In the world of scholastic sports, health translates to an absence of injuries. Preseason physical examinations protect - and project - health.

"Sports are meant to be played," said Dr. John Murphy, a sports medicine physician associated with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). "There's a lot of learning that goes into sports. To participate, you've got to do it the right way. I think keeping that in mind is the way to get the most out of sports."

UPMC is providing scholastic sports physicals for Lancaster County student-athletes seeking to compete in athletics during the 2026-27 school year from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, July 27, at its Orthopaedic Care office, 1555 Highlands Drive, Suite 190, Lititz. The physicals, which are required to compete in Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association-sanctioned high school and middle school sports, are free.

"The whole purpose is to identify any prior injury," said Dr. Murphy, "and to make sure the cardiovascular system is OK for sports. We're looking for something that could cause an injury if not addressed."

Included in the physical examination are checks of heart rates and blood pressures and the recordings of heights and weights. Murphy stressed that one of the most important aspects of the appointments are individual health histories, which should be completed by student-athletes prior to the exams.

Typically, more than 70 student-athletes from school districts across Lancaster County take advantage of UPMC's free physicals.

"I think a lot of the injuries are preventable, but not all of them are preventable," said Dr. Murphy, a resident of Manheim Township. "The questions are, 'Are the athletes eating well? Are they getting adequate rest? Are they leading healthy lives?' For the ones that are preventable, proper training is important, like training gradually, strength training and recovery. Recognition of anything that's happening is important, and so is eating, drinking and hydrating. There are gyms and personal trainers that have programs that could prevent tons of injuries."

According to Murphy, about 40% of student-athletes who compete in sports will sustain some sort of injury during their high school playing days. "But many of them are very minor injuries; they're not very limiting," he said.

"It depends on the sport," said Dr. Murphy. "In general, ankle sprains are a common lower extremity injury. ACLs (anterior cruciate ligaments) are another common injury, both contact and noncontact. With endurance athletes, stress fractures are huge. Shoulders are common in baseball, softball and wrestling. A lot of it goes back to doing too much or doing things too hard."

A native of Binghamton, N.Y., Dr. Murphy studied healing and injury prevention during his schooling at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

"I think the human body is made to play sports, within reason," said Dr. Murphy. "Do I think we were built to run 100-mile races? No. But I think we're very adaptable. Anyone can pretty much do anything within reason. With the right training, we can do a lot of sports out there. But we need more rest."

For additional information, go to http://www.upmc.com.