Heat Stress Monitoring for Athletics

Heat-related illness is a leading cause of death and injury among college and high school athletes. All athletes are susceptible to the risks of exercising in a hot environment. It is particularly crucial in high-exertion sports such as football and running.  Although heat illness can be fatal, death is preventable if quickly recognized and treated.

What are Heat-Related Illnesses?

There are two main concerns for exercising in the heat – dehydration and heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Because our bodies are working harder and producing more sweat, we lose fluids rapidly. Heat exhaustion isn't necessarily life-threatening but can be a precursor to heatstroke. Heatstroke occurs when the body can no longer cool itself, and the core body temperature reaches very high levels. If left untreated, this can cause permanent damage to major organs and possibly even death.

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Heat Illnesses Are Preventable

It's vital to have an athletic heat monitoring device on hand. One proactive way to avoid heat-related illnesses is to monitor environmental conditions by monitoring Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) sensing technology during exercise. 

WBGT is like the Heat Index in that it is an indicator of stress on the body from the heat. But Heat Index only takes temperature and Relative Humidity into account, WBGT takes several variables into account.

These variables include:

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Wind Speed
• Sun Angle
• Cloud Cover
• Physical Activity

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Measuring WBGT Temperatures

Monitoring with a quality instrument like the QUESTempº Series Heat Stress Monitors allows you to assess heat stress environments using WBGT sensing technology. It provides you with a reading that will enable you to follow established guidelines. WBGT temperatures play a huge factor in preventing heat-related illnesses.

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Other Resources

Korey Stringer Institute
https://ksi.uconn.edu/

National Weather Service
https://www.weather.gov/eax/wbgt

National Athletic Trainers' Association
https://www.nata.org/practice-patient-care/health-issues/heat-illness
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164365/

OSHA
https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_iii/otm_iii_4.html#wbgt
https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hurricane_Facts/heat_stress.html

CDC Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2016-106/pdfs/2016-106.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/default.html

 

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