Proper Hydration Crucial for Youth Athletes Amid Summer Heat
High school athletes across the country are already feeling the heat as teams begin practices for several sports, including football, cross country and soccer. While student athletes and coaches are anxious to get the season under way, experts say it’s important to stay safe, especially when it comes to practicing during the grueling August temperatures. “The summer heat is very dangerous for so many different reasons, and it is important to know and identify those risk factors associated with heat related illnesses, particularly the athletes, their coaches and the staff who work with them,” says Faheem Ahmad, MD, a family practice physician with OSF HealthCare, who completed a fellowship in sports medicine. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research , heat stroke is the third-most common cause of sudden death among high school athletes behind cardiac arrest and traumatic brain injuries. Already this year, a 16-year-old student athlete
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