Dr. Anthony Beutler has scars on his arm from being bitten by athletes who overheated during a race — he was trying to get them into an ice bath.
Once they cooled down, “they're very nice people, rational, calm human beings who would never bite anybody,” said Beutler, medical director for the sports medicine program at Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital in Provo. But when “you're too hot, your brain doesn't work, and you're not yourself.”
We all have something called “heat shock proteins,” Beutler explained. How many each of us has depends on genetics and how adapted we are to the heat. When it’s hot, those proteins break apart and absorb heat to keep the temperature down in our cells. Once they’re depleted, brain function goes down and the brain isn’t able to regulate where all the hot blood is going.
And that “makes the heat problem much worse,” Beutler said. “That's where we get into where we actually talk about being in a heat stroke. Where are we really going to need external help cooling our body down because our brain can no longer do it.”
At that point, drinking water won’t help. Cooling has to come from the outside “as quickly as possible.” Hence the ice baths for overheated runners and the bites for Beutler.
With school sports practices starting back up and historic heat this summer, how can athletes avoid this outcome?
To evolve with climate change, Beutler said athletics programs need to be “more aware.” There’s already literature, data and protocols on how to have safe practices, “we just need to obey it.”
Take the temperature
There’s a fancy thermometer that measures something called “WebBulb Globe Temperature.” It takes into account humidity, direct radiation of the sun, ambient air temps and wind to give a temperature reading.
Based on that reading, “we know roughly what kind of activity we can allow, what kind of water breaks we need to have, and when we just need to say, ‘this is not a safe time to do this activity.’”
Heat stress adds up
It takes a couple of days for heat shock proteins to recover, but that time depends “a little bit” on a person’s genetics.
“So just because it's hot one day and you take good care of yourself, you'll probably find that you don't have your usual heat stamina [the next day] in that heat,” he explained. “So we do have to be careful for several days after a really hot day.”
Turf is hotter
Utahns are putting in more artificial turf to save water. On turf fields, the temperature tends to be about 10 degrees hotter than natural grass.
So Beutler said sports leaders need to make sure they’re taking the temperature there, “so we know what the actual temperatures that the athletes are experiencing, and make our judgments and guidance based off that.”
Everyone is different
People should remember that everyone’s body is different and everyone is going to be acclimatized a little differently. Some might have more heat shock proteins, and those who sweat earlier can cool themselves down faster.
“So I think that if athletes notice that they're not feeling well, they should feel free to communicate that to their coach and athletic trainer,” he said. “And take that break and get into a shady position where they can recover.”
Speak up
Athletes and parents should ask coaches what’s safe because “we do have those standards. We do have those numbers.” Beutler pointed to a guidebook written by The Utah State High School Activities Association.
He said communication with coaches is key. “One practice is not nearly as important as somebody's long-term health.”
