With summer days fast approaching, I remind you of the importance of hydration when playing sport. There is such a variety of drinks available it becomes quite confusing when choosing what is best for you. Chilled tap water in the clinic is very popular with the boys, but is water enough?

Water is a wonderful drink. It’s cheap, available and good for you. Eight to ten glasses are recommended per day and studies have shown that even 2% dehydration affects your performance. Generally speaking if exercising for more than an hour at a high intensity a sports drink is helpful as it contains carbohydrates to prevent low blood sugar and electrolytes to replace salt and potassium. Sports drinks are designed to pass through the stomach quickly and are rapidly absorbed from the gut.

To get an idea of how much fluid you lose when you exercise weigh yourself before you train and then afterwards. If you lose 1kg then you need to replace with about 1.5 L fluids. Check the colour of your urine and aim to keep it a pale yellow colour. Thirst is often a later sign of dehydration. Check the serving size and calorie count in sports drinks as they are often high in sugar and can cause erosion of the enamel on your teeth. A lot of boys drink sports drinks when not exercising just for the taste when water would be preferable.

Remember sports drinks differ from energy drinks which contain caffeine and other stimulants.

Cramps

Muscle cramp is an uncontrollable spasm of any muscle but usually the calf or foot is affected.

• Risk factors include poor physical condition, dehydration and muscle fatigue.
• Most cramps will ease once the muscle is stretched and massaged. Occasionally an ice pack applied to a severe cramp will help it to relax.
• Hydralyte or Hydralyte Sports can be useful to improve hydration.
• To prevent cramps—improve your physical performance, warm up, stretch and cool down while exercising, keep hydrated and a regular massage may help.

Stitches

A side stitch is a pain under the ribs quite often on the right side where your liver is situated. Some people get referred pain in the shoulder blade.

• The cause is not fully understood but it seems a stitch is more likely if you have eaten before you run.
• Avoid fizzy drinks, bananas, apples and fatty foods just before exercising.
• If you develop a side stitch when running then try changing your breathing pattern. If you usually exhale when your right foot hits the ground, then change to exhale as your left foot hits the ground.
• Bend forwards to stretch the diaphragm and massage the area to relieve the stitch.

Margaret Bates
School Nurse