Trainer warns St. Louis athletes about heat exhaustion
· Yahoo Sports
ST. LOUIS – Summer temperatures are soaring and local football teams are pushing on in this intense heat.
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At the Center for Performance Medicine at Mercy Hospital, athletic trainer Nathan Welnes shared valuable insights on how players can manage their performance in health during these very hot conditions.
“That can descend pretty rapidly to a pretty serious health situation if they’re not heeding what their body’s telling them and that’s the issue is a lot of athletes think crushing the high school age of their indestructible and they can go on and go on until they can’t. But when they can when you become a life-threatening situation,” Welnes said.
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are serious risk and Welnes emphasized the importance of hydration, advising players should start hydrating well before the practice starts.
“Twenty-four hours before any event or activities, you should start hydrating. If you’re a high school athlete and you’re practicing or playing five or six days a week, they’re constantly needing to rehydrate,” he said.
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