Athletes and Sleep

As an athlete are you getting enough sleep at night? Research has been done at Standford University by Cheri Mah on six healthy Standford men's basketball players concerning their performance and sleep. The players got extra sleep over a two week period and the results showed that they ran faster and made more free throws than what they did when they slept on their own typical routine. The athletes in the study also added that they had an increased energy and improved mood during games and practices.

This study helps show that maybe extra sleep for athletes can help improve performance. Cheri Mah argues that alot of studies focus on sleep deprivation and athletic performance. She explains that very little research has been done on how extra sleep can improve performance. For more information on the study visit here:
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20070613/more-sleep-boosts-athletic-performance

I am an athlete and I know that at times during the season with everything going on with classes, school work, practices and games it can be so hard to get enough sleep at night. There just seems to not be enough hours in the day to get everything done. I have noticed though throughout my four year career that if you eat correctly and have great time manage and try to get ahead on work you can fit in some extra hours of sleep. During the season and when we have games I always try to sleep more and go to bed early. The season can have a huge toll on your body and getting the rest it needs and eating correctly I believe can definitely help out how you play. Experts have recommended that adults get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night to maintain good health and to stay on top of everything. My advice to all athletes is to try to balance everything out and put in a few more hours of sleep in each week.

MRSA Infection: Clean and Cover your Cuts!

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is a type of staph infection that is resistant to alot of antibiotics that are used to treat the typical "staph" infection. Without proper treatment MRSA can be fatal. Many competitive college athletes can be at risk for MRSA is they do not clean and properly treat their cuts and wounds. MRSA outbreaks can happen on any sports team. MRSA can be found in locker rooms, courts and turf fields. MRSA can be spread through skin to skin contact and through cuts and abrasions. MRSA can also be spread through athletic equpiment if athletes share razors, towels, uniforms and protective equipment. This is why it is extremely important to properly treat and then cover any wound on your body while competing in sports and doing physical activity and washing and keep athletic equipment clean.

Signs and Symptoms:

MRSA will generally start off as small red bumps that look like pimples, boils and it can even look like a spider bite. If left untreated the red bumps can form into deep and painful abscesses that need to be drained surgically. MRSA becomes life threatening when it penetrates into the body. If it gets into the body it can cause serious infections in the bones, joints, bloodstream, surgical wounds, heart valves and lungs. MRSA can be treated with antibiotics, ones that have been clincally proven to fight certain strains of MRSA. One that is used alot is called vancomycin.

To help prevent the spread of MRSA it is important to wash your hands, keep your own athletic equipment to yourself, cover all cuts, sanitize any towels and uniforms used, shower after athletic events and practices and report any new infections to your athletic trainer. As an athletic training student, I know MRSA breakouts can occur at anytime. MRSA can be prevented if athletes make sure that they follow the above mentioned precautions. It is extremely important that you the athlete always report to your athletic trainer any sign of infection. If MRSA goes undetected it can be fatal if it reaches your bloodstream. Therefore, all you die hard athletes out there make sure to take care of yourself and your cuts because MRSA is no joke.

For more information visit here:

http://mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735

The Female Athlete Triad

For the female athlete working out hard and being a competitor it is important to not forget about taking care of yourself. With more and more young female athletes picking up sports and working hard to excel in sport many health professionals are looking at the female athlete triad. Athletes who have the female athlete triad are suffering from disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis.

Disorder eating for the female athlete is not good. While competing in sport and working out hard it is important for the body to get the proper nutrients that it needs. Not eating enough can put alot of stress on your body. It is important that all female athletes eat enough and replace what they lost. Poor nutrition and eating habits can lead to anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is when someone does not eat or does not eat enough to get the calories there body needs for energy. Bulimia is is binge eating and then purging to get rid of the food that was eaten.

Amenorrhea is when a female loses there menstrual period. Amenorrhea is occurs when a female does not have their period for 6 months. Having short periods and skipping months is also a sign that you are pushing your body to hard and are not giving it the proper nutrients that it needs for day to day activities and athletics. Keeping your body at a healthy weight will give you a regular menstural cycle. It is important that athletes always give their body the nutrients that it needs. Osteoporosis is a weakening of the bones. Weakening of the bones can cause health problems and can lead to fractures. Working out and being an athlete helps build strong bones, but if you have improper nutrition and lose your menstrual cycle the female athlete can put themselves at risk for osteoporosis.

I decided to publish a post on this topic because I am a female athlete and I know that it can be really hard balancing everything you have to do on day to day basis along with athletics and staying in shape to be the best competitor you can be. For all females out their that are working out and staying in shape, I want to let you know that any of the three medical problems above can happen to you if you don't stay on top of your health. Athletes that focus on sport and make it larger part of their life are at risk. Long distance runners are at risk because there sports require alot of endurance and if you don't put back the proper nutrients your body needs it can lead to serious health consequences. Athletes who also are involved in sports that focus on physical appearance are also at huge risk for female athlete triad. These sports include dancing and gymnastics. Female athletes just need to make sure that they properly re-fuel there body with proper nutrition, keep track of there menstrual cycle, take care of any injuries or report them and make sure to get regular check ups and talk to your doctor about any concerns. Female athlete triad is a very serious illness that can be prevented with awareness and education. As an athlete myself I know that with all the demands with school and trying to compete at the best of your ability sometimes you forget to take care of yourself. Remember to not neglect yourself when you are busy with school or have added stress while competing and working out. Taking care of your self and maintaining your health very really important.

For more information on the Female Athlete Triad visit here:

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/triad.html

Don't Mess with your Brain: Athletes and Concussions

Protecting your brain from injury is very important, especially in sport. Any athlete competing in a competitive sport and especially contact sports must be careful when it comes identify a concussion. A concussion is a transient alteration of mental status induced by traumatic biomechanical forces which may or may not include loss of consciousness. (Mark McCarthy, ATC Elite Sports Medicine) Concussions occur from a blow to the head and they are classified as a coup mechanism or contrecoup mechanism. Coup mechanism is a forceful blow to the resting head and the injury is where the impact occurs. Contrecoup mechanism is when impact of a moving head hits a unyielding object and the injury site is opposite where the impact occured. Signs and symptoms may include dizziness, mental confusion, memory loss, photophobia (sensitivity to light), tinnitus (ringing in the ears), nausea, vomiting, irritability, dazed and confused, decreased attention span, loss of consciousness, fatigue, headache and feeling slowed down.

So why is a concussion a big deal?
It is a big deal because if concussions are not properly diagnosed and treated properly they can leave athletes at risk for more serious brain injury. When an athlete gets a blow to the head athletic trainers perform an evaluation. They ask an athlete how they feel and if they are feeling any of the above symptoms. Next checking cranial nerves is important to rule out any serious brain trauma, important ones are checking eye movement and making sure pupils are equal and reactive to light. Balance and coordination tests are done also. The only way to get rid of a concussion is to rest and an athlete is only allowed to return when all symptoms are gone, which at times can be up to 7 to 10 days later or even longer. As an athletic training student and athlete concussions are a frustrating injury because at appearance an athlete may look fine, but there brain is actually was hurt.

What happens if a concussion is left untreated and another one occurs?
Second Impact Syndrome can occur and this is when an athlete sustains another concussion when the brain has not healed from the previous concussion. This can be fatal and can cause permanent disability to an athlete. More awareness is needed in this area because alot of athletes do not tell athletic trainers or coaches that something is wrong and they do not get the rest that they need. Athletes try to play through their injuries and even if they have a concussion they won't tell anyone. Playing through a concussion is not safe. It is important that athletes know that if you do receive a concussion and have any of the above symptoms they should stop there sport and let an athletic trainer know. Another problem with concussions is that not all high schools have athletic trainers who can properly help athletes who sustain them. Athletes just need to remember that it is important to not mess around when it comes to your brain and that it is important to take care of yourself.

Sudden Cardiac Death in Athletes

Unfortunately sometimes in sport you hear of the healthy and active athlete collapsing while competing in sport and dieing. This is sudden cardiac death and it is something that at times can be undetectable. Last spring Dr. Rowland came to our school and offered a lecture on sudden cardiac death. He lectured about what causes sudden cardiac death, if it can be preventable and talked about appropriate screening methods in detecting heart conditions in athletes.

Dr. Rowland discussed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and coronary artery anomalies as two leading causes of death in an athlete. With these two types of conditions death usually occurs instantly. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is when the heart is enlarged, but structurally normal. When the heart muscle becomes extremely thick it causes an abnormal heart rhythm. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death. Coronary artery anomalies occur at birth and the heart has a structural abnormality. The coronary artery is underdeveloped. No family history or a physical exam can detect this type of abnormality. (All information taken from Dr. Rowland's PowerPoint)

These two types of sudden cardiac death are hard to detect and are very rare to occur. Having to screen all athletes with echo cardiograms and genetic screening would take up so much time and is very expensive. This makes sudden cardiac death hard to prevent. Instead trying to prevent sudden cardiac death, lives may be saved with the use of automatic defibrillators aka AEDs. As an athletic training student sudden cardiac death is a reality and can happen at anytime. Having an up to date AED and knowing proper CPR skills could help save a life. Sudden cardiac death is a very harsh reality that could happen to a healthy person at any time. It is hard to prevent, but it is the risk comes along with being an athlete and competing in sport.

Athletes and Energy Drinks

As game time approaches I know alot of athletes want to be on top of their game alert, pumped up and ready to go. One way alot of athletes get themselves going and ready to play is through energy drinks. Red Bull was the first energy drink put out on the market and since then many other options are now out there. Monster, Full Throttle, Rockstar and Amp are just a few of other well known energy drinks out there. Now the question to be asked is if energy drinks are beneficial for the hardworking athlete?

I myself have never had an energy drink before working out or before a game. But I know there are many athletes out there using energy drinks. In a article posted in the New York Times, it argues that when people consume energy drinks they never really know how much they are taking. This can be bad when it comes to working out because someone can overwork there body and over do it, ultimately taking away your perception of fatigue and pain your body may be experiencing. It also argues that it is a viscous cycle for an athlete to go through if there heart can not stop racing or they are not able to relax. After a hard workout it is beneficial for your body to get rest and sometimes energy drinks can keep you up awake and alert for long periods of time. For more information and the complete article visit here :

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/health/healthspecial/19drinks.html

When it comes to energy drinks athletes need to be careful. Energy drinks also can contain substances that are banned by the NCAA. Substances include guarana, synephrine and ephedra. It is important that before competitions and when competing in the NCAA tournament to make sure that you read the labels on your energy drink or to make sure with your athletic trainer that your energy drink is not a banned substance. For a complete list of banned NCAA banned substances visit here: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/miss/genrel/auto_pdf/banned_drug_classes.pdf

Overall, I can not tell you what to do or what is right when it comes to energy drinks. But I just want athletes to know that they should be careful when it comes to what they are drinking and to not forget that water and sports drinks can be just as beneficial. I just want all the athletes out there to think twice about energy drinks and understand that they can truly not be good for your health as a competing athlete.

Exercising and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Delayed onset muscle soreness which is also known as DOMS affects alot of people who work out from the weekend warrior to the elite athlete. I am sure many of you have woken up the morning after a hard workout and wondered why your body is so sore and hard to move. This is DOMS and even though it hurts alot it is a good thing. DOMS is very common after exercise and it means that you are working your muscles and getting them stronger. DOMS can occur anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after exercise.
What can you do to help the pain and soreness?
Rest, ice, NSAIDs, massage, heat, and stretch can all help in making you feel better.
Now it is important for you the avid exerciser or athlete to remember that even though you are sore and hurting that it is important to not give up. Yes, you are sore and in pain but sometimes you have to fight through it until your body adapts to the stresses that you put on it. It is important to be careful and if your soreness is affecting your activities of daily living then you should back off and allow your body to get some rest. I found and very interesting and informative article on Web MD which further explains delayed onset muscle soreness in more detail. Here is the website:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/sore-muscles-keep-exercising?page=3

As an athlete myself I get delayed onset muscle soreness alot. I get it even in the middle of the season and sometimes it does not feel good at all. I hate it when you have a hard practice and the next morning you wake up you feel achy and sore. It is a pretty bad feeling, especially when you know that later that day you have to go to practice. To help me feel better all throughout the season I usually take NSAIDs and jump into the cold whirlpool and few times a week and even on a daily basis. It seems to help refresh my legs and make me feel alot better the next day. I know alot of you may not have access to a cold whirlpool, but I bet just putting some ice on the sore spots for about 20 minutes and taking some NSAIDs will help you feel alot better the next day. Overall, DOMS is not a fun experience, but just think about how the soreness you feel is going to pay off in the long run. DOMS lets you know that you are working your body hard and overall improving your fitness.