What Areas of the Physical Examination are Important in the Pre-participation Physical Examination?

Discussion Participation in organized or non-organized, recreational to elite sports activities can provide excellent recreational and leisure time activities and improve physical and mental health for participants. The Aspen Institute in 2018 reported that more kids are being physically active, more are trying different sports, and multisports play is increasing rather than strict specialization. Unfortunately they note that there is an economic inequality with children from lower-socioeconomic circumstances playing less organized sports. About 70% of children and youth participate in an individual or team sport, but unfortunately 17% still reported doing no physical activity. The pre-participation examination sports examination (PPE) is important for identifying potential medical conditions that could become dangerous during physical activity. They are also important as the PPE may be the only contact with health care providers as many of these children/youth are well and do not seek care for other reasons. The PPE is different in that it is “…a more focused, system-based history and physical examination with specific questions and other elements used to identify issues that are known to affect sports participation.” It can be done as part of a more comprehensive health examination which would also include screening (i.e. mental health, psychosocial screening, drug use, etc.), health counseling (i.e. nutrition, sleep, etc.) and immunizations and laboratory...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news