Hydration
POSITION STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HYDRATION TO MINIMIZE THE RISK FOR DEHYDRATION AND HEAT ILLNESS
National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC)
DEHYDRATION, ITS EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE, AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO HEAT ILLNESS:
MSHSAA recommends that...
If the Heat index is between 95 and 105 degrees, practices and game conditions should be altered.
If the heat index is over 105 degrees, a practice or contest should be postponed or rescheduled.
Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC)
DEHYDRATION, ITS EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE, AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO HEAT ILLNESS:
- Appropriate hydration before, during, and after physical activity is an important ingredient to healthy and successful sports participation.
- Weight loss during exercise and other physical activity represents primarily a loss of body water. A loss of just 1 to 2% of body weight (1.5 to 3 pounds for a 150-pound athlete) can negatively impact performance. A loss of 3% or more of body weight can significantly increase the risk for exertional heat-related illness. If an athlete is already dehydrated prior to beginning activity, these effects will occur even sooner.
- Athletes should be weighed (in shorts and T-shirt) before and after warm or hot weather practice sessions and contests to assess their
hydration status. - Athletes with high body fat percentages can become significantly dehydrated and over-heat faster than athletes with lower body
fat percentages while working out under the same environmental conditions. - Athletes have different sweating rates and some lose much more salt through their sweat than others. “Salty sweaters” will often have noticeable salt stains on clothing after workouts, and often have a higher risk of developing exertional muscle cramps.
- Poor heat acclimatization/fitness levels can greatly contribute to an athlete’s heat intolerance and heat illness risk.
- Certain medications, or fever, can negatively affect an athlete’s hydration status and temperature regulation, increasing the risk for heat illness.
- Environmental temperature and humidity each independently contribute to dehydration and heat illness risk.
- Clothing that is dark or bulky, as well as protective equipment (such as helmets, shoulder pads, and other padding and coverings), can increase body temperature, sweat loss and subsequent dehydration and heat illness risk.
- Even naturally dry climates can have high humidity on the field if irrigation systems are scheduled to run prior to early morning practices start. This temporary increase in humidity will continue until the water completely soaks into the ground or evaporates.
- A heat index chart should be followed to help determine if practices/contests should be modified or canceled. The NOAA National Weather Service’s heat index chart can be found at: http://www.weather.gov/om/heat/index.shtml
MSHSAA recommends that...
If the Heat index is between 95 and 105 degrees, practices and game conditions should be altered.
If the heat index is over 105 degrees, a practice or contest should be postponed or rescheduled.