Chiari Malformations and Contact Sports

July 9, 2014 by

It occurred to me this morning that it had been some time since I posted a poll on these pages.

So, in between your other seasonal activities–sudoku, crossword puzzles, badminton, croquet–I thought you could spend some of your langurous, summer moments taking this poll.

Of course, I would heartily recommend that, before or after this rigorous task, that you check out the July 2014 CJSM, as well as checking out our on-line “Published Ahead of Print” offering, which contains new research on the issue of Chiari malformations in athletes playing contact sports.  You should also consider listening to our recent podcast–a conversation with that study’s lead author, William P. Meehan, III.

And after doing all that, you should get back to the dock or the chaise longue, and take a well-deserved nap.

I hope most of you (in the northern hemisphere any way) are enjoying some summer fun and getting some holiday time in.

Cheers!

Filed under General Interest

Breakfast at Wimbledon

July 4, 2014 by

2012_Olympic_Tennis_Men's_singles

2012 Olympics Men’s Tennis medalists. In 2014 Wimbledon, only Federer remains.

The 4th of July here in the States, where I live, has for me always gone hand in glove with something so very British….

I do not refer to the Revolution, to Washington and King George, to Yorktown……No, it’s Wimbledon that is on my mind!!!

Growing up in the late 70’s there were many, many “Fourths’ which I spent in front of the television, with a bowl of cereal, watching some tennis greats in either the semi-finals or finals of the tournament:  Borg, McEnroe, Evert, Navratilova, Connors, Vilas…..and later Becker, Graff, Seles, Wilander, Edberg…..When my friends and I would later go to the public courts to play in those holiday afternoons, we’d imitate the serve and volley style we had just watched, using the contemporary technology of wood or aluminum rackets!  What great memories!

On this holiday, with the men’s first semi-final already begun, I will be brief.  It’s time to get out those Froot Loops and find out if Djokovic and Federer will book their ticket to an epic men’s final; to see if youth will be served:  might Dmitrov or Raonic win it all?  For that matter, will Eugenie Bouchard or Milos Raonic bring home a Wimbledon trophy to Canada?

During the bathroom breaks on court, you may want to hone your own sports medicine tennis knowledge.  I’d encourage you to take a look at the excellent epidemiologic study on tennis injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments, written by a group including the senior author, a frequent contributor to CJSM, and my colleague at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dr. Gary A. Smith.  Or you may want to catch up on our most recent podcast, a conversation with Dr. William Meehan on the relative safety of Chiari malformations in athletes.  And by all means, take a peek at the July 2014 issue of the journal, with the headlining article on cardiovascular screening practices of U.S. team physicians.

If you reside in the USA:  happy Independence Day.  And for all our other friends and colleagues around the globe, may you have a safe, active, and happy weekend.  Enjoy Wimbledon, enjoy the World Cup, and enjoy your own sporting activity!

Filed under Elite sport, Epidemiology Tagged with , , ,

CJSM Podcast 3

July 1, 2014 by 1 Comment

jsm-podcast-bg-1It’s hard to believe it is already July 1:  summer is in full swing in the northern hemisphere; the World Cup is half way done; Wimbledon, too; and, I’ve actually seen ‘back to school’ advertisements in newspapers.  Time flies!

One of the great joys of reaching this day, the mid-point of the year, is that we get to publish the fourth CJSM issue of 2014, and it’s a good one.  Be sure to check out what’s on offer here.

In some ways, however, we publish continuously.  In recognition of the great content that has already passed the rigors of peer review and are in the queue for full, print publication, we have a “Published Ahead of Print (PAP)” feature on the main website page.  These are citeable studies, ready to read…..and ready for listening!

Yes, listen:  today’s podcast profiles just one of those PAP studies.  I got to interview William Meehan, the lead author of the new publication:  “Risk of athletes with Chiari malformations suffering catastrophic injuries during sports participation is low.”

Bill has contributed a tremendous amount of original research to the pages of CJSM. Today, sit back and hear what he has to say about the relative safety of Chiari malformations.  And remember:  you can listen to the podcasts here on the blog, at the CJSM main website, and you can subscribe to the podcast stream on iTunes. However you lay your ears on the podcast, so to speak, you’ll be happy!

 

Filed under CJSM Podcasts, Evidence-based Medicine in SEM

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