INDIANAPOLIS -
New guidelines announced today in Indianapolis include an unusual policy for treating athletes with heat stroke. The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) says victims of heat stroke should not be rushed to the hospital. NATA reports that cold water immersion is the most effective treatment for heat stroke.
A simple sideline ice water tub could be a life saver. Trainers say there should be one on every field when athletes are working out in the heat. When an athlete suffers from heat stroke, it's essential to get their core body temperature lowered quickly to avoid permanent organ or brain damage, or even death.
The National Athletic Trainers' Association Expo in Indianapolis released new heat and hydration guidelines for athletes. Most significant is the "cool first, transport second" policy for athletes suffering heat stroke, when core body temperature rises above 104 degrees.
"It's a complete paradigm shift in medicine," said Doug Casa, chief operation officer of the Korey Stringer Institute. "I mean what other medical condition do you say, 'I'm not going to send him to the hospital right away.' But what we understand with heat stroke is we have a very limited number of minutes to get their temperature under the critical threshold."
The Colts hit the practice fields in Anderson in less than a month. Training camp brings some of the hottest days of the summer and the danger of heat stroke.
"We report to camp July 23rd," said Colts offensive lineman Joe Reitz. "So on the 19th, the 20th, I'm really going to start pushing fluids, drinking as much water as I can, so I can be kind of 100 percent topped off in the gas tank so to speak. So that way you hit a couple hot days and you're losing some sweat, you're at your very highest level and it's not going to affect you as much."
NATA reports the best way to treat heat stroke is cold water immersion on site in the first 30 minutes after a heat stroke incident.
"You have to have cooling finish at the school before you put them in the ambulance to take them to the hospital," said Casa, "because you don't want to take him out of the tub while they're getting this great cooling and then put him in the ambulance where they can't continue that same cooling. So you want to absolutely utilize the on-site cooling modality, get them down to the 102-103 range, then you ship them to the hospital. That's your best chance of helping that person survive the heat stroke."
NATA also recommends a more gradual workload to start the football season.
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New heat illness guidelines for athletic trainers announced