Recovery and return to activity following exertional heat stroke: considerations for the sports medicine staff.

OBJECTIVE To describe the current scientific evidence of recovery and return to activity following exertional heat stroke (EHS). DATA SOURCES Information was collected using MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus databases in English using combinations of key words, exertional heat stroke, recovery, rehabilitation, residual symptoms, heat tolerance, return to activity, and heat illness. STUDY SELECTION Relevant peer-reviewed, military, and published text materials were reviewed. DATA EXTRACTION Inclusion criteria were based on the article's coverage of return to activity, residual symptoms, or testing for long-term treatment. Fifty-two out of the original 554 sources met these criteria and were included in data synthesis. DATA SYNTHESIS The recovery time following EHS is dependent on numerous factors, and recovery length is individually based and largely dependent on the initial care provided. CONCLUSION Future research should focus on developing a structured return-to-activity strategy following EHS.