classes are often geared toward a… read on >

Injuries can continue to plague rugby players long after they retire, a new study finds. Researchers examined injuries suffered by 254 retired elite and amateur rugby players and competitors in non-contact sports, such as cricket. The athletes were 21 to 82 years of age. Compared to athletes who played non-contact sports, rugby players were 1.7 to 7.3 times more likely to report an injury and 2.4 to 9.7 times more likely to report long-term effects, the findings showed. Rugby players reported back pain, and severe and regular joint pain, which they attributed to injuries suffered on the field, according to the report published online recently in the journal Sports Medicine. Concussion was the most frequently reported injury among those who played rugby, with 81% of elite and 76% of amateur players reporting at least one during their career. Concussion was most often associated with reports of long-term impacts. About half of players had suffered a knee ligament injury, with 25% experiencing ongoing problems. Osteoarthritis — which causes joints to become painful and stiff — was two times more common in elite rugby players than in non-contact athletes. It was associated with previous injuries and surgery. More than half of retired elite players said they had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, according to the study. Study author Karen Hind, of the department of sport and exercise sciences… read on >

If your knees crack when you walk or run, don’t be too worried, an expert says. “Knee cracking could mean lots of things,” said Harshvardhan Singh, assistant professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “If it is painful, then you should see a health care provider.” The cause can be a large kneecap that doesn’t fit well into the groove, producing cracking during activities such as running and jogging. And if the thigh muscle is too tight, it can pull the kneecap, causing an audible crack. Degeneration of knee cartilage can, too. “The degenerative changes can also lead to pain and/or locking of the knee joint,” Singh said in a university news release. “Typically, degenerative changes are common in older people.” Scans have shown that the displacement of joint surfaces forming the knee can cause a chain reaction in which natural gas bubbles collapse. The result: knee cracking. “You should not be worried if your knees crack often as long as it is not associated with pain,” Singh said. If you have had a recent trauma to the knee and it starts to crack, you should see a doctor even in there’s no pain, he said. “Do not allow these sounds to make you feel abnormal or mentally stressed, or limit your functional activities,” Singh said. “A knee… read on >

The odds are not good for college football conferences that have decided to press forward with their fall season despite the coronavirus pandemic, experts say. The Big 10 and PAC 12 have decided not to play sports in the fall, but the SEC, the Big 12 and the ACC say they will proceed with college football while still keeping players safe from the coronavirus. “I do predict, because we’ve already been seeing it in those sports that have been very diligent, that there will be transmission and they will have to stop their games,” said Dr. Colleen Kraft, an NCAA medical adviser and a professor of infectious diseases with Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. She was one of several experts who recently briefed the media on navigating college sports during the pandemic. Ultimately, the nationwide debate over college football is occurring because the United States has failed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in an effective manner, said Dr. Brian Hainline, senior vice president and chief medical officer of the NCAA. “When we started talking about return to sport in April, we were envisioning there would be a continued downward trajectory of COVID-19 new infections and deaths, that there would be a national surveillance system, national testing and national contact tracing that would allow us to really navigate this pandemic,” Hainline said. “That hasn’t… read on >

If you’re thinking about letting your child resume sports while the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage, a leading pediatricians’ group says there are a few things you should consider. To help families make informed decisions, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently released guidance based on the most current research. “We recommend that parents talk to their pediatrician about the type of sport and setting, local disease activity, and individual circumstances, such as an underlying health condition that places the athlete or family members at high risk,” Dr. Susannah Briskin, one of the guidance authors, said in an AAP news release. “The risk can be decreased, but not eliminated, by athletes, parents, coaches and officials who follow safety protocols. Ultimately, this will be an individual choice for the parent to decide if they will allow their child to participate in sports,” she advised. “Before returning to sports, all children should have an annual health visit that ideally includes a pre-participation physical evaluation, which most parents know as a sports exam,” Briskin said. “If kids have not been physically active for a lengthy period of time, they are at higher risk of an overuse injury.” Parents can expect sports governing bodies to recommend pandemic-related modifications to practices, competitions and events. The AAP guidance says that families, coaches and teams should: prioritize non-contact activity such as conditioning… read on >

With evidence mounting that COVID-19 can damage the heart, experts urge people to take precautions when doing vigorous exercise. Up to 30% of patients hospitalized with coronavirus infection have signs of cardiac injury, according to Dr. Sunal Makadia, health director of sports cardiology at LifeBridge Health in Baltimore. The prevalence of heart damage in milder cases of COVID-19 is unknown. Still, experts worry about the potential for serious heart complications from engaging in vigorous exercise while infected with the virus. The American College of Cardiology’s Sports and Exercise Council recommends that people get a COVID-19 test and heart screening before playing sports or exercising. Even if they show no symptoms, those who test positive for COVID-19 should avoid exercise for at least two weeks, Makadia recommended. “After this, you can return to activity after being evaluated by a medical professional or cardiologist,” he said in a health system news release. Symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, a fluttering or a rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, leg swelling, muscle pains and unexplained fatigue may indicate a severe heart problem. “We’re still learning more, but those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and previous heart issues such as coronary artery disease, stents or coronary bypass surgery and heart failure are susceptible to the most severe complications of COVID-19,” Makadia said. Experts suggest exercising outdoors rather… read on >