DSS young rugby players undergo medical checkup
View(s):It was a strange scene this Friday at the D.S. Senanayake College grounds in Colombo 7. While some teams were at play, in a corner of the grounds a huddle of students were undergoing medical screening.
The School children being tested. Pic by Amila Gamage
They were the under-12, under-14 and under-16 rugby players of the college, being checked thoroughly under a sports medicine programme jointly launched by the Old Boys’ Association (OBA) and the school authorities.
This follows the latest circular by the Education Ministry in conjunction with the Institute of Sports Medicine of the Sports Ministry and the Health Ministry that all schoolchildren taking part in running events of more than 3,000 metres should have a pre-participation medical examination including a mandatory electrocardiogram (ECG). The circular was deemed necessary after four teenagers died on the sports field at various events in different parts of the country recently.
Taking the instructions issued by the Education Ministry in all seriousness, the OBA has also initiated a screening programme for the school’s rugby players.
With several doctor-old boys giving of their expertise, about 100 students were screened, with detailed case histories being taken as well as a physical examination to check whether there was over-training and underlying illnesses including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
ECGs were also done and if there was even a slight change, the parents were informed and student referred to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) for Children, a spokesperson said.
A double benefit was the scrupulous eye and dental screening camps held on the same day, he added. – KH
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