February 29th, 2012 by Becca Gaines · Sports Medicine
Dr. Jordan Metzel is a sports physician for the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and works daily with young people. He responded to the Today Show’s question about the increase in the number of ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tears. Dr. Metzel talked about the increase in the number of females participating in sports and the physical changes that occur in their bodies during puberty and how that effects the hips and the knees.
I remember lifting in high school and the trainers would be paying close attention to our knee positioning when we were at the low point of the squat, making sure our knees were straight and not pointing inwards. This teaches the joints proper technique and strengthens them so that the ACL is less likely to tear.
My dad is also a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon and I can still hear him saying to pay attention to my knees. “Becca, keep your knees straight, don’t let them turn inward!” Luckily, I did not have to experience an ACL tear but many of my clients have.
I want to share some links to help athletes and parents see what is and what is not proper form and hear from our local expert, Dr. Jordan Metzel.
Watch the link for video demonstrations on proper form. It is really important to have an experienced trainer WATCH you do the exercises because what we THINK we’re doing with our bodies and what we ARE doing with our bodies can be two different things. And, it usually takes many, many times repeating an exercise properly before your body “remembers.” Don’t feel bad if you can’t get it the first time – make sure to get feedback on proper form until you truly get it.
ACL Prevention
Another great article about knees and the reason for the rise in ACL tears is in the following interview with Dr. Metzel. Take a look!
Interview with Dr. Metzel about ACL and teenagers
Tags:ACL·Jordan Metzel·lifting weights·prevention·sport psychology·Sports Medicine·teenage athletes·teens
Not what you typically see in the news, but the problems are there and are just as debilitating mentally and physically for boys as they are for girls. Boys are hounded by images of muscular men photo shopped and airbrushed to show more ab muscles that physically possible without the use of steroids or other dangerous supplements. Not a good example for our young men and boys!
One of the best pieces of advice is encouraging parents, medical professionals and trusted adults to look for signs and symptoms of body image issues in boys as well as girls. Focusing on kids’ health and internal sense of self is a powerful tool to combat issues of negative body image.
Check out this link for more tips and information about boys and body image:
Body Image and Boys
Tags:eating disorders and athletes·male eating disorders
February 20th, 2012 by Dana White MS, RD, ATC · Recipes
Need a quick weeknight dinner idea? Here are 5 recipes for tasty burgers – each with 5 ingredients or less!
Get the recipes
Tags:burgers
I am preparing for an upcoming talk to a middle school. The talk centers around what I learned as an athlete, but I’m also including feedback from current professional, college, and high school athletes, as well as athletes who competed years ago.
Thought I would share a couple quotes from what they learned. Enjoy!
“I learned that I have to fuel my body and mind with food because if I don’t give it healthy foods, I can’t focus and am not able to perform at my best. I know I have to eat and eat well to perform in competition AND in the classroom.” Female, Gymnast
“I learned what it means to be mentally tough. To know my weaknesses and be OK asking for help.” Male, Lacrosse player
“I learned that I am not going to be perfect when I try something new. I am going to fall down over and over, but have to keep getting back up and trying again. Sports taught me to believe in myself and that struggling is normal and will make me stronger in the end.” Male, Basketball Player
“I learned that even if I did not do well in a competition, I was still the same person. My results were not a reflection of who I was as a person. That was a tough lesson to learn because so much emphasis is on our ‘scores’. Once I took that pressure off, my performance and my ability to enjoy the game improved.” Female, Tennis Player
Tags:high school athletes·youth sports
With so many choices and sure fire claims, how easy it is to think: “Supplements are safe and they work.”
Good intentioned parents and athletes – BEWARE. Not all supplements are safe. They are not regulated and therefore not approved by the FDA for safety or efficacy ( they do what they say they will do).
Our best practice advice is: do your research before you purchase and consume a supplement. Sales people have a vested interest in selling their products. The resources below are not written by companies, but by independent experts and will provide you with the most updated information on this category of substances.
So, here are companies/resources that provide info on potentially dangerous and banned substances … ones with (*) are the third party testing outfits that will certify that a product is what it says it is and authorizes that it’s free of banned substances.
Tags:athletes and drugs·banned substances·NCAA·nutritional supplements
Hmmm…dangerous how?
Dangerous in that it gives me an unfair advantage against my competition?
Dangerous because it gouges my wallet and doesn’t live up to its claim?
Dangerous because it puts my body at-risk for medical complications?
Or, dangerous because the NCAA bans all supplements that claim to be “performance enhancers” and states “caffeine will produce a positive drug-test if amounts exceed 15 micrograms/ml in the urine.” This could be 2 cups of coffee up to 1 hour before competition. A positive drug-test varies based on the athlete’s size and metabolic rate. The 2 cup rule may not hold true for a large male. The NCAA can only provide a “best estimate” for amounts ingested and what levels will show up in a urine test.
I feel for the athletes. They are caught in the middle. They want to perform well and if they believe there is something out there (that is often endorsed by professional athletes) that can help, why not take it?
“If “X” athlete takes it, it must be safe.” “If it’s being sold at a national vitamin chain, it must be safe.” Or, the not knowing. How many athletes know that caffeine can produce a positive drug-test?
As parents, we need to do our own checks and balances around expectations of our athletes. How far will we go to make sure they ….get playing time, get noticed by college coaches, get recruited, get paid to play in college, etc. If we, the adults, are tempted to help our athlete achieve an unfair advantage by buying performance enhancers that may or may not “work”, rest assured, WE are putting them in harm’s way.
To be continued….
Read More:
Jack3d Supplement
Asking an Expert
Tags:athletes and drugs·caffeine·DMAA·Jack3d·NCAA banned substances·steriod use and athletes·supplements
Many parents call me asking whether their child needs to see a counselor. First, I listen to the parent about the situation. Then, I‘ll recommend a few relevant resources that are available on the web. I usually end the call letting the parent know that if they still feel their child needs to talk to someone, I would encourage them to find a counselor (through me or their Pediatrician). Sometimes the parent needs to see a counselor first before they send their adolescent.
A typical call from a parent concerned about her teenager might go like this:
“She is doing well academically and in her sport, but I’m concerned that she is involved in an “unhealthy behavior” (drugs, alcohol, disordered eating, eating disorders, compulsive exercise).
Resources I recommend:
www.neda.org
http://www.drugfree.org/
www.eatright.org
Tags:counseling·counselor·disordered eating·parent·sport psychology·teenage daughter·teenager·therapist
REC STAFF | The National Center for Drug Free Sport, Inc.® | Resource Exchange Center
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It’s hard to ignore, the advertising push to get people to purchase supplements to improve their health and their lives. We used to only be bombarded with weight loss opportunities come January, but the Innovators realized there is money to be made by adding another product to America’s health and wellness goals.
This product line is called supplements and boy is it controversial. More importantly for athletes, it can be down right dangerous.
I am such a fan of the NCAA’s athlete education arm. The Resource Exchange Center (REC) takes all questions related to NCAA banned substances. Recently I emailed a question about a product and they came back with a thorough and clear response. On their site, they provide the most extensive and up-to-date information about banned substances.
Please make sure you and your athlete go to their web page and read up on what supplements are allowed and what supplements are banned. Get Educated – one of the best New Year’s Resolutions ever!
Tags:athletes and drugs·diets·NCAA banned substances·supplements·weight loss
He can always tell when they’re about to commit and then he has his “reality check” conversation with the recruit.
“If you broke your leg the day you arrived on campus and couldn’t compete, would you still want to be here?”
“Imagine your worst high school teacher and multiple that times five. What would you do if you had a semester with all five professors like that one?”
“How easy will it be to stay committed to the team if you’re not the superstar all four years?”
My advice? These are great conversations for parents to have at home with their athletes. The more we talk about “what if’s” AND how to cope, the better prepared they’ll be for disappointments. Not to be interpreted as a technique to keep them from experiencing disappointments.
A “Disappointment Free” adolescence is a risk factor for having a troublesome college experience. And we now have research to support this fact.
Tags:college recruiting·injured athlete·Ivy League Sports·parenting·sports injuries·sports parenting
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