my old blog...

On Novemeber 24th, we attended the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Conference at Canada Place. Following the conference, we saw the highlights from the World Cup downhill in Lake Louise. After seeing a great performance (GOLD!) by downhiller, Jan Hudec, someone asked me if I missed working with the ski team. And the answer is yes, but 8 months of travel each year doesn't outweigh being home with my wife, friends and family. I do miss parts of it though, so I searched around the web for my old blog, which I thought was gone forever. But here it is:

http://vancouversportsphysio.blog.ca/

Tips for the Travelling Athlete

Before Departure

- know your environment, both the one your leaving and the one you’re going to (heat, humidity, altitude, weather, time difference).
- know your training schedule on arrival.
- accessibility and type of food available at destination. Generally speaking, you don’t want to change your diet drastically, but you should be eating properly.
- avoid any deep diving 24 hours prior to travel.

During Flight

- decrease in oxygen levels are normal on flights, and will not adversely affect healthy individuals.
- dysbarism (expansion of gases trapped in body cavities). In the ear can be relieved by valsalva maneuver, yawning or chewing gum. Better to do this often as can occasionally become severely painful (especially if you have a cold).
- typically there is a 10% drop in humidity, which can be quite noticeable.(especially if you are already somewhat dehydrated, or for those wearing contacts).
- drink fluids, avoid alcohol or caffeine (diuretics).
- motion sickness tablets (such as gravol) may be helpful for those that do not fare well with turbulence, although they may make you drowsy for several hours
- always try to adjust to the upcoming time zone.
- tighten the core muscles (namely transversus abdominus, pelvic floor, multifidus) and gluteal muscles periodically to prevent back problems.
- stretch problem areas, which may include hip flexors, groin and hamstrings (carefully if you’ve been sitting for a long time).
- During your waking hours, get up and move as often as possible, at least every hour.

Circadian Dysrhythmia (Jet Lag)

- Continue to adjust to the upcoming time zone, including setting your watch to the new time zone as early as possible.
- Eat light meals, possibly more frequently but again, try to get on the new schedule.
- Sit in the aisle seat to facilitate getting up when you need to be awake.
- When you should be awake, try to be in the light (especially sunlight, as your body responds to this quite well).
- Conversely, when you need to sleep, try to be in the dark.

On Arrival

- train light for a few days.
- try to get into the sunlight in the mornings, to help your body’s internal clock adjust quicker.
- Try to train at the time of day of the actual event.
- Do not neglect nutrition and proper hydration.

The jury is still out on the effectiveness and safety of taking supplemental melatonin to combat jet lag. Melatonin is naturally created by the body to adjust the internal clock, and will be released by using some of the jet lag tips I mentioned above.

Harry

Periodization?

When it comes to training, people can be divided into two groups. Those that are training for a particular sport or activity, and those who are just trying to keep fit. For athletes with a specific goal in mind, the concept of periodization in their training is very important. I would like to show the other half how periodization can be beneficial (and fun).

Periodization is the act of breaking down our yearly training schedule into smaller phases or cycles, each with a clear focus. For example, doing a strength building phase in the off-season, or perhaps an agility phase in the early part of the season. Simply put, periodization is just a form of planning in advance.

It’s easy to assume that only elite athletes, or those who are extremely serious about their respective sports will benefit from this advance planning. This is not the case. Even if you are a recreational athlete, taking a moment to plan some basic phases into your yearly cycle will benefit you tremendously. The goal can be anything from performing to the best of your league, to simply getting through the season without injury. This latter goal is quite common and valid, for as we get older our bodies have an increasingly difficult time avoiding and bouncing back from injury.

It is impossible to discuss all aspects of periodizing your training schedule in such a short space, as it is entirely dependant on the individual, the sport, the season, the timing of events, the goals, etc… Instead, I’ll just give you a few points to keep in mind during your “off-season” phase.

Physical Repair & Maintenance

Much needed rest from your sport or activity will allow your body to repair optimally. This doesn’t mean you have to become sedentary to allow for this recovery. It simply means a break from your regular sport or activity will do the body good.

Tune up

Looking after our injuries should be a constant commitment we make for our bodies. During the regular season it is sometimes difficult to get the much-needed rest or recovery time in. Use the off season to pay special attention to your injuries. Most injuries have many controllable, predisposing factors to them. There is often an underlying weakness, tightness or alignment issue that sets us up for the injury. This is why so many strains and tears occur early in the season for the de-conditioned athlete. Well conditioned athletes tend to injure themselves later in the season if at all, simply due to considerable repetition. The off season should be used to heal injuries, and fix alignment and function, so the return to sport goes smoothly. One preventative pre-season consultation is always going to be better than multiple visits post injury.

Strength

The off season is always a good time to build up the base strength you will be needing for your particular sport. Granted you have given yourself enough rest, you can push hard with the strengthening exercises and allow your body to build up over the next one or two days, without the worry of how it will affect your performance.

Flexibility

Why wait until mid-season to remind yourself how tight your hamstrings are. Address all your problem areas in the off-season so you have no extra challenges (ie: injuries) during your sport or activity.

... and the list goes on...

Again, there are so many other apsects of training to address (such as speed, power, agility, reactivity, balance, etc...) as well as the parameters of training (such as optimal frequency, intensity, volume, duration, type) to cover in a short little blurb. The good thing is that periodizing your yearly training schedule takes as little or as much time & effort as you are willing to put into it. Even 5 minutes of planning, with a pencil and paper, one Sunday afternoon can have a profound effect on injury prevention and performance.

Harry

Concussion?... what concussion?

Concussion is a major concern in contact (as well as non-contact) sports. Regardless of it's frequent occurrence, the injury is widely misunderstood. This is unfortunate, but somewhat expected as most people participating in sports have had no current or formal education on the matter. Coaches and athletes alike can go through their sporting careers and never really appreciate the seriousness of a concussion until they are exposed to other doctors, physios, trainers or coaches that know. Unfortunately, this exposure usually doesn't occur until they reach the higher levels of their respective sports.

What bothers me the most is when professional sports teams and media perpetuate ignorance on the topic. They both have an excellent opportunity to educate the public on concussions and their management when the topic arises.

For example, NHL goaltender Rick DiPietro was recently taken out of a game following a collision where he suffered headaches, dizziness and nausea. The word on the sports news that night was “they have ruled out concussion”. Argh! He definitely had a concussion. Now he is continuing to suffer from “post-concussive syndrome” (interesting for someone ho never had a concussion). Truly, post concussive syndrome is very real, but it’s fundamentally just the effects of the concussion that have not fully healed.

A few years ago I witnessed an even worse example of the media and/or team falsely ruling-out a concussion. Following a collision, a Dallas Stars player was being helped to the bench by two of his teammates when he went completely limp in their arms.

I am not as negative (and whiny) a person as I may sound (I think). For I do believe the public may learn a lot about sporting injuries by following their favorite teams in the media. It's just that the definition and management for concussion follows some very simple principals, even if the injury itself can be quite complex.

To read more about concussion, see the article on my website and especially check out the website thinkfirst.ca. They have the most up-to-date and sound information as well as downloadable information for athletes, coaches and physicians.

harry

Core vs. Core

This photo has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Core Stability.

So what is core stability, actually?

Well, some people in the health and fitness industry view this concept a little differently than others. A common misconception is that anything that works your abdominal muscles in creative ways is focusing on "core stability". This is not the case. It bothers me to hear things like "blast that core!" or "get a sexy core" or just today I read "transversus abdominus is not an important abdominal muscle". These things are quite contrary to the thinking of informed physiotherapists, doctors, health & fitness professionals.

The aim of core stabilization training is to effectively recruit the deep trunk musculature while controlling the lumbar spine and pelvis during dynamic movements.

The core trunk muscles: Transversus Abdominis (TA), multifidus (MF), pelvic floor, and by some studies the Internal Oblique (IO) as well. These are key to the active support of the lumbar spine. The co-contraction of these muscles produce stabilizing forces via various systems for the lumbar spine and pelvis.

So the first step is learning how to recruit (activate) these muscles. Co-contraction (recruiting separate muscles together) during certain movements is the next step. Studies have shown that certain patterns exist, such as the co-contraction of the TA and MF muscles occurred prior to any limb movement. This suggests that these muscles anticipate dynamic forces that may act on the lumbar spine and stabilise the area prior to any movement. It follows then, if you can learn to develop this true core stability, then your lumbar spine and pelvis will become more stable during dynamic movements, which results in less excessive forces being transmitted through to these areas.

Area of confusion:

People sometimes see elite athletes doing interesting exercises with all sorts of rotational movement, resistance in the form of elastic bands or medicine balls, and instability from balance boards or swiss balls. They then try to mimic these exercises, realize they are difficult and come to the conclusion that these are great exercises for them to develop their "core". The bottom line is if you are not recruiting the proper muscles (ie:TA, MF or pelvic floor) then you are not developing your true core. You may be doing great rectus abdominus ("6-pack" muscles) or "lat" exercises, but you won't be developing any significant core stability. With proper training, however, you can eventually get to a high level of core stabilty.

harry