KENT COUNTY, Mich — Between getting supplies and adjusting sleep routines, there's another item on the "back to school" checklist that you don't want to forget: scheduling a fall or sports physical.
Dr. Edwin Kornoelje, Medical Director for Sports Medicine at the University of Michigan Health- West, says now is a good time to book your appointment.
"Fall sports are gonna start up in the next week or two, and we're going to have a lot of people call the day after their fall sport starts saying, 'I need a physical'. And so if you can get them now, before that kind of rush after fall sport starts, that is a perfect time to do it."
What can you expect during the appointment?
Dr. Kornoelje says doctors will discuss a patient's health history, ask questions, and review any necessary vaccines.
"And the physical part of the physical is actually, sometimes, I say underwhelming, but there's a lot less poking and prodding than I think people think there, there might be. And that's what we oftentimes we see with kids, is they're concerned about, okay, what is going to be looked at? And really, what we're going to focus on, heart, lungs, musculoskeletal system and the brain," he explained. "We look at it as we want you to be an active person, whether or not you're officially on a team or officially the sports physical or not, we're going to do really the same exam."
Athletes will also have the chance to get a special form signed to participate in fall sports.
Dr. Kornoelje says student-athletes should start preparing for their sport now.
He advises:
*Getting active now to help ease back into workouts
*Prioritizing hydration, especially for athletes who practice outdoors, like football
*Focusing on nutrition to fuel the body and aid in rest and recovery
The sooner you can book your physical appointment, the better, but you can still get in after the school year starts.
"We know that there's going to be people calling, so, yeah, get in after school. And if you need to get in a physical right away, because you just realized by seeing this piece that you're going to be needing one by, like next week, have them call, because we're used to getting people in and sometimes we'll just do the sports physical part. It won't look any different... it'll just be a shorter time spot, just so we can make sure we get all the kids ready."
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