The 59th Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean

July 24, 2013 by 2 Comments

lac st jeanIt started off a bit rocky, with an impatient Canadian border guard at Jean Lesage international airport in Quebec City questioning why I, an American doctor, would be working and taking care of patients in Canada; but things are decidedly looking up now that I have made it over that speed bump and down the road to Roberval, Quebec.

My biggest problem now is getting WiFi access.  Thank God for Tim Horton’s!!  My hotel can’t get me WiFi, other places in town that proclaim free WiFi don’t deliver.  I grabbed a coffee at Tim’s (avoiding the donuts; on the road, sitting in planes and cars, I don’t need those tasty calories) and, voila!  Internet access.

So, lest anyone think I’ve been remiss in communicating over the blog, on Twitter @cjsmonline, or on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cjsportmed), I have simply been unable to do so.

And one more thought about Tim Horton’s before I turn to the swimming. Many readers will know this, but some will not:  the donut chain was founded by a revered former NHL player, Mr. Tim Horton himself.

lac st jean water

The obstacle the swimmers face: Lac St. Jean

I’m here as a FINA medical delegate to supervise the medical set-up and the doping control of two swimming events that will take place on Lac St. Jean–next to Roberval, Quebec, Canada (2.5 hours north of Quebec City)–tomorrow and Saturday.

jacques amyot

Lakeside plaque commemorating Jacques Amyot, first to make the Lac St. Jean crossing.

 

 

 

 

The 32 km Traversee, to take place on Saturday, promises to be especially interesting.  To put this in context, the distance is just a bit shorter than the English channel crossing, and the water temperatures in the middle of the lake will drop below 20 degrees C.

The medical tent is set up to deal with hypothermia, I can assure you of that!

I will have more to post (pending access to Tim Horton’s……oops, WiFi) when the events have taken place. In the mean time, if anyone in the blogosphere has interesting experiences or medical literature to share on the coverage of long-distance swimming events, I look forward to hearing from you in the ‘Comments’ here or on Twitter @cjsmonline.

Filed under Doping in Sport, Elite sport, General Interest, Travel Medicine Tagged with , ,

Team Physician Consensus Statement: 2013 Update

July 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

DSCF0235

Nationwide Children’s Hospital Staff Physicians and ATCs
in “the Horseshoe” at the Ohio State University, prior to game.

Earlier this week, several sports medicine organizations released a statement with which all sports medicine clinicians should familiarize themselves:  the “Team Physician Consensus Statement:  2013 Update.”

The Statement represents, in its own words, “…an ongoing project-based alliance” of the major professional associations associated with sports medicine  in the United States.  These include the American Academy of FamilyPhysicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgons (AAOS), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine (AOASM), and this journal’s affiliated professional group, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM).

This is an update of a statement first published in 2000.  It includes sections which define the role of ‘team physician’;  describe the requisite education and qualifications; enumerate the medical and adminstrative duties and responsibilities; and explore the relevant ethical and medicolegal issues.

The entire statement is worth a read, but I find the ‘ethical issues’ section most interesting.  Read more of this post

Filed under Doping in Sport, Drugs and Doping in Sport, Elite sport, Ethics and probity in SEM, General Interest Tagged with ,

Major League Baseball: the All-Star game and more

July 16, 2013 by 1 Comment

799px-Citi_Field_2011

CitiField, Home of the New York Mets
and host to the 2013 MLB All-Star Game

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) All-Star game takes place tonight at CitiField, the home field of the New York Mets.  The All-Star game has a rich history and in the culture of MLB has always represented, at the very least, the mid-season pause where the collective baseball community could reflect on the game:  where it has been, and where it is going.

zack greinke at 2009 MLB all star game

Zack Greinke, pitching in the 2009 MLB All-Star game
(He will not play in the 2013 edition)

 

 

 

 

From the perspective of sports medicine, this baseball season has been a rich one already.  From Zack Greinke’s clavicle fracture and surgical repair, to Derek Jeter’s recovery from ankle surgery and quad strain, to the, er, inimitable ARod’s hip surgery and the ever growing issue of PEDs in MLB,  it’s been a very interesting spring and early summer.

In the spirit then of this mid-season pause, I wanted to sit back and review just a few baseball-related, clinical sports medicine issues before we all enjoy the game tonight. Read more of this post

Filed under General Interest, Injury Prevention, Technology in Sports Medicine Tagged with , , , ,

Biking in the Midwest

July 13, 2013 by

tour of grandview

Tour of Grandview Criterium

It’s mid July and the Tour de France is heading into the home stretch, but here in the Middle of America, biking events are heating up.  The famed Ragbrai–a traverse across the state of Iowa–begins in a week. The Hotter’N Hell Hundred Endurance Ride (a hundred mile ride during a month where the average daily high is 96 F) takes place in Wichita Falls on August 24…..

I’ve lived across the USA and across the world, but I’m a native Midwesterner, and proud of that fact:  born in Iowa, secondary school in Michigan, now rearing my children in Ohio.  I don’t know if many people realize what a ‘big deal’ long distance bike riding is here in the American Heartland.  The region has come a long way since the days of the movie  “Breaking Away,” the plot of which turns on the idea that an Indiana high schooler’s  devotion to long distance biking is quirky, and foreign; that in the 70’s a word like “Campagnolo” would be more apt to be identified as a pasta than a bicycle parts maker.

The Tour of Grandview and The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA) are just two of these festivals of Midwestern, mid-summer biking, both taking place in Central Ohio.  And I have the privilege of knowing and working with the Medical Director of both:  Dr. Tom Pommering.  I asked him to do a guest blog on his adventures in June covering the 25th annual GOBA, and the following is his report!

__________________________________

Thomas L. Pommering, DO, FAAFP

with ice dr p

Dr. Tom Pommering enjoys the ice after an ‘optional’ 100 mile ride. Cool down, then time to get to the medical tent to care of some riders.

GOBA is a week-long bicycling tour that brings up to 3000 cyclists, ages 2-90, from 40 states and several countries on a daily 50 mile ride through the peaceful countryside of Ohio.   With such a large and diverse group of people performing this daily strenuous activity, there exists a need for a unique medical system to support this group for a week.  For almost 20 years, I have had the privilege of directing the GOBA Medical System.  There are many logistical challenges to providing medical coverage to a large participant group that is traveling to a different venue each day while being exposed to the elements, environment and each other.  Here are a few pointers I’d like to share with anyone else who may be tasked with this responsibility. Read more of this post

Filed under General Interest Tagged with , , , , ,

← Older posts

Newer posts →