Doctors caution NFL players about safety

NEW YORK – NFL doctors and experts in heat-related illnesses spoke with each team this week. The message, delivered loud and clear: Practice caution.

These mandatory conference calls assume greater importance because of the 41/2-month lockout that ended Monday. Offseason workouts and minicamps were eliminated by the work stoppage.

“We don’t know where these people are coming from, and normally they would be in their team’s facility for four months training,” said Dr. Douglas J. Casa, kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education, and the chief scientist at the Korey Stringer Institute. “You might have a player going to Houston and he has been training in a more northern climate.

“We were trying to reiterate the most basic and important concerns when someone is exercising in heat. The real primal things: exercise in the heat, getting ready to handle it, the basic precautions, what are you looking for if there is a problem.”

Stringer, an offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, died at 27 in August 2001 of exertional heat stroke. The institute, established in 2010, operates independently but has a working relationship with the NFL.

“This has been a real point of emphasis since Korey died,” said Dr. Andrew Tucker, the head team physician for the Baltimore Ravens. “With this unique preseason, coaches and clubs are under the gun to get a lot of work done in a short period of time. I would anticipate intense and fast-paced practices, which combined with extreme environmental conditions can be a recipe for problems.”

Also participating in the calls with the 32 teams were NFL doctors Hunt Batjer and Richard Ellenbogen, who primarily addressed head injuries. Dr. Margaret Kolka, former head of the Army’s environmental medicine division, and Casa spoke about heat-related injuries.

Casa noted the critical nature of monitoring players in their first five days of strenuous activities at training camps, which began opening Wednesday.