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 >

If you love to play sports, it’s tough advice to follow after months of lockdown: Go easy. You may be tempted to jump right back into things as playing fields, courts, gyms and other athletic facilities reopen, but it’s best to take some time for conditioning first, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) says. “For many sports, it has been three months since the last practice. Cardiovascular conditioning, muscle strength and flexibility may have declined with [the] need to social distance,” said orthopedic surgeon and AAOS spokesperson Dr. Nicholas DiNubile. “Regardless of your activity, it is important to remember to ease into it and be patient with yourself,” he said in an AAOS news release. “If you give yourself time, the skills will come back.” People who weren’t active before the pandemic might want to view the reopening of facilities as an opportunity to improve their health and fitness levels, or to take up a new sport or activity. If you plan to restart or start an exercise program, here are some guidelines: Don’t increase the intensity or duration of the activity more than 10% per week. Stay hydrated during your workouts. Always warm up and stretch before beginning a workout. Cold muscles are more prone to injury. Warm up with jumping jacks, stationary cycling or running or walking in place for three to…  read on >

Swimming and summer are practically synonymous, but getting sick from bacteria in lakes, rivers and the ocean can spoil the fun, U.S. health officials warn. Since 2009, nearly 120 disease outbreaks in 31 states have been tied to untreated recreational water. But being aware of potential harms and taking precautions can help keep you healthy while you cool off, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Swimming is a great opportunity to be physically active, and we’re telling the public just do it in a smarter, more healthy way,” said report co-author Michele Hlavsa, chief of the CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program. Contamination can occur from many sources, she said. These include storm water runoff, septic or sewer overflow, or water from farms or wastewater treatment plants. “They add poop to the water,” Hlavsa noted. Also, animals may defecate on the beach or in the water. The most common infections are from bacteria, and include norovirus, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Cryptosporidium and Shigella. These bacteria can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and fever. Most often, these conditions go away by themselves, but for some, like kids and the elderly, these infections can be fatal. Older people with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems can be especially susceptible to getting sick. “One of the outbreaks highlighted in this report involved a…  read on >

Trips to the beach or a pool add to summer’s fun, but parents need to ensure that children are safe in and around the water. Masks and social distancing are a must this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. And kids must be supervised even if they’re able to swim, experts at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said. Two-thirds of drowning deaths occur in the summer — between May and August — and most occur on the weekends. The hospital offered parents the following swimming safety guidelines: Pay attention. Give kids your undivided attention when they’re in or around the water. Small children can drown in as little as one inch of water. Take turns supervising. When there are several adults present and children are swimming, designate an adult as the water watcher for a certain amount of time (such as 15 minutes). This can help prevent gaps in supervision and give other parents a chance to read, make phone calls or take a bathroom break. Teach your children. Educate your kids about swimming safety. Every child is different, so enroll children in swimming lessons when you feel they’re ready. Whether swimming in a backyard pool or in a lake, teach children to swim with an adult. Even children who are older, more experienced swimmers should swim with a partner every time. Learn CPR. It…  read on >

With opioid addiction soaring in the United States, it should come as good news that an opioid painkiller may not be needed after a sports-injury repair. A mix of non-addictive medicines may be safer and equally successful in managing pain after shoulder or knee surgery, a study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit indicates. Concerned about the opioid abuse epidemic, doctors there tested a different regimen for pain relief. They treated post-surgical pain with a combination of non-opioid medications, including anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants and nerve pain relievers. Nearly half of the study participants required no opioids for pain relief. “It’s a complete change,” said lead author and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vasilios Moutzouros. He added that he was taught in medical school “the only mode of pain relief is opioid medication.” Opioid overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and orthopedic surgeons write a substantial number of opioid prescriptions, the authors said in background notes. The study builds on earlier research showing use of opioids after orthopedic surgery can be reduced, but goes further in suggesting that the drugs may be eliminated. Changing how pain is treated could keep people from ever being introduced to opioids, Moutzouros said. The study focused on 141 patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, or repairs for a torn knee meniscus or rotator cuff…  read on >

Sports fans are itching to watch their favorite teams return to play, but are jam-packed arenas even remotely safe in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? For Glenn Rall, chief academic officer and a virologist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, the answer isn’t simple. “There are inherent dangers,” he said. “And the rational decision may simply be that, no, we can’t do this. But I don’t think we, as scientists, can just sit in our prototypical ivory tower and just say this is too dangerous, and nothing can happen until we have a vaccine. Because we are not going to have a vaccine available until at least mid-2021. And it’s not realistic to say to the public ‘Just stay inside forever.’” For one thing, Rall explained, the public’s tolerance for risk evolves. “Three months ago, doors slammed shut as people were terrified. Now they’re figuring things out. You have a mask. You have sanitizer. You go shopping at off hours. You sit outside a restaurant instead of inside. And three months from now, we’re probably going to be even more open to taking risks,” Rall said. “And then there’s also the many, many people whose livelihood depends on these sports. I don’t mean the players or owners. They will be just fine. But the folks who work in these stadiums — the…  read on >