Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation

By Carlos Flores RN FCN

With the coming of the new school year, now is the time to set up appointments for your child athlete with pediatricians/physicians for their annual sports physicals. Otherwise known as the “pre-participation physical evaluation” or PPE this annual exam is crucial to ensure the health and safety of the young athlete and is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The physical is ideally performed by the child’s own physician, being that he/she has knowledge of the complete medical history of your child. This is especially important if the child has any chronic conditions such as asthma or cardiac conditions which should be monitored during the sports season.
While not all underlying conditions can be discovered during this exam, it does help to identify any conditions that may influence the performance or participation in a given sport.

The PPE reviews such things as family history, heart, breathing, bone and joint, and over-all medical issues. Your doctor will help in the decisions of how to keep symptoms under control and to allow the student athlete full participation in their sport of choice.
A copy of the PPE form that can be used by your doctor may be found at:  https://www.safekids.org/other-resource/pre-participation-physical-evaluation-form-pdf.

Play hard, play safe!
Note:  If you would like to connect with Carlos Flores to suggest topics or receive personal feedback, he can reach him at cflores@valleychildrens.org.