The toll heat takes on athletes is the focus of new research being conducted at the University of South Florida.
NFL Charities awarded a $124,000 grant to look at the prevention and treatment of heat stress. USF Health will join the University of Connecticut and University of Ottawa in the study, which will take place this spring.
The research is being led by Eric Couris, an associate professor of family medicine who also serves as the team physician for USF's athletic department. He says it will address the effect of heat on youth, collegiate and professional-level athletes.
The American College of Sports Medicine says heat exhaustion is the most common heat-related disorder among active people. But it can often be overlooked by coaches, trainers and even medical personnel.
Complications from heat stress include muscle cramping, heat exhaustion and the more serious heatstroke.
"While certain individuals are more prone to collapse from exhaustion in the heat, exertional heatstroke can affect seemingly healthy athletes even when the environment is relatively cool," the college said in a 2007 study on heat stress.
The grant was one of 11 awarded by NFL Charities recently. A total of $1.5 million was given for sports-related medical research.
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