Midsummer

The joys of summer!

July 4th is in the rear-view mirror, and for those of in the USA, that means the glass is half empty (or full): summer has hit the halfway mark.

In many respects, in the sports medicine world we’re well past the halfway point, because August two-a-days and hitting in football begin, at least here in Ohio, precisely four weeks from today.  Then the ‘busy season’ begins.

But we still have July to enjoy – in a slightly more leisurely fashion – such offerings as Wimbledon, the Open golf championship at St. Andrews, and, of course, the new issue of CJSM: Volume 25, issue #4 was published one week ago.

Do check this out, as there are several significant offerings on board this issue.  First and foremost is the publication of the statement from the 3rd International Exercise-associated Hyponatremia (EAH) Consensus Development Conference. This statement has been gathering a lot of buzz in the mainstream and social media, as has the accompanying editorial written by Dr. Mitchell Rosner of the Univ. of Virginia.   The Washington Post published a good review of the statement’s published findings, for instance, and the message to “Drink To Thirst” and avoid overhydration is making its way over various media channels…..including iTunes!  If you haven’t checked out the podcast conversation I had with the statement’s lead author, Dr. Tami Hew, by all means listen in here.

There is, as ever, some exciting original research in this issue as well, including a study of the incidence of EAH in ultramarathoners: in work coming out of Australia, a 2% incidence of EAH was found in ultramarathoners competing in the Cradle Mountain Run in Tasmania, Australia.  And so……EAH may be seeing us more than we are seeing it!!!!

Another very exciting study in this month’s journal is a high quality (Level 1), randomized clinical trial comparing various techniques of ACL reconstruction, with patient-reported and clinical outcomes with 2+ years of follow-up. This is fabulous stuff–no spoiler alert here, as the offering is currently FREE – and so click on that link and read the study yourself to see what differences there may be between double bundle, patellar tendon, and hamstring tendon grafts.

Whether you’re by the pool, a lake, the ocean….or you’re in clinic (as some of us must still be!)–enjoy your summer, and enjoy the July 2015 CJSM.