Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/634167
UNIQUE CARE FOR COLORADO'S ATHLETES Though an extreme case, heat stroke isn't uncommon in endurance races, Sevilla says of the teenager's case. Unusually hot days, coupled with dehydration, can push an athlete's self- cooling mechanisms over the edge, no matter their age. In fact, heat-related deaths among American Interscholastic Football players have nearly tripled to almost three per year since the mid- 1990s, according to a 2014 University of Georgia study. Even the U.S. Air Force's 59th Medical Wing recently partnered with the Korey Stringer Institute to help improve heat-illness protocols for military trainees in San Antonio. "The biggest factor for participants is to listen to their body— on a hot day, maybe that means go a slower pace or stop," says Vidlock, who completed her Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Iowa and worked as an Iowa Hawkeyes team physician. Vidlock, a runner, joins medical teams for endurance races. She also clipped her first 50K last September in Colorado's Bear Chase Trail Race. A 19-year-old triathlete collapses at the finish line, and the race's medical team rushes him to the emergency tent. With her patient radiating a 108-degree body temperature, Dr. Margarita Sevilla dips the athlete up to his neck in an ice bath. In seven minutes, his temperature drops a mere 5 degrees, and an ambulance rushes him to the hospital (covered in ice towels, AC blasting). Fortunately, the racer is stabilized and spends a week in the ICU recovering from a diagnosed heat stroke. His kidneys had shut down, and he likely would have died if not for the quick care of the sports-focused medical team. It's all in a day's work for Sevilla, who, as a sports medicine physician at Lone Tree's Peak Orthopedics & Spine, brings a unique style of care to the area as an athlete and a specialist. She and another fellow athlete and orthopedic physician, Dr. Kathy Vidlock of Colorado Orthopaedics in Lone Tree, have both studied and, sometimes, experienced the issues their patients face. Dr. Margarita Sevilla (pictured left and mountain biking above) and Dr. Kathy Vidlock (pictured running above). Dr. Sevilla and Dr. Vidlock are board-certified sports medicine physicians with specialties in non-operative treatment of athletes and orthopedic injuries. Both physicians are experienced athletes who help active individuals of all levels and ages get back to their activities. Health and Wellness Magazine • 35