Author's note: This is part two of a two part story on weight room safety. Click here for part one.


August means high school and college athletes will be back in the weight room full time, building strength so they can excel on the field.

But for Brittany Delaney, an OSF HealthCare athletic trainer who works with high school athletes, keeping people safe in gyms and weight rooms is on her mind year-round.

“I see a lot of back and neck pain” from weight room injuries, she says. “I see muscle strains – hamstrings, quads, lats, pectorals. These kids don’t necessarily know the proper weight to start at.”

Tips to know

• Keep your surroundings clean and clear. When you’re done with an exercise, clean the equipment and put the weights away. When you’re resting, move away from others. Otherwise, athletes could run into each other. When cleaning, use a wet wipe or spray. If using a spray, spray the solution onto a cloth first, not directly onto the equipment. Delaney says unclean equipment can lead to transfer of germs that cause skin rashes and more ailments.
   
• Dress for success, not to impress. Delaney chuckles when asked about people going to the gym in blue jeans, sweaters or Crocs. All bad ideas, she says.
  
  “You want to be in something breathable because you’re going to be sweating,” Delaney says. “You’ll see people at the gym working out in sweatshirts. It’s super hot in the gym, and they want to sweat more. That’s not advised because you can increase your chance of heat illness. And those types of clothes don’t allow for full range of motion. If you can’t fully go through the range of motion, are you truly strengthening that muscle? Not as much.”
  
  A good pair of tennis shoes are a must for everyone. For men, Delaney says shorts and a t-shirt work. For women, leggings are OK too. Not too tight and not too loose are the keys, Delaney says.
  
  What about listening to music to get in the zone? If you’re by yourself, that’s fine. But if you’re in a group, Delaney recommends keeping your ears free of headphones so you can be aware of your surroundings. Not to mention that weightlifting is a camaraderie building exercise, too. No headphones mean you can cheer on your teammates.
   
• Know when to stop. If you have pain, numbness, tingling or range of motion issues (such as not being able to move your neck), talk to the adult in the room.
   
• Know the signs of cardiac arrest and where the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED) is. Delaney says every athletic facility these days should have an AED, and she says they’re easy to use by just following the device’s prompts. Someone else should be calling 9-1-1 while this is happening.
  
  Delaney says signs of cardiac arrest include shortness of breath, lightheadedness or dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations or a racing heartbeat chest tightness and loss of pulse. 

The bottom line: Communication is key

“Communicate with your teammates and coaches,” Delaney implores. “It’s always OK to not know how to do an exercise and ask for help. In no situation should you be made fun of or be nervous about asking for help. Not doing so is when you’re going to get hurt.”

Learn more

Read more about how to keep your body in top shape on the OSF HealthCare website.

Interview clips

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Bronny James was gearing up last summer for his freshman year of basketball at the University of Southern California, when he received the scare of his life.

In July 2023, James, the son of NBA great LeBron James, suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed during a team workout. The younger James was hospitalized for three days and underwent a procedure to treat a congenital heart defect. James’ family and medical team praised the USC medical staff for their quick and effective response, which helped in preventing any brain or organ damage from a lack of oxygen.

James eventually returned to basketball activities. He saw his first action for USC in December and has played anywhere between 14 and 30 minutes a game without any issues.

February is American Heart Month – a time to bring to light conditions such as the one James experienced that may help other people going through similar circumstances.

Natasha Noel, MD, a pediatric cardiologist with OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute, says congenital heart defects, such as the one James had treated, are structural heart issues that typically develop during pregnancy and go undetected. She adds that 1% (40,000) of all babies are born with a heart defect every year in the U.S.

“We do see that if there is a family history of congenital heart disease, either parent or sibling, the next child could be more at risk for congenital heart defects,” Dr. Noel says. “And then other conditions, for example, smoking during pregnancy, maternal diabetes or use of other medications during pregnancy can lead to congenital heart defects.”

While James has recovered from his heart scare, there have been other athletes who weren’t so fortunate. In 1990, Hank Gathers, a college player for Loyola Marymount University, collapsed on the court and died from of sudden cardiac arrest. Three years later, the same happened to Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics, who died during a game when his heart went into cardiac arrest.

James isn’t even the first player to have experienced cardiac arrest at USC. Teammate Vince Iwuchukwu collapsed during a team practice in 2022 and survived.

“During periods of intense activity, the body has a physiological response,” Dr. Noel explains. “This can include dehydration, a surge of adrenaline, electrolyte imbalance, and this may not be well tolerated in athletes, who have some underlying electrical or structural abnormality.”

Treatment depends on the patient and the heart defect. According to the American Heart Association, many young adults who have a minor cardiac defect, and have had a good result after surgery, can participate in most activities. Some participants could have restrictions including those with pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) or those who are taking anticoagulants to decrease blood clotting. Dr. Noel says to always check with your physician before taking on any physical activity or sports participation.

“The athlete should go through a pre-participation physical, this would include medical history, physical exam, and the American Heart Association says it’s important to look at personal and family history,” she says. “If there is something suspicious in any of these things, the pediatrician can refer to a pediatric cardiologist or they could start the work themselves, which would include ordering an EKG or echocardiogram for an example.” Genetic testing might be necessary, especially if there is a family history.

Dr. Noel says that thanks to advances, medical experts have a better understanding of congenital heart defects. Not every athlete needs to give up participation – even if they have experienced a previous issue. She also stresses the importance of learning CPR and working with schools and coaches to always have an automated external defibrillator (AED) available.

“I want to encourage kids to continue going out and having fun – sports is healthy and it's exercise,” she emphasizes. “It doesn't mean that it's the end of the world if you are diagnosed with something that needs to be treated from a cardiac standpoint.”

For more information about pediatric cardiology issues, visit OSF HealthCare. 

 

Interview Clips 

B-Roll

“I pour coffee, help the waitresses and hostesses, bring out food,” Lindsey describes.

“I make sure everybody’s happy,” he adds warmly.

But on October 6, 2023, just steps away from the restaurant, Lindsey would have a life-changing moment. He says one minute, he was in a vehicle with his cousin. The next, he was waking up in the hospital.

In between, a good Samaritan who happened to be across the street saved Lindsey’s life, thanks to skills learned at OSF HealthCare and an alert from a smartphone app that OSF brought to Champaign.

“I’m very grateful,” Lindsey says.

Lindsey’s boss, Original Pancake House owner Eric Faulkner, can fill in the gaps of that day.

He says Lindsey’s cousin Charles picked him up from work. As they were driving away, Lindsey was laughing and joking, but suddenly slumped over and became unresponsive. Charles pulled into a shopping center parking lot and asked someone to call 9-1-1.

That’s where Shannon Walter enters the story.

A program manager at the Champaign Park District, Walter got some of her cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training at OSF. She was across the street getting lunch when she got an alert on her phone: someone close by needs CPR.

“When I pulled into the parking lot, I could see somebody pulling somebody who was unresponsive out of a vehicle and onto the ground,” Walter says.

That was Lindsey, who was in cardiac arrest, where the heart is not able to pump blood properly.

Walter quickly explained she was CPR-certified, observed Lindsey wasn’t breathing and did chest compressions for around three-and-a-half minutes until first responders arrived.

“I believe that is what saved his life and his brain function,” Faulkner says.

Lindsey agrees.

“She’s an angel,” he says. “It makes me feel really blessed. I’m glad she was there.”

Lindsey and Walter’s twist-of-fate encounter shows the importance of a couple life-saving things you can do in just a few minutes, says Kurt Bloomstrand, MD, medical director for East Central Illinois Emergency Medical Services, an OSF organization that trains first responders and CPR instructors.

One, learn CPR. It’s the missing link between when 9-1-1 is called and when first responders arrive. Dr. Bloomstrand says for cardiac arrest outside a hospital, the chance of survival is around 10%. With bystander CPR and use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), the chance increases fivefold.

Dr. Bloomstrand says good Samaritan laws exist to protect people who give first aid.

“You’re not going to hurt the person. You only have an opportunity to help them,” he says.

If you don’t have time for a CPR class, just remember this: push hard and fast on the center of the chest at 100 to 120 beats per minute. Appropriately, that’s the beat of Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees. Or if you prefer a more contemporary beat, think of the chorus of The Man by Taylor Swift.

“It’s important to never be caught in a situation where you don’t know what to do,” Walter says.

Two, download the PulsePoint app, the app Walter used to jump into action. PulsePoint is a nationwide app that OSF brought to the Champaign area. It’s active in nearly 5,000 other communities. Dr. Bloomstrand explains that when a 
9-1-1 call is made for cardiac arrest, the dispatcher sends the information to first responders. If PulsePoint is active in that area, the information – scrubbed of specifics to protect privacy – also automatically goes to the app. The app then sends an alert to PulsePoint users that CPR is needed and if an AED is nearby.

The fine print for the alerts: the emergency must be in a public place, and the bystander must be within one-fourth of a mile. And within the app, you must turn on CPR alerts and let the app track your location always, not just when you are using the app. That’s necessary to know anytime CPR is needed near you.

“This is how you, as a lay person, can be a hero, a lifesaver and help somebody in need,” Dr. Bloomstrand says.

Lindsey, meanwhile, is going through rehabilitation at OSF. He also got a pacemaker, a small device that creates electrical currents to keep the heart beating at a normal rhythm.

“I feel wonderful,” he says, adding that he hopes to be pouring coffee for customers again soon.

If you would like to learn in detail how to perform CPR or use an AED, there are several options, including visiting the American Heart Association website, or calling your local hospital to see what training is available. There are two versions of the PulsePoint app for download to your smartphone. PulsePoint Respond alerts you to cardiac arrest, and PulsePoint AED allows you to catalog AEDs around you.

Interview clips - Lester Lindsey

Interview clips - Eric Faulkner

Interview clips - Shannon Walter

Interview clips - Dr. Kurt Bloomstrand

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Taylor Swift fans have another reason to celebrate: one of her songs could help save the life of someone in cardiac arrest.

The American Heart Association says Swift's song “The Man” has 110 beats per minute, in the 100-120 beats per minute range for effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

CPR is a life-saving skill. And for Jordan Meeks, a pediatric wellness specialist at OSF HealthCare, it’s a critical skill for young people to learn.

“Most cardiac arrests happen in people 40 years and older, a lot of teachers, parents, grandparents, coaches and those that young people are spending a lot of time with,” Meeks says. “And young people are getting to a point where their body is maturing, so they’re able to do those compressions with enough strength to be helpful.”

Meeks visits schools across Illinois teaching students hands-only CPR. Recently, she was in Fisher, a small, rural town where it might take first responders a little longer to get to an emergency - all the more reason to equip junior high and high school students with CPR skills.

CPR basics

Meeks says CPR is used when someone is unconscious and in cardiac arrest (in other words, having a serious heart problem).

The first thing to do is call 9-1-1. If you’re by yourself, put the phone on speaker while you help the ailing person. Get over the person, interlink your fingers and press hard in the middle of the chest over and over.

“It’s compressing the chest in half at a rate of about 100 beats per minute. Think of the song Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees,” Meeks explains. “The compressions help restore blood flow to the body and brain, which is really important to help preserve that person’s life.”

CPR may also be done alongside an automated external defibrillator (AED), a small device that’s common in schools and workplaces these days. Meeks explains that two pads are applied to the patient’s skin - one near the heart and the other on the person’s side - with wires leading to the AED box.

“It gives you step-by-step instructions. It’s going to tell you when you need to stay clear of the patient. It will analyze the heart’s rhythm to see if it’s regular, irregular or not beating at all,” Meeks says. “Then it will provide instructions on whether to deliver a shock. You press a button to deliver a shock. Then it will tell you to start CPR.”

The AED will then continue the cycle of shocks and CPR until first responders arrive.

Teaching hands-only CPR does not require certification, Meeks says. Someone can easily learn the tools and pass them on to others.

Adding the skillset of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation - when you exhale into a patient’s mouth to help revive them - is a little more involved. Meeks recommends calling your local first responders (police, fire and ambulance), your local hospital or the American Red Cross to learn about those CPR training opportunities.

 Training young people

During her stop in Fisher, Meeks watched as students performed CPR and applied AEDs to manikins. A red light on the manikin meant the compressions were too fast or too slow. A green light signaled a good pace. To Meeks’ delight, there were more green lights than red.

“The manikins are very much like the human body, so the students get a really good, hands-on experience with how CPR works,” Meeks says. “They also learn how to use the AED. Most students know where it is in their school, but they’ve never seen it before. They have no idea how it works.”

You can count Paige Ferguson and Kira Becker, both juniors at Fisher High School, among the adolescents who think the training is valuable.

“You just had to stay at a consistent pace, which was difficult [to start]. But once you got that pace going, it was pretty easy to stay with it,” Ferguson says, describing the training.

“It’s important to know this so you can help friends and teachers in your daily life. You can help save a person’s life,” Becker says.

One of those teachers is Doug Ingold, the health and physical education instructor who asked OSF to train the whole student body.

“It’s great to have hands-on experience. It’s different than just watching a video,” Ingold says. “Having OSF come in and give the students actual practical experience really gives them a good idea of what it takes to do CPR.”

Interview clips - Jordan Meeks

Interview clips - Paige Ferguson and Kira Becker

Interview clips - Doug Ingold

B-roll

Previous coverage

One mother's mission: why every parent should know CPR

Turning everyday citizens into life saving heroes

“Handy” heart lesson

Giving you the tools to save a life

Be prepared for SCA with CPR

Teaching high school students not to be bystanders when it comes to CPR

Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin survived sudden cardiac arrest after he collapsed in the first quarter of Monday night’s Bills game against the host Cincinnati Bengals because of quick action by the medical team. CPR was initiated just minutes after Hamlin made a tackle, got up, but then collapsed.

On the field, Hamlin was also given oxygen, and an automated external defibrillator was used to save his life. The device analyzes a heart rhythm and will deliver an electrical shock if necessary.

Hamlin, who was sedated, awoke 48 hours later in a Cincinnati hospital and scribbled a note that read, “Did we win?” according to media reports. Sudhir Mungee, MD, an interventional cardiologist with OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute in Peoria, Illinois says those immediate measures on the field allowed Hamlin to survive the sudden cardiac arrest.

“So, two things that as a common citizen we all can learn is effective CPR and number two, to know how to use an automatic external defibrillator (AED). At most of the common places whether schools, colleges, business places, we have the presence of an AED. I think it is important to know how to use an AED because the earlier you can restore the rhythm from ventricular fibrillation to sinus rhythm, regular rhythm, the higher the chances of recovery.”

There is a free smartphone app called Pulse Point that acts as a community registry to identify where AEDs are located and specifics to identify where they can be found in case of emergency. The American Heart Association regularly offers CPR and AED training.

Hamlin remains in critical condition, and the cause of his cardiac arrest remains unknown. Still, his doctors say his recovery is remarkable and that his communication indicates he could be “neurologically intact.” Dr. Mungee points out, heart attacks from blocked arteries commonly cause out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but in absence of heart attack, structural heart disease such as cardiomyopathy are among common causes of cardiac arrest.

In athletes, “hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. (That’s having a) very thick heart muscle, which is more prone to electrical disturbance, especially during strenuous activities.”

Dr. Mungee says cardiomyopathy could be inherited or brought on by a recent infection. There are other structural heart abnormalities that might not have been detected by the NFL’s physical. The football league’s exam does include an electrocardiogram (EKG) which records the electrical signal from the heart to check for different conditions.

If other causes are ruled out, Dr. Mungee thinks, although rare, something called commotio cordis (kuh-MOH-dee-oh KOR-dis) could be responsible for Hamlin’s cardiac arrest. This happens when blunt force hits an area of the heart at precisely the vulnerable moment between heartbeats.

“So about 10 to 30 milliseconds – if the impact happens during that risk window in that segment of the heart, with impactful energy,  it can certainly lead to irregular heart rhythm, which is called ventricular fibrillation, Dr. Mungee explains. “Now, many times, it can spontaneously resolve, but if it doesn't, ventricular fibrillation will lead to sudden cardiac arrest and collapse.”

Younger individuals are more susceptible to comotio cordis because, as Dr. Mungee points out, their chest wall is typically thinner.

What happened to Hamlin stunned fellow players and everyone watching the Monday Night football game. It also, no doubt, has raised concerns for parents of children who play high-contact sports. Dr. Mungee says this incident highlights the important role coaches play in protecting athletes.

“There is a tremendous role of your sports coach. For example, the coaches train our kids and athletes to know how to dodge the ball. If there is a pitch, how to avoid impact on the front of the chest, how to appropriately wear protective gear. That’s very important.”

As for his recovery, Dr. Mungee says it could take weeks or months for Hamlin to be restored to good health. How long will depend on damage to Hamlin’s vital organs, including the brain. He says neurological recovery leads the path for recovery of the rest of the body because it impacts all cognitive and motor functions.

Video Clips with Dr. Sudhir Mungee, interventional cardiologist, OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute