Sports Physicals Are Not a Sufficient Substitute for Physical Health Checkups

Although sports physicals are convenient and provide basic health information, comprehensive physician checkups are still essential and cannot be substituted for. A national poll on children's health shows that parents understand that, sort of.

The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health revealed that nearly half of parents believe any qualified health care provider can conduct a sports physical, and 89% said that a sports physical is no substitute for an annual comprehensive checkup.

But health experts are aware of the percentage of parents who find the 'physical night' option at a middle school or high school is more convenient and cheaper than scheduling a visit with a physician to undergo a full checkup. Despite the 89% of parents who said sports physicals are no substitute for a physician visit, national data shows that there are much lower rates of well-child visits for adolescents.

"Parents differ in their views of sports physicals. One view is that sports physicals are a 'check the box' requirement for generally healthy kids, so they can be done by any health care provider, with convenience being a key factor," said Sarah J. Clark, M.P.H. and associate director of the poll, in this EurekAlert! news release. "For some adolescents, sports physicals may be the only interaction with a health care provider over the course of a year."

The poll also provided additional counterintuitive statistics. Most parents believe that sports physicals should include measuring blood pressure (88% of parents), vision tests (73%), vaccinations (64%), tests for heart issues (63%), and brain scans for children with a concussion history (47%). These parents believe that some aspects of a general physician checkup should be incorporated into a sports physical, yet children nationwide are not attending their annual well visits as they should.

The parents also believe that a sports physical should discuss medical history, concussions, alcohol and drugs, nutrition, and performance-enhancing drugs. It's likely these parents want everything incorporated into a sports physical so their children can skip the comprehensive checkup without missing out on any treatments or procedures.

Perhaps we could see sports physicals become more extensive, but in the meantime Ms. Clark believes that more parents should understand the differences between the two checkups because their child could be missing out on important medical examinations.