Sports physicals, also known as pre-participation physical exams (PPEs), evaluate a young athlete’s health history, current health status, and physical readiness to confirm whether they can safely participate in a specific team sport or school-sponsored athletic activity.
Every sports physical has two key components: a health history review and a physical exam. Here’s how to prepare ahead of your visit to ensure the process goes smoothly.
What’s the purpose of a sports physical?
A sports physical exam assesses several aspects of a young athlete’s health to determine if they can safely participate in a specific sport. It can also help identify kids who have a higher risk of injury, illness, or sudden cardiac arrest when they’re on the field or in the game.
No matter what your child’s age or preferred activity, a sports physical aims to:
- Establish their current health status
- Measure their physical maturity
- Ascertain their physical fitness level
- Document any pre-existing injuries
- Discover high-risk medical conditions
What can I expect during a sports physical?
A sports physical begins with a comprehensive health review that goes over your child’s medical and family health histories. During this part of your appointment, you may discuss:
- Any known allergies
- Chronic health conditions
- Current medications
- Previous sprains and fractures
- Past hospitalizations
- Full cardiovascular history
The exam portion of the visit is very similar to an annual checkup, but with a few additional sports-related assessments that focus on bone, joint, lung, and heart health.
Basic evaluation
Heart check
Next, he checks for signs of an irregular heartbeat, heart murmur, or other problems that can affect heart health during sustained exertion.
Musculoskeletal exam
He also examines your young athlete’s posture, joint stability, muscle strength, and flexibility.
Vision test
The vision test determines whether your child needs corrective eyewear to play sports. Our team recommends protective eyewear for all kids who play contact sports.
How should I prepare for a sports physical?
While both parts of the sports physicals exam are required to get cleared to play, the health history part is important because it provides important information that can help identify your child's risk of medical problems while playing sports.
First of all, if you have been given a medical form for your child in sports physics, fill out the medical history section before your appointment. The questions are very detailed and the information you provide is important, please take your time and be as specific as possible.
Medical and health history sections include:
- Personal medical and health history
- Current chronic health conditions
- Family health history questionnaire
You should also attain the following items from your child’s pediatrician and bring them along:
- Complete medical transcript
- Updated vaccination records
- A list of current medications
- Past letters of medical clearance
If you have the above forms but not the completed health history questionnaire, bring the following information with you to the exam:
- A list of known allergies, including the severity
- A list of prior bone, joint, and head injuries
- Details about prior hospitalizations or surgeries
- Past serious illnesses and current conditions
- History of notable weight gain or weight loss
- Corrective lens use (glasses or contact lenses)
- Dental appliances, orthotics, or piercings
Most importantly, be ready to answer questions about any symptoms your child experiences — or often experiences — during exercise, including chest pain, headaches, dizziness, or shortness of breath.
Finally, prepare details of your child's medical history. In particular, our patients want to know if there is a family history of heart problems, malformations or undiagnosed seizures, or sudden and premature death in relatives under the age of 50.
