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 JULY 2002 Welcome to this month's issue of the Sports Injury Handbook E-zine. It's hot. It's sticky. It may not be a good idea to play sports in such oppressive weather. National Football League training camps open this week, which leads us to remind you that if you do exercise outside, drink lots of water beforehand, during, and afterward, stay cool by avoiding mid-day workouts, and wear light, loose clothing that breathes and allows air to circulate, just as the pros do. We hope you enjoy this newsletter and invite you to pass it on to a friend. We welcome your suggestions for improvements and additions. Yours in health, Allan M. Levy, MD and Mark L. Fuerst In this issue, you'll find: What's Worse While Exercising -- High Temperature or High Humidity? When you sweat, evaporation cools your skin. In hotter weather you sweat more, so evaporation helps control your body temperature. But if humidity is high, there is more water in the air, and less sweat is absorbed from your skin through evaporation. With no evaporation, there's no cooling. So exercising on a humid day can be more dangerous than exercising on a hot day. If you keep sweating without replacing body fluids, you can become dehydrated. Q & A - Water Breaks Q: I have a regular lunch-hour tennis game in a park near my office. What should I do to keep from being dehydrated? MM, Ardsley, NY. A: To keep your fluid intake up, take frequent water breaks, every 15 minutes if possible or at least at every service break. You should drink plain water even if you're not thirsty. By the time you become thirsty, it may be too late because you're already dehydrated. You can also drink an electrolyte drink, such as Gatorade, but dilute it, using one part water to one part Gatorade, to help your stomach absorb the high concentration of electrolytes (salt and potassium). Don't take salt tablets. A large amount of salt in the intestines causes the body to extract large amounts of water from body tissues to dilute it, causing further dehydration in the muscles. Instead, put some salt on your food and eat high-potassium foods, such as bananas, tomatoes, and oranges, to maintain your electrolyte levels. In the News - Ephedra Warnings With football camps opening across the country, there have been reminders of last year's tragic death of Minnesota Viking offensive lineman Korey Stringer at summer training camp. The interaction of heat exhaustion and fat-burner supplements, such as ephedra, probably were the major cause of Stringer's death. Products that contain ephedra, which is often combined with caffeine, allow the body to convert excess calories to fat. They do this by increasing the core body temperature, which produces excess heat. You lose weight by allowing the body to burn fat and get rid of calories as heat rather than storing the calories as fat. Ephedra with caffeine, which is a diuretic, increases your water loss and increases your body temperature. If you take these products and exercise in hot weather, your chances of heat problems increase dramatically. Your body temperature can climb sky high, you can become dehydrated, and you can lose too much electrolytes through excessive sweating. Despite several government warnings and clinical studies that show ephedra may induce serious side effects, including heart attacks, strokes, fast heart beats, and high blood pressure, ephedra is still commonly available, most often in over-the-counter diet pills. I recently checked four major chain drug stores, and each one had 8-10 ephedra-containing products. Please be very careful if you use these potentially dangerous supplements while participating in hot-weather sports. If you feel light-headed and dizzy, or feel faint, stop what you are doing, rest in a cool place, and replace your fluids with water or an electrolyte drink such as Gatorade. In severe cases, you may need to have fluids and electrolytes replaced intravenously at a hospital emergency room. Book Review - Fitness and Health (Human Kinetics) by Brian Sharkey If you want to know why and how exercise is good for you, and how to derive additional benefits from physical activity, then let Fitness and Health be your guide. This fitness classic, now in its fifth edition (in full color for the first time), explains how your body responds to physical activity, why physical activity is so beneficial to health, and the way in which physical activity affects quality of life; aerobic and muscular fitness; weight control; sports and work performance; coping with the environment; the psychology of activity; and the role of activity in aging and longevity. Sharkey, who directed the University of Montana's Human Performance Laboratory for many years, provides proof for the skeptic about how exercise improves your health and motivation to the newcomer to start exercising. The book also allows you to design your own fitness program so that you're more likely to stick to it. Disclaimer This newsletter is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. We are not engaged in rendering medical or other professional services. If medical advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. |
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