If your child has any ambitions of being a pro in sports, it’s essential to get them started early. When it comes to the world’s elite athletes, many show promise at a young age, including Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and Rafael Nadal, all starting at three years old. This is the exception rather than the rule, however, as most elite players start around 12.
Even if your child doesn’t expect to be living the dream of pro sports, if they’re serious about participating in sports during their school and college years, a sports physical is essential. To keep your child in the game, let’s review the basics of sports physicals, what to expect, and how often they should be done.
Dr. Andrew Nangalama and the American River Urgent Care team are here to help children in Orangevale and Rancho Cordova, California, prepare for sports or recover from injuries.
While similar to a regular physical, which is designed to assess your overall health, a sports physical serves two functions: to ensure someone is able to participate in a sport, and to make sure that, if injured, they’re ready to return to the same sport. Both objectives help keep athletes safe in their respective sports, which is essential to your children’s health.
Medical conditions can prevent children from participating in sports, so these exams will screen for a range of symptoms, including asthma, allergies, heart conditions, seizures, fainting, shortness of breath, and chest pain. A history of medical issues that kept children from sporting activities can also affect their chances of getting involved.
The primary components of a sports physical are getting a medical history and performing the actual exam. When obtaining your child’s previous medical information, we need details such as any family history of illness, previous injuries, preexisting conditions (COVID-19, diabetes, asthma), breathing problems, and a list of medications and supplements.
When examining your child, we’ll gather information about height, weight, pulse, blood pressure, vision, heart and lung health, and their musculoskeletal condition. We’ll also need to know about their diet and previous sports activities. As with routine annual physicals, we may also need to order urine and blood tests if illnesses are present.
While this physical is annual, like a routine exam, it’s generally recommended to do it up to eight weeks before the season starts for their sport’s training. This allows for follow-up examination if concerns arise, and if clearance is withheld, it may allow time to be cleared, depending on the cause.
All 50 states require these tests for children to safely participate in school sports, and follow-up exams are necessary to keep playing the following year.
If you have an eager child looking forward to getting into a sport, make an appointment with Dr. Nangalama and American River Urgent Care to assess their health and be sure they’re cleared to participate.
