Concussion risk

The NFL posted its injury rates for the 2014 season and there was a drop in the number of concussions.

 

I will not get into the specifics of the article, but what is important to highlight is the fact that the VP of player health and safety said that teams were focusing on ‘heads up tackling’. The number of concussions suffered by players from head to head or shoulder to head was 50% of 2013’s numbers.

 

The take home point for athletes, coaches, fans and athletic trainers is that while concussions will always be a part of the game (and sports in general) it is possible to decrease the risk of injury. By learning proper technique of tackling with the head up, concussion injuries can be decreased.

 

Neurosurgeon’s have now weighed in on their thoughts about concussions and youth sports: the risk of sustaining CTE through sports is far lower than the risk of sustaining heart disease, diabetes and cancer through inactivity.

Proper training, rules and awareness should encourage younger individuals to join team sports, get active and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

 

If your team is not being taught how to tackle appropriately, it is time to speak up. Play safe and have fun. 

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/more-news/nfl-reports-significant-drop-in-concussions.html?topic=5,100&eid=277204494&bid=1004478

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/athlete-safety/neurologists-weigh-risk-to-kids-of-contact-sports-br.html?topic=4,100&eid=277204494&bid=1004478

Economics of professional franchises

Another article from Athletic Business examines the economic impact of professional sport franchises on the local economy.

The debate revolves around whether states should subsidize the costs for professional teams. Different studies have been performed that assess the return on investment  and numbers have not been positive. According to the state  of Florida, the amount of money returned was less than the money invested into the professional teams.

Different teams and different communities say otherwise; they claim that the impact to the communities are well worth the money since they bring in outside fans and increase exposure through nationalized televised media.

I think the larger questions are how are each of the studies performed? Is there a uniform process that these studies are being conducted? If every study is looking at the same data in a different way and weighting the variables differently they will have drastically different results.

For studies moving forwards each state should determine their own criteria to analyze the effect of their investment on the communities, tax revenues and total return to really understand whether continued state funding of often wealthy professional franchises is better than money spent elsewhere.

Is ice beneficial post injury?

I had a conversation with a coach earlier this week who was asking me about ice. He had conversations with other coaches who had read the book, Iced by Gary Reinl, and he wanted to get my opinion. Since I have not read the book I felt that in order to give an informed opinion I should do some research. I looked at an interview with Gary about his take on ice and then searched medical journals to see whether ice had been tested and what the outcomes were. I was a little surprised at the lack of studies that specifically study ice in the many applications that it has been prescribed for.

In school we are taught that ice has an effect on the inflammation process and that the inflammation process is a problem and should be decreased as soon as possible in order to speed recovery. When tissue is damaged, the body sends microorganisms to the injury site to fight the inflammation and part of that process is tissue swelling. Ice helps to decrease the blood flow to the area in order to slow this process down. One of the main arguments against ice in the acute inflammatory process is that this inflammation is actually beneficial to the body. Inflammation is the body’s way of breaking down tissue and laying the groundwork for recovery and an interruption to this process can be potentially detrimental.

Acute sprains: Ice has been the mainstay of treatment, along with the remaining letters of the acronym, RICE, for years. When I reviewed the effectiveness of RICE on outcomes, there are very few well controlled studies and the main conclusion is that more needs to be done to study the effect of RICE on treatment outcomes and return to play decisions.

Pain control: Ice has an analgesic, or pain relieving, effect on injuries. Applying ice to an acute injury can help to decrease the pain associated with the injury in the first couple days. Ice does appear to aid in recovery the first 48 hours post surgery.

Tendon injuries: Chronic tendon injuries are characterized by a breakdown and a change in the tendon itself, without the presence of inflammation. Ice is used for pain associated with the condition, but should not be used for inflammation.

Delayed onset muscle soreness: Ice may have an effect on the pain associated with DOMS as a result of activity, but it does not shorten the time of discomfort. The main treatment for DOMS is light exercise.

During the course of the research I learned that rest and immobilization can cause the collagen fibers that repair an injury to align themselves in a haphazard manner and that moving the joint post injury can get these fibers into better alignment. I want to stress that this is for sprains and strains and not fractures or dislocations, which need different management. It appears that immobilization for a day followed by movement can also help improve healing in the hamstrings that are more significant than a mild strain.

 

In light of this research review I will make some changes in how I recommend athletes manage an injury:

I will recommend ice as a pain modifying treatment to be used for 10 min to decrease pain in the first 48 hours following an injury and to move the joint as they are able. I will still recommend compression and elevation for swelling in conjunction with movement.

I will recommend that athletes lightly exercise if they are sore.

For chronic conditions I will recommend soft tissue work and eccentric exercise.

Stadium Finance

The Atlanta Falcons are in the process of trying to build a new stadium. They have proposed developing the surrounding area in conjunction with the State and have also proposed that the State finance some of parking around the stadium.

The Falcons are in a common predicament of most professional sports teams these days: the public and the fans are hesitant to take on debt to help finance the large cost of these stadiums and they feel that the wealthy owners should be contributing more to the process.

With the current price of a stadium costing over $1 billion to construct it is easy to see how this debate continues between the club owners, league administration, State administration and tax payers. The tax payers do not want to be on the hook for a huge bill, the State may make decisions for personal and political reasons instead of business and the club threatens to go to another city if they do not get help with the construction costs.

One of the ways that clubs ask for financing help is by presenting the potential economic impact that a new stadium will have to the area. Even though this is a very common means to justify construction, the numbers may not be accurate. It is very difficult to determine how much revenue an event brings to the area and consider all the factors that it involves: people coming in vs. people leaving the area, tourist money spent on food, lodging, entertainment, gas and retail outlets for the event and not for another reason. They also like to tout the job creation that a new Stadium will have, but is it true? What kind of jobs are they; are they full time professional positions with benefits or part time, seasonal, blue collar without benefits? There is a great difference between the two that is not often accurately explained.

One of the ways that clubs are working with their municipalities is to get tax benefits and deferred payments on the stadiums. This makes it easier for the teams to build, but it limits the amount of tax revenue to the area. In an effort to work together to find the best solutions, clubs and their towns have started looking into creating self-standing developments that house multiple entertainment, lodging and food choices. These developments keep the tourists in one spot and expand the area that they are built on and can make them more sustaining.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Atlanta and the other professional cities when their time comes to build a new Stadium. Will it continue to be subsidized by the town or the state for tax purposes or will teams develop entertainment centers to support the stadium?

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/stadium-arena/state-s-role-in-new-atlanta-falcons-stadium-expanding.html?topic=5,300&eid=277204494&bid=997546

Anterior pelvic tilt and hip impingement

A study by the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that having an anterior pelvic tilt contributed to the presence of hip impingement. This is not too surprising given that being tilted in that position will decrease the amount of flexion and internal rotation available at the joint. It does, however, help clinicians with evaluating and determining treatment protocols to decrease hip pain.

 

When evaluating clients it is helpful to assess the amount of pelvic tilt that they are experiencing. This observation, coupled with their mobility and individual activities can help improve the understanding of how they use their hips and how they have adapted over time. Treatments can then be developed to address the pelvic tilt, muscular tightness and weakness and functional activities that they need to perform.

 

We know that athletes that play soccer and hockey have impingement due to their sport and the movement patterns inherent to their sports. Now we know that the orientation of the pelvis can contribute to impingement. Knowing these items helps us to improve out outcomes by developing preventative programs and effective treatments.

 

In order to help decrease the possibilities of hip impingement we can work with clients to move their body in multiple planes to recruit different muscles. We can also have them perform soft tissue work on their hip flexors and lumbar muscles and corrective exercises to train a neutral spine like planks, bridges and bird dogs. This approach can help our clients to decrease their chances of getting hip pain and improve their performance by becoming more agile.

 

 

Fan engagement

The Carolina Panthers NFL franchise made quite the stir when they responded to the request of a 12 year old boy from Oklahoma who emailed all the NFL teams asking them why he should be a fan of their franchise. The only team to respond was the Panthers, and they did so in dramatic fashion: the owner of the team hand wrote a personal note to the boy and sent an autographed helmet to boot. That is certainly quite the way to earn a new fan, and keep your existing ones.

You definitely do not need to be a Professional sport team to learn from this simple gesture. When a client, potential client, or anyone for that matter, takes the time to contact you, return the favor. Think about how you feel when a manager responds to your inquiries and do likewise.  Acknowledging those that reach out to you is a great way to build trust, rapport and loyalty in your business. Instead of viewing the task as tedious reframe it as an opportunity.

Whenever someone contacts you, it is a chance to share how great your business is and how much you look forward to sharing it with others. To make the task easier you can develop templates for common inquiries and add a personal touch to ensure that it does not have the feel of a form letter.

When you look at your schedule and amount of tasks that you have to do, remember that taking time every day to respond to emails and letters is a great marketing and engagement tool.

 

Stadium financing with private seat licenses

When sports teams look to build a new stadium, it is a huge expense, and getting larger all the time. In light of this fact, owners have tried to find creative ways to finance the stadium to help offset to the cost to them personally. This is why naming rights have been so popular; the company pays the team a lot of money to have their name on the stadium in hopes that the signage and other partnership perks will increase their revenue.

 

Another way that teams look to increase revenue to offset the financial burden of a stadium is to sell Personal Seat Licenses, of PSL’s. In this scenario, a fan purchases the right have a specific seat in the stadium for the life of the lease. In essence, this is their seat. On top of the license, they are still required to pay for their seat on a per game basis, just like they have been doing in order to maintain their season tickets.

 

As one can imagine, these decisions are not always popular with fans. They are now required to ‘purchase’ the seat that they have already been paying for. A team is faced with a tough decision regarding PSL’s; if they do them then fans may be upset, but if they do not, they may have to get financing for a stadium through another manner.

 

PSL’s are being widely used because of the sheer cost of a new stadium. Along with luxury boxes and other rights, they are a way for the team to pay for the upgrade. Fans, on the other hand, feel that their loyalty is not being rewarded when they are asked to pay a lot of money in order to maintain their seats. It is a tough conundrum to be in for any team, but since the stadiums are becoming larger and offering more services and amenities, it is something that is not likely to change anytime soon.

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/marketing/absolutely-insane-falcons-face-psl-pricing-backlash.html?topic=5,300&eid=277204494&bid=989969

 

Benefits of ankle taping

A new study came out evaluating the effectiveness of ankle taping on soccer players.

The results are not supportive of taping; at the end of 45 min, the range of motion of the ankle had actually increased over the baseline testing, even while wearing the tape. Since taping is meant to reduce motion of a joint, this is not encouraging.

 

For those of us that use preventative taping of athletes as a means to support the ankle, we may want to consider bracing instead. It is also important to note that this study was evaluating taping and not the effect of preventative exercises on increasing ankle stability to decrease the risk of injury. Our efforts may be better spent focusing more effort on preventative neuromuscular and proprioceptive strengthening rather than prophylactic taping.

 

http://cjsmblog.com/2014/02/22/the-effectiveness-of-ankle-taping/

Treatment of concussions

Concussions have become the hot topic issue in athletics and sports medicine. While our knowledge regarding concussion management has improved dramatically over the past few years, we are still trying to find the best way to handle them.

Concussions are a challenge because they are the injury you cannot see. They do not show up on typical imaging and they are not a structural problem, but result from a ‘metabolic cascade’ which interferes with the normal function of the cells. For a while, now, our recommendations regarding head injuries has been to rest. It seems that some took this a little too far and recommended almost complete isolation. Resting does not need to mean shutting yourself off from the world, or your friends and support group, but it does mean decreasing the stimuli that can affect your symptoms.

When athletes and individuals are newly concussed they need to allow their brain time to rest and recover. This means limiting time with a computer or television screen, books with small print, loud noises and bright lights. The amount of time to recover depends on the individual. Most people recover within 10 days,  but there are our outliers who take a lot longer to recover. Once the initial symptoms have recovered the individual can gradually add in more stimulus. Just like returning to play is a stepwise process, so is reintegration back into their daily routine.

Managing concussions is like managing other injuries, it is based on the individual, their injury and how well they respond to treatment. Customizing the treatment will hopefully lead to better recovery.

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/athlete-safety/study-too-much-rest-bad-for-concussion-recovery.html?topic=2,100&eid=277204494&bid=987492

U of M and Adidas Partnership

The competition for lucrative Collegiate partnerships continues with shoe and clothing manufacturers.

The University of Miami is expected to sign a sponsorship deal with Adidas worth $33 million over 8 years. Miami will get all of its uniforms branded with the Adidas name and logo, and in return Adidas will hopefully sell branded merchandise to loyal fans.

The long range goal for the manufacturing companies is that the fans and younger athletes become loyal to the brand. If a fan wears branded merchandise and likes it, the company hopes they will make more purchases of the brand. In this way, they generate a lot of long term revenue from their team affiliations through merchandise, shoes, and other recreational wear that the fans purchase from them.

An interesting development is the fact that these affiliations are wide spread and include High School Club teams. When these elite travel and club teams are sponsored by the manufacturers the athletes get comfortable with their brand and style of clothing and footwear. The question posed is whether this comfort actually has the ability to dictate school choice to a University that is sponsored by the same company.

Sporting companies have become very savvy with their sponsorships and who they choose to affiliate with. It appears that these affiliations are paying off in a big way.

 http://www.athleticbusiness.com/more-news/recruiting-impact-of-u-miami-s-adidas-deal.html?topic=1,300&eid=277204494&bid=987492

2015 goals

It's a new year full of potential and opportunities. Instead of coming up with resolutions to change behavior, choose goals to spur growth. 

Take some time to think about what would make 2015 a great year. In order for you to look back a year from now and say 'wow', what do you need to do? Make a list of the accomplishments you want to achieve in 2015. 

After you write them down figure out the steps you need to take in order to reach them. After doing this exercise you will have discovered the path for the year. Now, take action on those steps. Make 2015 a great year by setting lofty goals and achieving them.