The Games We Play: From Open Water Swimming to Croquet

July 27, 2013 by

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And they’re off:
the start of the 32K Traversee

The swimmers have entered the 19 C water and have begun their 6+ hour journey to Roberval:  the Traversee of Lac St. Jean, a FINA 32km open water swim has begun.

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The start of the Lac St. Jean
10 K FINA event

I last wrote a post about the FINA World Cup 10km event that took place two days ago at the same venue.  The organizational structure, medical facilities, and WADA doping control stations are the same for the 32km Traversee.

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The infirmary at Traversee Headquarters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 10km race was an exciting finish, and more importantly from the viewpoint of a sports medicine clinician, the event was safe.  By that I mean that the facilities and staff were well organized, and there were no major injuries to the athletes.  As expected, given the cold waters of the racing venue, a couple of swimmers were treated for mild hypothermia, but no one required anything more than passive warming and supportive care.

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One of the Medical Boats accompanying
the swimmers as they make the 32K crossing

Hypothermia (body temperature < 35 C) can be a concern for any athlete (coach, athletic trainer, or physician) performing in an outdoor venue, but it is a special risk for open water swimmers.  FINA mandates that swims take place on courses with event-day water temperatures in a range from 16 to 31 C.  At the higher end of that range, swimmers may produce more heat than can be easily dissipated through convection and conduction, and may be at risk of hyperthermia.  Exertional Heat Illness is, of course, another environmental hazard sports medicine clinicians must be concerned with.  It is thought to have been one of the contributing causes to the worst outcome one can conceive in the field of sports medicine:  the death of an open water swimmer, Fran Crippen, occurred at a FINA event in the United Arab Emirates in 2010.

At this venue in Lac St. Jean, we have the opposite concern.  The early morning temperature on race day Thursday was 18 C, and I was happy to see the temperature climbed one more degree by race time.  The swimmers’ opinions of those conditions ranged from neutral to notable (cold!), but, as I said, only two swimmers needed attention.  The other 15 emerged from the water with their biggest concerns ranging from 1) washing the lanolin off of their bodies to 2) producing urine for doping control. Read more of this post

Filed under Elite sport, Evidence-based Medicine in SEM, General Interest, Injury Prevention Tagged with ,

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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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 , , , ,

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