IHSA

IHSA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee Special Topics

Return to Sports Medicine Advisory Committee Special Topics Main Page

IHSA Sports Medicine: Heat, Hydration & Performance

The information has been broken down into specific items. Please choose from the menu of options below to be taken directly to that section. If you print this file you will be printing all the sections.

Types of Heat Illness
Hydration Guidelines
Prevention of Heat Illness
Heat Illness Guidelines

Types of Heat Illness

Heat Cramps
Heat cramps are severe cramping of the skeletal muscles, particularly those most heavily used during exercise. Heat cramps are treated by moving the individual to a cooler location and administering fluids or a saline solution.

Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion accompanied by such symptoms as fatigue, dizziness, and vomiting is caused by the body's cardiovascular system not meeting the body's needs; heat exhaustion typically occurs when your blood volume decreases, by either excessive fluid loss or mineral loss from sweating.

Heat Stroke
This is the most dangerous type of heat illness, heat stroke is characterized as a rise in internal body temperature, cessation of sweating, hot and dry skin, rapid pulse and respiration, high blood pressure, contusion and unconsciousness.

In addition to immediately contacting medical personnel, individuals can treat heal stroke by cooling the person's body in a bath of water or ice or wrapping the body in a wet sheet and fanning the victim.

Hydration Guidelines

Click here for hydration guidelines. This file is in PDF format and requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download from www.adobe.com.

Prevention of Heat Illness

Although deaths from heat illness are rare, constant surveillance and education are necessary in order to maintain the safety and health of student-athletes.

The following practices should be observed in order to prevent any form of heat illness.

Prior to participating, an initial and complete medical history and physical examination should be performed for each student-athlete.

Prevention of heath illness begins with aerobic conditioning, which provides partial acclimation to the heat. In order to achieve heat acclimation, student-athletes should gradually increase their exposure to hot and/or humid environmental conditions over a period of seven to 10 days. Hydration should be maintained during training and acclimation.

Clothing and protective gear can increase heat stress. Frequent rest periods should be scheduled so that the gear and clothing can be loosened to allow heat loss. During the acclimization process, it may be advisable to use a minimum of protective gear and clothing and to practice in T-shirts, shorts, socks and shoes.

To identify heat stress conditions, regular measurements of environmental conditions are recommended. Dehydration must be avoided. Fluid replacement must be readily available. Student-athletes should be encouraged to drink as much and as frequently as comfort allows. This includes both before and after practice.

Recording the body weight of each student-athlete before and after practice(s), progressive lose of body fluids can be detected and overcome.

Some student-athletes may be more susceptible to heat illness than others, and coaches need to be aware of such situations. Susceptible individuals include those who have inadequate aerobic fitness, excess body fat, a history of heat illness, poor rehydration habits, and a tendency to push themselves to capacity with out proper fluid rehydration.