Any one looking to keep the New Year's Resolution they made to pick up an athletic activity, even if that's simply joining a gym, should first check for anything medically wrong. It sure would be embarrassing to put oneself in the hospital doing the activity started to make one feel better. When it comes to sports physicals Mobile AL has plenty of options available.

This is the right decision for any adult who has been an armchair athlete a few years too long, and Mobile AL has more than its fare share of these. The problem is that there is a lot of truth to the expression "lose it or lose, " and anyone deciding to work off five years or more of sedentary living had better check to see if "all systems are go." Something important might have gotten lost, or have become weak for lack of use.

Then there are the youngsters, living in a true sports loving state, so waves of them leap from the playground into organized sport each year. Each of them has dreams of greatness, along with the energy natural to being a kid, and might overlook the importance of getting checked out medically. But it isn't wise to assume that all that youthful energy alone means it's safe to have twice daily football practice in one hundred degree weather.

Obviously, any one with a recent history of any debilitating illness or attack already ought to be seeing the doctor regularly. This group of people includes those who've been hospitalized within the past couple of years, but also anyone whose blood pressure runs high. Therefore it should go without saying that these men and women should get checked up before taking up an exercise regime.

The general physical starts with a list of questions that will ferret out any preliminary information. Such issues include basics like an emergency contact number, hospitalization history, and whether one is taking any medications. The doctor or clinic will also want to know about immunization history and family history.

The physical examination is what most people think about when they imagine a sports physical. It's the part where one has the cold stethoscope put to the chest and coughs, the part where the doctor whacks you on the knee with a mallet. It's the examination in which it is really found out whether one is fit enough for the exercise program, or whether it's best to scale back from rugby to golf.

The doctor will be checking to make sure the patient's heart and circulatory system are in order. It can be dangerous to raise one's blood pressure if already suffering high blood pressure. The doctor will also be checking for any heart murmurs.

The exam will ferret out whether the hearing and vision are fine, or if perhaps glasses should be ordered. It makes sure the patient's reflexes are in good order. It is at this point that issues such as curvature of the spine are detected. If there are problems, diagnostic tools ranging from blood tests and urinalysis to EKG are available for further exploration.