What Happens During a Sports Physical?

Find out what to expect when your child comes in for their annual physical.

Most schools require that students get a sports physical from their doctor every year. Even if your child isn’t playing on a sports team, they may still require a routine physical before they can even participate in any school activities such as physical education. After all, your child’s school wants to make sure your child is healthy enough for physical activity and our Gaithersburg, MD, pediatrician Dr. Farnoush Jamali can tell you about the importance of having a sports physical and what’s involved.

What is a sports physical?

The main purpose of a sports physical is to make sure your child is healthy enough to participate in the sport of their choosing. In most cases, your child will be required to have a sports physical before they can even begin a sporting endeavor. And even if your child’s school doesn’t require them to have one, our Gaithersburg, MD, children’s doctor will always recommend that your child gets one each year regardless.

There are two parts to a sports physical: the physical exam itself and going through your child’s medical history. Their medical history includes everything from the medications they are currently taking to past surgeries and hospitalizations to any injuries or chronic health conditions. It’s important that we know as much as possible about your child’s health background upfront so that we can determine whether they are healthy enough for a certain sport.

Also, knowing about any chronic health problems upfront ensures that they are getting the proper treatment and care to keep symptoms under control while also enjoying physical activity safely.

During the actual physical exam, we will check your child’s weight and height, vitals (blood pressure; heart rate, etc), heart, lungs, ears, nose and throat and then check the overall musculoskeletal system to make sure the body is healthy and strong.

Why is a sports physical important?

As you may be able to tell from the information we’ve already provided, a sports physical is important because it makes sure that your child isn’t just healthy but also healthy enough for their chosen activity. This is extremely important for preventing injury or other conditions. The goal as your child’s doctor is to make sure that they enjoy sports safely and to prevent injury or health problems from arising whenever possible.

Furthermore, we can provide your child with helpful tips and advice for proper nutrition and hydration, as well as stretching and strengthening exercises to do that could improve flexibility and help warm up the body to prevent injury while in the heat of the game. After all, we want your child to be a strong, healthy and happy athlete.

Don’t let summer pass you by before you realize it’s time to schedule your child’s next physical. Schedules fill up fast, especially right before the school year starts. Call Prime Pediatrics in Gaithersburg, MD, to schedule your child’s next appointment.