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Leading
Edge:
How sport experts contribute to Canada's athletes.
Dr.
Stephen Norris, Applied Physiologist, and
Dr. Dave Smith, Directory of Physiology
Human Performance Laboratory and the Canadian
Sport Centre Calgary
In each issue we highlight the current work of
faculty members. In this issue the work of Dr.
Dave Smith and Dr. Stephen Norris is presented.
The focus of the Applied Sport Science group is
to understand the effects of training load and
the development of training methods to enhance
performance in elite athletes as well as the general
population.
This year we made significant strides in our measurement
technique of cardiac output with the development
of custom software for our new mass spectrometer.
We have demonstrated a strong correlation between
stroke volume and 20 km time trial in cyclists
and we are currently examining the effect of shock
training microcycles on plasma volume and heart
rate changes. In addition, we are branching out
into the area of vibration as we believe that
this could have implications for strength and
power development in athletes.
We also continued our work in the area of hypoxia
and are planning another major study in the new
year looking at the time course of adaptation
to extended exposure to altitude.
Finally, we continue to provide support to athletes
training at the Canadian Sports Centre Calgary.
At the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the
athletes and teams did well, achieving medals
in women’s hockey, speed skating, and cross-country
skiing.
In the health and wellness area we began a long-term
study with colleagues at the Tom Baker Cancer
Centre (Calgary) examining the effects of physical
training on post stem cell transplant patients.
Dr. Stephen Norris
Dr.
Victor Lun, Director of Sport Medicine at the
CSCC, and
Dr. Nick Mohtadi, Physician
University of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre
Three University of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre
staff members represented Canada at the Pan Am
Games this summer as part of the Health Care Team
(HCT) - Dr. Nick Mohtadi as Chief Medical Officer,
Dr. Victor Lun as a core physician, and Lynda
Holmes as the first nurse to be named to a major
games’ Health Care Team in decades.
The Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic. The immediate impression is ‘what
a great place to go for a few weeks.’ However,
vacationing in the Dominican and working in the
Dominican are two very different things. Outside
of the all-inclusive resorts is a third world
country with a very poor economy and poverty on
every corner. Our goal was to provide health care
to 425 athletes and a couple of hundred more staff,
meeting Canadian standards while working in this
difficult environment.
The Health Care Team, from its inception to the
orientation meeting, and from clinic set-up to
take-down, performed admirably during these very
challenging and stressful games. The pre-games
concerns related to selection, accreditation,
licensing, insurance, travel arrangements, supplies
and equipment and the medication supplement reviews
were all accomplished to a level of satisfaction
commensurate with the Canadian team motto, “estamos
listos” (we are prepared).
During
the games, there were a variety of concerns addressed.
These included scheduling difficulties, venue
assessment and being able to adapt to a difficult
environment in addition to the expected duties
of covering events and the clinic as well as managing
the injuries and illnesses faced by the Canadian
Team.
Despite reassurances by the organizing committee
prior to the games, our expectations regarding
standards were not met, and this required a great
deal of flexibility and initiative on the part
of the HCT. Although it is our practice to visit
venues prior to competition and to assess the
facilities for the safety of the athletes, this
was very difficult and a new “venue assessment
form” was developed to facilitate the process.
In many circumstances we acted completely independently
from the local medical people.
As always, we were concerned about athletes inadvertently
taking medications and supplements. This concern
was addressed with a new initiative to perform
reviews with the athletes prior to their arrival
at the games. In this way, any issues could be
addressed ahead of time and needless anxieties
avoided. These pre-games reviews were performed
by designated National Sport Federation physicians,
members of the Pan Am Games Team and other volunteer
physicians in Canada. This process was very successful
as a trial run and is one of the recommendations
for future games. There remains, however, an on-going
concern regarding the use of supplements and how
to get the message to the athletes.
There were no major injuries encountered during
training and competition. There were, however,
a number of gastrointestinal complaints from team
members. These occurred despite advice regarding
proper food and water consumption and no common
denominator could be identified. Two athletes
contracted Dengue Fever as a result of mosquito
bites and three others experienced similar suspicious
illnesses. The two athletes with Dengue Fever
were unable to compete and required ‘round
the clock monitoring and medications. This was
facilitated by Lynda, our nurse, in addition to
her many other duties. There were no cases of
medically significant dehydration and no need
for intravenous fluid replacement.
Victor
took blood testing equipment from the Human Performance
Lab to help us assess the athletes, and spent
time outside of the Village and Santo Domingo
at the site for canoeing and kayaking, which was
several hours away. A satellite medical clinic
was set up at the hotel near this venue to take
care of the athletes.
The HCT was managed with a philosophy of empowering
individuals to take responsibility with respect
to their duties. This created an environment where
initiative and individual strengths were abundantly
evident. In conclusion, the selection process
provided a unique group of individuals on the
HCT with complementary strengths and a remarkable
ability to get along with one another.
By Dr. Nick Mohtadi
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