Physical fitness for sports.

P HYSICAL fitness is vita1 to the heaIth and happiness of our nation. Our President and other nationa leaders, shocked by the findings of draft examinations, have invited consultations to improve the physical condition of our youth through athletics. It is recognized that athIetics are important toward this end, utilizing the instinctive desire in growing boys for physica competition Thousands of instructors and miIIions of dolIars are invoIved in our nationa athIetic program ranging through the grade schooIs, coIIeges and into professiona ranks. The physicians of our country are responsibIe for determining the fitness of the individua1 for participation. By far the majority of the decisions are made or influenced by the judgment of the famiIy physician. This discussion is offered as a guide in their decisions. There are reIativeIy few boys so handicapped as to be unabIe to participate in some sport. The physician shouId be the advisor in guiding the athlete to the activity in which he may safeIy participate, rather than aIIowing or negating some particuIar sport. A sympathetic understanding and expIanation of the requirements and hazards of different sports foIIowing an adequate and conscientious examination pIaces him in a psychoIogica1 position to give advice to an eager, often immature youth not reached by others, especiaIIy his parents. There is a wide range of physica stress invoIved in participation in the numerous competitive sports avaiIabIe. A marked difference exists between enjoying some Iighter sport for pure recreation and participating in one of the heavier contact sports involving team victory and reputation. Three groups of sports seem apparent then: (I) those pIayed for exercise, deveIopment and reIaxation, (2) those invoIving organized competitive team participation and (3) professiona athIetics. Organized team spirit and reputation invite participation often to the point of endurance not encountered in the first group in which fatigue wiI1 usuaIIy Iimit the activity. On the other hand, the professiona athIete is usuaIly mature. Knowing the hazard, fuIIy expIained, he may decide to accept the risk for the financia1 gain or professiona1 reputation. The Iess mature individua1 is more apt to be guided by zea1 than good judgment. The determination of fitness requires an adequate examination with the particuIar requirements of that sport in mind. The physician who has watched a boy grow and mature, who has a specia1 interest in him, and who has his confidence may be abIe to do this in a short time. SureIy a Iine of boys paraded hurriedIy past an examiner in a noisy room represents a mere gesture. An interest in the boy and in athIetics seems essentia1 to evaIuate his aptitude fairIy. As in a11 examinations, an adequate history is essential. We must be aIerted to possibIe residues of previous iIInesses and injuries, particuIarIy those invoIving the cardiorespiratory, nervous, skeIeta1 and renaI systems. The Iength of disabiIity foIIowing an injury may be a cIue to its severity. Loss of consciousness, either traumatic or spontaneous, is important. The infectious diseases and their sequeIae shouId focus our attention more sharpIy, and we shouId look for a history of drug and serum reactions. To overIook tetanus immunization may be tragic. The examination shouId be thorough and unhurried but not necessariry Iengthy. There are some body systems in which we are vitaIIy interested and others in which abnormaIities are not contraindications to athIetics. A Iong invoIved form requiring time in examining and