Lessons from Koery Stringer

[Outshined]

The last 4 days have been a scorcher up here...

 

Tackling heat from the inside

Josephine Marcotty,  Star Tribune

August 3, 2005 HEATPILL0803

 

 

As Vikings tackle Korey Stringer slipped into unconsciousness from heat exhaustion four years ago, a young trainer standing next to him didn't know Stringer was hot.

 

Today in Mankato, when the Vikings practice in the same kind of heat and humidity that led to Stringer's death, trainers will know if the players are heat-stressed before the players do. About two dozen of the largest Vikings, those most prone to overheating, are taking a temperature pill. It's a space-age device the size of a multivitamin that transmits their internal body temperature to a remote sensor monitored by trainers.

 

The pill stays in their bodies for 24 to 36 hours -- depending on the speed of their, ahem, motility. And no, it's not reusable.

 

Defensive tackle Pat Williams, 6-foot-3 and 317 pounds, has been taking the pill since workouts started Saturday.

 

Guard Anthony Herrera cools off.Jerry HoltStar Tribune"When they came to me and asked me, I said, 'A pill that does what?' " Williams said. "I think it's a good idea. It's just a small pill."

 

The Vikings learned a bitter lesson from Stringer's death from complications of heatstroke. Heat can kill. In depositions filed after a lawsuit by Stringer's widow, Vikings trainers reported that they didn't initially suspect heat-related issues because Stringer didn't show signs of heatstroke.

 

Every precaution is being taken to avoid heatstroke now as the team practices in 90-degree temperatures.

 

Checking for heat stress.Jerry HoltStar Tribune"We give them plenty of fluids," said Vikings coach Mike Tice. "They've certainly learned how to get fluids into their bodies, and certainly we want to make sure that we monitor it every step of the way."

 

The temperature monitoring technology, called the CorTemp Ingestible Core Body Temperature Sensor, is made by HQ Inc. of Palmetto, Fla. Each pill costs $30 or $40, said Susan Smith, the company's director of sales and marketing. The sensors that go with it are about $2,400, she said.

 

Heat pillThe pill was invented in the late 1980s by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington, D.C. It was intended to monitor the body temperatures of astronauts in space. Now it's used in a variety of settings, in medical research, by firefighters, in animals, and to measure the internal temperature of industrial machines and highways, Smith said.

 

And in the wake of some heat-related deaths of athletes in recent years, the company has been marketing it to college and professional sports teams.

 

Heat pill sensing deviceJerry HoltStar Tribune"It's exciting that this technology has been brought into the sports field," said Vikings head trainer Chuck Barta. "I think a lot of NFL teams could end up using it."

 

The silicon-coated pill contains a telemetry system, a microbattery and a quartz crystal temperature sensor. Once inside the gastrointestinal tract, the crystal sensor vibrates at a frequency relative to body temperature. It transmits the information with a magnetic signal to a hand-held recorder that stores the information. The readings also can be downloaded to a computer. A trainer waves an electronic wand close to a player to read the signal from the crystal sensor.

 

"You don't even notice," said guard Anthony Herrera, who is 6-foot-2 and 315 pounds. "They come up and take the reading from your back while you're standing there."

 

Trainers can track a player's temperatures over time, and compare readings to workout conditions. They will know when to tell a player to take off pads or to take a break -- even if the player doesn't feel overheated.

 

But the technology is only useful for teams that can afford it, said Dr. Bill Roberts, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota and an expert in sports medicine. And at $30 to $40 per pill per day for athlete, "it gets expensive in a hurry," he said.

 

The pills also are being used by researchers to study how hot is too hot for athletes, said Roberts, who is also the medical director of the Twin Cities Marathon.

 

In the hot days of summer, he said, amateur and professional athletes need to watch themselves when working out.

 

"If you don't feel good, quit," he said. "If your buddy doesn't look good, tell the coach."

 

 

[Turf Smurf]

The brain trust in Minny never ceases to amaze. Perhaps Arizona, California, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida should take note from their frosty friends intellect in the north.

[Randall]

The last 4 days have been a scorcher up here...

 

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They sure have. Florida has been better lately. I'm glad they are doing something. Working in 95/humid heat is dangerous. Can't they practice inside when it gets above 90? That 5 degrees when it's humid makes a big difference imo.

[Outshined]

They sure have. Florida has been better lately. I'm glad they are doing something. Working in 95/humid heat is dangerous. Can't they practice inside when it gets above 90? That 5 degrees when it's humid makes a big difference imo.

 

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No - They are at the U in Mankato - When the break camp in 15 days, they have the indoor facility at Winter Park.

[polksalet]

I gotta have one of those pills.

[sunysteelfly76]

The pill stays in their bodies for 24 to 36 hours -- depending on the speed of their, ahem, motility. And no, it's not reusable.

 

For some reason the reusable one wasn't as popular.

[Big John]

...Georgia... should take note from their frosty friends intellect in the north.

 

907545[/snapback]

 

 

 

And not just the pros. High School football teams are already doing 2-a-days in the heat.

[piratesownninjas]

Two a days at my old high school are going on now... Its been 100+ for the last 4 days now... plus its humid... Nothing is better than High School Football in the state of Texas.