NCAA football and conditioning drills.

摘要

From August 2000 to March 2010, 23 deaths have been associated with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football activities, 21 of which were from non-traumatic causes. Diagnoses linked to these deaths include sickle cell trait, cardiac conditions, heat stroke, and asthma. Although there is some debate about the specific medical cause of death in some of these cases, there is no dispute regarding the commonality of circumstances surrounding these deaths. During this period, 18 of the 21 deaths were associated with conditioning sessions or tests. The remaining three patients died during August preseason football drills (1). Another way to look at this is that for each football season in this decade, from the end of preseason training in late August through the last bowl game in mid-January, there were no nontraumatic deaths associated with any games or "standard" practices - a startling statistic that begs explanation and correction. Conditioning sessions are supposed to improve "football fitness" and prepare athletes to play the game -they are not supposed to exact a toll in players' lives.