2010 National Athletic Trainers Association Conference

The 2010 NATA convention was the place to be last month to learn about injury care and prevention. Here are some of the highlights:

BASEBALL PITCHING
Why are the lower extremities so important in the baseball pitching motion? Research shows that more than half of the energy transferred to a pitched baseball comes from the hips and below. The shoulder and elbow are the weaker links in the chain, so if lower-body mechanics are poor or flexibility is limited, the upper body will be overworked and the injury potential to those areas will be increased dramatically.
http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=ijesab
http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=ijesab

SOFTBALL PITCHING
The softball windmill pitching motion can be broken into five phases. This study isolated five different muscles--the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, and rhomboids--and showed the maximum voluntary isometric contraction for each muscle during each of the five windmill phases. The greatest force in phases one and four came from the gluteus maximus. In phase two, it was the rhomboids. In phases three and five, the most force came from the triceps.
http://hkrd.uark.edu/biomechanics/KINS/oliver_pg_608(1).pdf
http://www.asbweb.org/conferences/2010/abstracts/67.pdf


WHEN AN ATHLETE GOES DOWN, ACT FAST!
For every minute between a sudden cardiac event and the start of defibrillation, survival rate decreases by seven to 10 percent--so those lost minutes can literally mean life or death. Get that AED to the athlete as quickly as possible. Know the location of your AED and how to use it. The AED will determine whether the heart has stopped before delivering a shock, so it should be apply it quickly and start CPR!

MRSA INFECTIONS
Remember HITE:
H - Hygiene- wash hands, don't share towels/clothes, wipe down equipment; also Health - staying healthy is the best prevention
I - Identify- is the area red, swollen, painful; also Isolate - if MRSA suspected, get checked and do not have contact with teammates
T - Treat - see a doctor!
E - Educate - for more information see http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html
 
NUTRITION: PRE, DURING, POST EXERCISE
1. Eat properly all the time to attain your best performance.
2. High school athletes - eat before practice
One Hour Pre-Competition: Stick to liquids, such as water and sports drinks. Avoid high-glycemic beverages such as soda or energy drinks, which have a very high carb ratio that will result in a short energy boost followed by a quick crash.

Two Hours Pre-Competition: Sports drinks along with cereal with low-fat milk, or toast, or a low-fat muffin, or a bagel, or yogurt and fruit.
Three Hours Pre-Competition: Sports drinks, a turkey sandwich with low-fat cheese, yogurt, fruit, and a granola bar.