How often did all you former student athletes have to undergo a complete physical exam?

Once a year? Once a month? Once every six months? How does that even work? With all the stress and strain that a football player or cross country runner puts on their body, a cursory check once a year doesn't seem like that would really cut it.

Once a year for high school and college sports. Hardly a very thorough exam, cursory check and pencil whipped the paperwork. Injuries were treated in between when needed.

If I recall correctly it was only required once a year, usually at the beginning of the school year or at the very least before the sport started. My parents were big on making sure I didn’t suffer any injuries, etc so I’d see the family doctor before the start of every sport so it was three to four times a year.

In college it was also once a year unless you got pulled for the drug testing which although not a physical it is uncomfortable for some as you literally are in a bathroom stall with a complete stranger. You take your shirt off and drop your pants/shorts to your knees and have to pee a certain amount into a cup in front of them. It never bothered me as much as it did some guys and a lot of girls the first time they got tested.

There were no medical exams for sports and games when I was at school. Maybe in some other countries like America they get more worried about exercise without seeing a doctor very often but not in the UK.

In France (things are now different) you did not have to see a physician to attend school mandatory physical education; in fact you had to see one if you had a medical issue that would prevent you from doing so durably (you normally just needed a parent's note for short-term problems).

In contrast, you had to have a physician's note to attend sport clubs.

So this was ridiculous: if the school asked you to run or to play football, you did not need a note, but if you did the same thing as leisure, you needed one.

Add that, at least officially, visits to physicians for these notes for sport clubs were not covered by national health insurance.

I went to a private school and competed in a variety of sports (swimming, gymnastics, field hockey, cross country and cheerleading).

I believe we only had to have one physical before the school year started (either from our own doctor or at the schools medical office or sometimes both); the schools doctor would examine all athletes before the start of whatever sport you were participating in. It was included in the tuition but was super annoying, I’d understand if you got injured or something but otherwise in my opinion it wasn’t necessary. And the school doctor was weird.

I went to a private school and competed in a variety of sports (swimming, gymnastics, field hockey, cross country and cheerleading).

I believe we only had to have one physical before the school year started (either from our own doctor or at the schools medical office or sometimes both); the schools doctor would examine all athletes before the start of whatever sport you were participating in. It was included in the tuition but was super annoying, I’d understand if you got injured or something but otherwise in my opinion it wasn’t necessary. And the school doctor was weird.

He was weird? How so?

You had to get a "sports physical" to participate in sports for the year. It was one and done.

There are no medical examinations in schools specifically for sports, as far as I know?, there used to be routine medical exams years ago but they were done for general health reasons not for sports?, but the authorities decided that “cost outweighed the benefit”, so they were stopped.!!, these days the best you’ll get in UK schools is the school nurse.!!

I ran track, and played soccer and tennis in college. There was no physical exam that I remember specifically for sports. I had a yearly physical each summer before going back to school, but that would have happened without the sports. And there was no additional tests for those sports.

I wrestled for school and then I was also in city leagues for boxing plus Little League. School required a physical per year for sports participation which was done as a large station-to-station physical. My parents also took me for private physicals and I think those covered Little League. a separate one was required annually for the boxing league, also done as a group but much more basic than the one the school set up for wrestling.

The only time a medical visit was set up MORE than once a year happened when there was an outbreak of ringworm or something that affected some wrestlers and so we all got a checkup for that but that was not as comprehensive as our main sports physical.

Anyone else who had group physicals for sports, please feel free to DM me. Those are a charming relic of yesteryear I think now.

I wrestled for school and then I was also in city leagues for boxing plus Little League. School required a physical per year for sports participation which was done as a large station-to-station physical. My parents also took me for private physicals and I think those covered Little League. a separate one was required annually for the boxing league, also done as a group but much more basic than the one the school set up for wrestling.

Jake- did any of your teammates seem to enjoy strutting around in their skivvies in front of several ladies, or did they just want to get the whole thing over with?

Jake- did any of your teammates seem to enjoy strutting around in their skivvies in front of several ladies, or did they just want to get the whole thing over with?

Well, to be honest, there were not many ladies. There would be a few female nurses or med students, mostly in preliminary areas, and once in a while one doing a tech thing like taking blood or doing the EKG. But the vast bulk of the staff was male. These were doctors, staff and med students at a hospital that volunteered to do it, so maybe they leaned toward male staff working with the boys on the day boys got physicals and, to the extent possible, more females with the girls on their day.

And rather than skivvies, they often had us wear a kind of hospital drape thing, wrapped around our waists like you would wrap a towel.

When I was in high school, one physical exam was good for the whole school year. You could play a sport in the fall and another sport in the spring based on the one exam. I also played in a summer baseball league unrelated to school so I had to have an additional exam for that.

When I was in high school, one physical exam was good for the whole school year. You could play a sport in the fall and another sport in the spring based on the one exam. I also played in a summer baseball league unrelated to school so I had to have an additional exam for that.

Same here. Most years, wrestling was my only actual school sport but I did a couple seasons of other things and the same physical covered them, whereas I had to have a separate one for non-school things like boxing and baseball.

My friends and I had to do one sports physical a year if we played school sports. It was a pretty standard physical, ending with a hernia and testicle exam which I always wished was longer.

I know some of the girls on the team had to take their shirts off, but I never heard anything about a vaginal exam.

Just once a year before the school year for any sport either with your own personal doctor or the school had a day to provide physicals for student athletes. I went one year for the school provided pre-participation physical. They setup a partition around a makeshift table in the boys locker room, it was a female doctor and the school nurse helping with the paperwork. Every boy waited their turn, nobody saw you get your exam, but they did manage to hear it since the doctor relayed the findings to the nurse to write down. They wanted everyone undressed in underwear waiting for their turn. As you got closer to the partition in the one corner, I could hear the moving of the table and instructions to get nervous. It was funny to hear to doctor say, "don't worry that's normal," and I thought hopefully no spontaneous boner, but also at least she wouldn't find it out of the ordinary.

When it was my turn to turn the partition it was probably the most thorough exam I thought I've had yet in middle school. Mostly doing range of motion tests while standing and helping me move my legs around while lying down. Then it was time for the genital check to stand up lower undies, and I remember the doctor having to describe to the nurse penis circumcised or not, hair distribution and development then the quick palpation of testicles and hernia check with a few coughs. I tried not to look at the school nurse off to the side and stare at the wall to spare myself any embarrassment. And with underwear still down I bent over and spread cheeks for a rectal look and felt the doctor feel down my spine for scoliosis. Then a reassuring pat on the rear for an all done, I probably bolted out of there faster than learning what a suicide drill was at basketball practice.

I got to ask my girl classmates about the school provided physical for girls on a different day, they didn't get a genital check like the boys, but they did remove their sports bras if it covered their back for the scoliosis check. Kind of awoken a little curiosity for me in the med-fet land.

I know some of the girls on the team had to take their shirts off, but I never heard anything about a vaginal exam.

This kind of thing is the origin of the "double standard" element of the fetish that comes up in discussions a lot. Even now, you can find current high school and college athletic physical exam forms that have a space that says "genitalia (males only)." The info packet sent to parents about my school's athletic physicals said something to the effect of "boys will be required to remove all clothing including underwear but will be given something to wear as they move from test to test. Girls will need to remove their brassier but may keep their underpants on and will be given a gown."

@Savage101 Concerning your urine drug test, why did you have to remove your shirt? I have had a couple of supervised urine collections, but never had to take off my top. Were you ever given a reason?

In high school it was at the start of a season or once per year if you played multiple sports and you saw he school doctor in the nurse's office along with teammates. In college, it was the same; always testicles and hernia exam as well as spine.

@Savage101 Concerning your urine drug test, why did you have to remove your shirt? I have had a couple of supervised urine collections, but never had to take off my top. Were you ever given a reason?

It seems like, when I read his comment, he was referring to the whole physical which included but was not limited to the urine test. So his shirt would have been off for other reasons. I know at ours, once our shirt was off it stayed off until we were completely done.

We were just required to have one every year before the start of school, usually in August/september.

We were just required to have one every year before the start of school, usually in August/september.

Yeah, my school ones for wrestling tended to be in the summer, too. I think usually a little earlier than August though, if I recall.

I was on the Cross Country, Diving and Lacrosse Teams in my HS years so I went once per year. I suffer from asthma so my doctor would err on the side of caution sending me for lab tests, a chest X Ray and an EKG after my exam.

Back in the early 70s to late 70s when I graduated we had to take a physical at the beginning of the year if you wanted to play intramural sports or if you wanted to try out for any athletic teams or join football or track which anyone could do. They were always right after school and they would call us into the nurses office 10 at a time and go through the line in alphabetical order.

Required to have one every year before the start of school, usually in July/August

All students, athletes or not, had to have a yearly physical examination. This was back in the 1970s but I know many schools still have that requirement today.

I work as a teacher now but as far as I know, exams for sports students are pretty tame and just check normal things like mobility and overall health. I think they only need that exam once.

In my state, the requirement for student-athletes is now once every three years. I think it was once a year when I was in school decades ago. I played sports only through 10th grade, and am pretty sure I needed to have sports physicals before grades 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The ones that stick in my mind, though, are physicals for camp. When I was a camper, those were the summers after grades 5 and 6.

The one that really sticks in my mind was my required physical to be a summer camp counselor. I had just turned 19. I went to the clinic my small college contracted with. Pretty sure I was examined by a medical resident, who was as nervous as I was. He wasn't much older than I was. He stayed in the room as he made me undress bit by bit, till I was down to my tighty whities. Those came down to my knees. I got the sense he hadn't done many genital examinations.

I played Tennis Jr/Sr. years and I needed a exam for that. Usually, each year of school, you needed a exam based on the State of IL requirements. My older brothers who played in the 60's and 70's had to have a physical exam for each sport. Football in the Fall, Basketball in the Winter and Baseball in the Spring. If we played Little League in the summer or any sport out of school, you needed a physical exam. I think it was more of a liability issue than anything.