PEDIATRICS Vol. 96 No. 6 December 1995, pp. 1151-1153
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The Preparticipation Sports Physical: Are We Dropping the Ball?

Robert M. Cavanaugh Jr MD1, Merrill L. Miller MD1, and Paul K. Henneberger ScD, MPH1

1 Departments of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine, State University of New York, Health Science Center at Syracuse, Syracuse, NY 13210

More than 7 million adolescents regularly compete in high school athletics each year in the United States.1 Most will undergo a limited, sports-oriented preparticipation evaluation before competition.2 This type of examination has been performed for many years to satisfy various legal, academic, and organizational requirements. However, the health care benefits to the teenagers themselves have not been analyzed objectively using direct comparison to the standard history and physical. At present, the value of the sports physical remains unproven and its efficacy has not been clearly established. In addition, the potential negative impact on delivery of comprehensive medical services to adolescents deserves further emphasis in the literature and, therefore, will be the focus of this commentary.

Submitted on July 5, 1995
Accepted on August 11, 1995