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Summer is here and the mercury is rising. Do you know how to stay safe while exercising in the summer heat? Follow these 7 tips for summer exercise to stay cool and get the most out of your hot weather workout.

1. Timing

Avoid the heat of the day by exercising in the mornings and evenings. Try to avoid exercising in the hottest part of the day.

2. Go Slow

If you must exercise in the heat of the day, get yourself used to the heat slowly.  This can be done by gradually exposing yourself to the heat by starting with a very short workout, and increasing the amount of time you exercise over several days.

3. Hydrate

Drinking fluids is key! Performance declines with as little as 2-3% decrease in body weight from sweat loss.  In general, you should drink approximately 20 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during exercise. In addition, know how to check your hydration status by looking at the color of your urine. Aim for light yellow or straw colored urine. Dark yellow or brown urine means that you are significantly dehydrated and need to drink more.

4. Clothing

Wear loose synthetic clothing that breathes and wicks moisture. Also, pick light colors over dark colors to help reflect the sun’s heat away from you.

5. Protection

You can keep your body cooler by keeping the sun off your skin. Wear a hat and lightweight long sleeve shirt, and always remember your sunscreen! As you sweat, remember to reapply sunscreen, too.

6. Know the Signs

The signs of heat illness include cramping, confusion, unsteadiness, irritability, vomiting, unusual fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and visual disturbances. Stop exercising and find a cool place to rest if you feel unwell.

7. First Aid

When heat illness strikes, know how to beat it. Immersion in cold water is the best way to treat it quickly. However, if you don’t have access to a tub full of ice water, that’s okay. You can still help by rolling up towels and dunking them in ice water. Wring out the excess water and place the towels over the head, neck, and body to bring the body temperature down.

Staying safe while recreating in the summer heat is easy if you remember these 7 tips. Please share with your friends and teammates, and let us how you stay cool while exercising in the heat this summer!

Written by: Alex Walker, ATC, athletic trainer for The Center Foundation and Sisters High School in Sisters, OR. Learn more about Alex HERE.

https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/warning.html accessed 5/29/2020

It been over two weeks since all of our lives were upended by the COVID-19 Pandemic. With the closure of schools, cancellation of sports seasons, and Stay Home Save Lives, it seems harder to stay active. However, it is important that all of us, young and old, make a commitment to stay active, both physically and mentally,  during this time of social distancing and home quarantine.

How Much Activity Should You Get

Whether you are a high school athlete or an adult working from home, it is important to find ways to maintain your activity level. Staying fit will reduce your risk of injury once you do return to sports and normal physical pursuits. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that all adults get at least 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise 5 days a week, as well as 2-3 days per week of strength training.

Best Ways to Stay Active

In spite of the Stay at Home order, it is still okay and encouraged that you get outside and go for walks and runs. By staying in your own neighborhood, and maintaining proper social distancing, you can easily meet the recommendations for cardio exercise. In addition, walking and running are great ways to escape the monotony of indoor life while helping to relieve stress and anxiety. Admittedly, we can all benefit from that in these stressful times.  Find ways to get outside and be active, whether it is in your backyard or in your neighborhood. It is crucial to maintaining physical and mental health during these uncertain times.

Share With Us

What are you doing to stay active, healthy, and maintain your fitness during this time? Please share, and feel free to send us any questions you may have about tips to stay healthy. We will do our best to answer your questions in upcoming blog articles!

Written by: Stuart Schmidt, MS, ATC, CSCS athletic trainer supervisor for The Center Foundation in Bend, OR. Learn more about Stuart HERE.

The Center Foundation places dedicated athletic trainers in local high schools to provide sports medicine services to young athletes at no charge to the students or their families. Learn more about our work HERE.

Many athletes in Central Oregon participate in outdoor sports during the winter when temperatures reach freezing, or even dip below. Muscle injuries in cold weather are a common occurrence. It’s important to understand why they happen and how to prevent them.

The Cause of Muscle Injuries

Is cold weather causing muscle injuries? The answer is yes and no. The temperature outside does not cause a strained muscle. However, there is a risk, and it comes from muscles that are not warm enough to participate in the upcoming activity. Winter sports often have periods of downtime when the athlete is not moving. They may be taking a break, sitting through time-out or half time, or waiting for their turn to compete. Regardless of the reason, the athlete’s body cools down rapidly during inactivity in cold weather. When the body cools down, so do the muscles.

Most people agree that going from resting on the couch to doing full sprints is not a good idea, even on a warm day. Plus, when athletes are outside in the cold, they tend to try to get warm in ways other than moving. When you have been stationary prior to exercise, you don’t have enough blood in the muscles you use for your sport. You are now at risk for muscle injuries when you suddenly start to move.

Prevention of Muscle Injuries

When it is cold outside, your body stores more heat in your core and less in your arms and legs. Studies show that a proper warm-up will increase heat due to blood flow, but it can also improve neuromuscular activation – the ability of your muscles and nerves to work together in a coordinated way. Muscles preconditioned by warming up have the ability to withstand greater forces than muscles that have not gone through a warm-up. Therefore, by doing a warm-up, you decrease your risk of muscle injury because your muscles have proper blood flow and muscular activation.

What is a proper warm-up?

A proper warm-up consists of dynamic stretches, aerobic activity, and sport specific submaximal exercises.

Dynamic Stretching

Dynamic stretching is moving a muscle or muscle group through the same range of motion required for the specific sport. For example, if your sport includes running, you might want to do a slow march with high knees and swinging arms. Specific movements vary greatly from sport to sport.

Aerobic Warm-up

An aerobic activity warm-up should be short and at a light level of effort. Examples of aerobic warm-ups include, light jogging, biking, swimming, and the use of aerobic equipment like rowing machines.

Submaximal Exercises

Sport specific submaximal exercises are best towards the end of the warm-up session, and they will be similar to your sport activity. Examples of these exercises include, running through plays at slow speed, passing a soccer ball around, warming up your free throw, or playing catch with a teammate.

The full warm-up period should last at least fifteen minutes prior to the sport activity. And, in cold weather, each break in activity requires another warm-up session prior to rejoining the sport. Whether the temperatures are warm or freezing, an athlete should always do some warm-up when they have been stationary for a prolonged period. The key to avoiding muscular injuries is keeping your muscles ready to safely jump back into the game.

Written by: Tessa Cashman, ATC athletic trainer for The Center Foundation and Bend Senior High School in Bend, OR. Learn more about Tessa HERE.

The Center Foundation places dedicated athletic trainers in local high schools to provide sports medicine services to young athletes at no charge to the students or their families. Learn more about our work HERE.

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REFERENCES:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21544000
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18027995
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3377095

Ankle injuries are one of the most frequent injuries in high school sports. This negatively impacts both the athlete and their team. Ankle injuries result in significant time lost from sports activity, and they are often slow to heal, causing lingering disability. In addition, ankle injuries have a high re-injury rate, resulting in repeated injury and recovery cycles. Obviously, preventing ankle injuries in the first place is best. The practice of prophylactic, or preventative, ankle bracing and taping is one way to accomplish this.

Myths of Bracing and Taping

It is a common myth that wearing ankle braces or taping to prevent ankle injuries will weaken the ankle. In addition, some believe that it can lead to injuries in other parts of the leg. However, research disagrees with this. Studies show that bracing and taping are effective ways of preventing ankle injuries. Furthermore, athletes who have had a previous ankle injury receive even greater benefit from ankle taping and bracing compared to those without previous ankle injuries.

In fact, ankle bracing and taping may provide mechanical support, as well as increased awareness of the movement of the ankle. This can result in decreased risk of ankle injury. So, which is better for preventing ankle injuries – taping or bracing?

Brace or Tape?

Bracing allows the player to apply and adjust the brace throughout the activity. This keeps the support optimal throughout the practice or game. On the other hand, once tape is applied, it is not adjustable. Another disadvantage of taping is that it quickly loosens once the athlete starts to move and sweat. Typically, tape provides the greatest support only in the first 20 minutes. In addition, there are other advantages to bracing over taping. Braces are reusable and more cost effective in the long run. In comparison, traditional taping can cost up to three times more than a brace over the course of a season.

Bracing has its disadvantages, too. They are bulky and difficult to fit under uniforms and inside of shoes. Limited brace sizes means they don’t fit everyone perfectly. And, braces have a higher upfront cost than tape. On the other hand, when tape is correctly applied, it provides customized support to the ankle, and can be more comfortable and fit better in athletic shoes.

Best Practice for Preventing Ankle Injuries

The majority of studies on taping vs. bracing conclude that bracing is slightly more effective at preventing ankle injuries. In one study published by The Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, the author followed 300 football players over a six-year period. Comparing the two preventative therapies, they found that wearing an ankle brace was twice as effective for preventing ankle injuries as taping.

There are many types of ankle braces on the market: soft, semi-rigid, and rigid, and each has its own benefits depending on the situation. Ask your athletic trainer to learn more about ankle bracing. They can help you decide if you will benefit from bracing and help find the right brace for you.

Written by: Lindsay Hagler, MS, ATC, CSCS athletic trainer for The Center Foundation and Mountain View High School in Bend, OR. Learn more about Lindsay HERE.

The Center Foundation places dedicated athletic trainers in local high schools to provide sports medicine services to young athletes at no charge to the students or their families. Learn more about our work HERE.

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References:

The Effect of Preventive Measures on the Incidence of Ankle Sprains, Verhagen, Evert A. L. M.; van Mechelen, Willem; de Vente, Wieke, Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 10(4):291-296, October 2000. (Accessed online November 2018).

What is the Sports Medicine Program?

Schools with certified athletic trainers are proven to have lower serious injury rates, and better concussion identification rates, than schools without. That’s why we place certified athletic trainers in local high schools through our Sports Medicine Program. Our athletic trainers provide daily on-site medical care at practices and games, triage accidents and injuries, diagnose and manage concussions, and educate athletes and coaches on injury prevention and sports safety. In short, they do a lot! And, they do all of this at no cost to students or their families. Since 2015, our high school Sports Medicine Program has grown from four schools to eight, and our athletic trainers now care for more than 5,000 student athletes annually. All of this thanks to the generous support of The Center physicians and our donors.

Why We are Here

There is nothing more precious to a parent than the safety of their child. However, parents cannot be at every practice or game to keep an eye on their young athlete. In addition, the majority of high schools in the Northwest, Central Oregon included, do not have the budget to hire and staff their own athletic trainers to care for their athletes. With more budget cutbacks each year, public schools focus their funds on maintaining high quality academic programs and ensuring equal access to education – as they should. But, kids need safe physical activity too. As a matter of fact, studies show many benefits: physical, emotional, social and intellectual, for kids participating in organized sports. And, schools know that keeping sports programs alongside academic programs is critical for children’s overall development. We agree. We want kids to play and we want them to be safe.

That’s where we step in with our high school Sports Medicine Program. Started in 2000 by concerned physicians at The Center, The Center Foundation is the only nonprofit in Central Oregon solely dedicated to ensuring that youth are safe, healthy, and protected while participating in sports. In short, we fill the gap by providing the athletic trainers that our schools cannot afford.

How Can YOU Help?

In order to accomplish this, we raise over $500,000 annually to provide sports medicine services to eight high schools in Bend, La Pine, Sisters, Madras, Culver and Crook County. However, we have more work to do. Specifically, our middle school athletes need support, and we have an additional high school coming online in 2021. As our region continues to grow, so does our opportunity to keep kids active and safe. This is where YOU come in. Our kids depend on us; we depend on you to keep us here protecting them. If every parent of a high school athlete in Central Oregon gave just $10 a month for one year (that’s only two visits to Starbucks!) it would go a log way toward reaching our goals.

Please consider making a gift to The Center Foundation Sports Medicine Program. Donating is easy on our website, and we are truly grateful for every dollar given.

References:
The Value of the Secondary School Athletic Trainer. National Federation of State High School Associations. Published online March 10, 2015. Accessed October 26, 2018. https://www.nfhs.org/articles/the-value-of-the-secondary-school-athletic-trainer/
Youth sport: positive and negative impact on young athletes. Journal of Sports Medicine. Published online May 31, 2013. Accessed October 26, 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871410/
Sports and Child Development. Published online May 4, 2016. Accessed October 26, 2018. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0151729
The Value of Athletic Training Employment in Secondary School Athletics. The Sport Journal. Published Online August 31, 2017. Accessed October 26, 2018. https://thesportjournal.org/article/the-value-of-athletic-training-employment-in-secondary-school-athletics/

 

Rich Rainville hails from the Midwestern state of Michigan. For his first year of college, he attended Furman University in Greenville, SC and competed for their cycling team. After that, Rich transferred to Illinois State University, where he pursued his passion for sports medicine in their athletic training program. Rich graduated In 2018, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training.

After graduation, Rich’s first position was with a sports performance and physical therapy group in Michigan. While there, he gained valuable experience as an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach focusing on local high school and college athletes. Although he enjoyed the work, Rich was eager to head west to the mountains and an active outdoor lifestyle. He is excited to join The Center Foundation as the athletic trainer for Culver High School, and he looks forward to exploring Central Oregon.

In his free time, Rich enjoys playing and refereeing hockey, skiing, mountain biking, and running. On a Saturday in the fall you can find him glued to the television watching University of Michigan football. And, in the winter he will be rooting for the Detroit Red Wings.

Rich Rainville, ATC, CSCS is an athletic trainer with The Center Foundation and serves Culver High School in Culver, Oregon. Find out more about Rich and our entire athletic training team here.

Eating disorders are a group of abnormal and harmful eating patterns. They are typically used in a misguided attempt to lose weight or maintain a lower than normal body weight. The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia is severe weight loss and refusal to maintain body weight. It often includes an intense fear of gaining weight even if the person is under weight. Coupled with this is a negative self-image due to body shape or appearance, known as “body image disturbance.” Most females will also stop menstruating.

Outwardly, an athlete suffering from anorexia may avoid eating in public and wear baggy clothing to disguise their body. Inwardly, people diagnosed with anorexia are often in denial, depressed, withdrawn, irritable, and have difficulty sleeping. In addition, they can also experience fatigue, low blood sugar, thinning hair, and a slowed heart rate.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia, defined as binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting and laxative use (purging), includes a feeling of being out of control. Dehydration, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, damage to vital organs, or blisters in the throat, are a few typical physical signs of the disease. Notably, the body weight of someone suffering from bulimia is usually in the normal range, and can even be higher than normal. Regardless, there will be obvious fluctuations in weight, both up and down. Depression and anxiety are also typical with bulimia.

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating is the most common eating disorder in the United States. It is similar to bulimia in that it involves recurring episodes of eating significantly more food in a short period of time than most people would under similar circumstances. However, people with binge eating disorder do not typically purge after an episode. Like bulimia, sufferers will say that they feel out of control. Symptoms include eating too quickly even when not hungry, feelings of guilt, embarrassment, or disgust. Many people occasionally overeat, and may even have feelings of guilt or embarrassment after. For this reason it is important to note that to be considered an eating disorder, the behavior has to occur at least once a week for three months.

Female Athletes and Eating Disorders

Individuals suffering from all three eating disorders can be difficult to identify. This is because they go to great lengths to eat alone and hide the behavior from others. With this in mind, it is important for the athletic trainer to understand the signs and keep an eye on their athletes. Studies show that female athletes are at the greatest risk. Perhaps this is because of the number of sports for women that emphasize slim bodies such as gymnastics, swimming, and track and field. Likewise, athletes that tend to be perfectionists, have obsessive-compulsive behavior, social withdrawal, depression, and high-achievers are at a greater risk for developing eating disorders.

Female Athlete Triad

Eating disorders in female athletes can lead to what is known as the “female athlete triad.” The triad’s three elements are eating disorders, the absence of a menstrual cycle, and osteoporosis or bone loss. Eating disorders can lead to chronic fatigue, dehydration, anemia, and decreased bone density as mentioned above. When this happens, there is less iron in the blood. Lower iron combined with less body fat can result in loss of menstrual cycles, or amenorrhea – defined as the absence of three or more consecutive menstrual cycles. In an effort to maintain menstruation, the body will begin to break down bone for nutrients. The result is osteoporosis – premature bone loss. One sign of osteoporosis in a female athlete is repeated stress fractures that don’t heal.

Treatment

Once a young person starts an eating disorder it is very difficult for them to stop. This is because they gain a false sense of control over situations that becomes addicting. Due to the severe health risks and possibility of death, it is critical to seek treatment as soon as possible. Treatment for eating disorders is different from person to person. The good news is that most eating disorders are treatable. With the help of a qualified health care professional, many people are able to recover and regain their health.

Prevention

Ultimately, prevention is best. With this in mind, athletic trainers can help by educating athletes about nutrition and weight. Helping young athletes understand that being skinnier isn’t always better for their performance can go a long way towards heading off an eating disorder. Furthermore, teaching athletes the difference between body fat and body weight helps to create a healthier self-image. Finally, coaches play a role as well, by taking the focus off body weight, eliminating group weigh-ins, recognizing individual size and shape differences, and acting on signs of eating disorders before they get worse.

Written by: Nicole Porter, MS, ATC, former athletic trainer for The Center Foundation . Learn more about our Team HERE.

The Center Foundation places dedicated athletic trainers in local high schools to provide sports medicine services to young athletes at no charge to the students or their families. Learn more about our work HERE.

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References:

1. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ (accessed online 12/12/2018)
2. Beals KA. Subclinical eating disorders in female athletes. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. 2000;71(7):23-29.
3. Pearson FC, Rivers TC. Eating disorders in female college athletes: Risk factors, prevention, and treatment. College Student Affairs Journal. 2006;26(1):30-44.
4. Feeding and Eating Disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
5. Beals KA, Brey RA, Gonyou JB. Understanding the female athlete triad: Eating disorders, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. J Sch Health. 1999;69(8):337-40.

 

Nutrition and rest are key when recovering from any injury. From a muscle strain to a concussion – providing your body with the optimal environment for healing is essential. When injured, your body becomes unbalanced, and requires more energy to heal. By being mindful of good nutrition and rest, you give your body the best chance for full recovery. The nutrients you need to recover, called macronutrients, are protein, fat and carbohydrates. Remember, the best and easiest way to get these nutrients into your body is by eating whole foods instead of processed or fast foods.

Proteins

Protein helps with muscle growth and prevents muscle breakdown. Healthy lean proteins include fish, white meat chicken and turkey, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs and lentils.

Fats

Studies have shown that healthy fats like those found in nuts, salmon, and avocados, help reduce inflammation in the body. They also improve mental function, protect heart health, and provide long-term energy. Great sources of healthy fats also happen to be delicious foods! Healthy fats can also be found in cooking oils such as olive and sunflower, and seeds like flax and chia.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the primary source of fuel for the body, and they are essential to giving the body the energy it needs to heal. Healing carbohydrates are the “complex carbohydrates” found in whole wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, quinoa, and lentils.

As you can tell from the lists of healthy macronutrients, some of these foods are the source of two or more macronutrients. This makes it easier to get more healing from the foods you are eating. By eating healthy sources of these three macronutrients, you help your body fight off the inflammation associated with injury, improve the body’s ability to heal injured muscle tissue, and give those injured tissues the energy they need to recover.

Rest

However, in addition to diet, plenty of sleep is vital to healing. Your body does the majority of its healing while asleep. Therefore, it is essential to get the best quality sleep you can when recovering from injury. While the required number of hours of sleep depends somewhat on the individual, experts recommend getting at least eight hours of sleep each night. So, when recovering from injury, don’t short yourself on sleep!

In summary, by providing your body with healthy foods and getting enough sleep, you can keep your body balanced as you heal from injury and fully support the body’s recovery process.

Written by: Tessa Cashman, ATC, athletic trainer for The Center Foundation and Bend Senior High School in Bend, Oregon. Learn more about Tessa HERE.

The Center Foundation places dedicated athletic trainers in local high schools to provide sports medicine services to young athletes at no charge to the students or their families. Learn more about our work HERE.

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References:

https://www.gssiweb.org/en/sports-science-exchange/Article/sse-117-protein-ingestion-prior-to-sleep-potential-for-optimizing-post-exercise-recovery
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4424767/
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/91/2/398/2843254
https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/diet/good-carbs-bad-carbs/
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/good-protein-sources#1

Ross Dexter is a native Central Oregonian and a graduate of La Pine High School. After high school, Ross left the area to attend Southern Oregon University. There, he studied Health and Physical Education while also competing in cross-country and track. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Ross’s love for athletics took him to Vancouver British Columbia to continue his education. In 2010, he completed a Master’s Degree in Human Kinetics at the University of British Columbia.

For the next several years, Ross worked in healthcare while simultaneously coaching at several institutions. His coaching experiences included University of British Columbia, Florida State University, St. Mary’s College, The University of California, Berkeley, and Bend’s own Summit High School. During this time, Ross developed a keen interest in athletic training as a profession. With this in mind, Ross decided to continue his education with the University of Idaho’s Athletic Training Program. There, he received both his Master’s of Science in Athletic Training and Doctor of Athletic Training degrees.

As part of his doctoral studies, Ross enjoyed the opportunity to develop the first athletic training program to serve the middle and high school students of Troy Idaho. Rewarding opportunities like this one helped him realize his belief in delivering the highest quality sports medicine services to young athletes. Ross was eager for the chance to return to Central Oregon and pursue his athletic training career with The Center Foundation and Summit High School.

When not at work, Ross is a kettle bell training enthusiast, an avid runner, cross-country skier, and fly fisherman. Ross is also looking forward to honing his paddle boarding skills. He is excited to be back in Central Oregon where he can enjoy all of his favorite activities.

First job?

Hydro-ceramic Technician (a.k.a, “dishwasher”) at Michael’s in Sunriver.

Favorite food?

The kind I am currently eating…but I especially enjoy Japanese cuisine.

Something quirky or interesting about you?

I have lived in 10 cities in 6 states and 1 province.

What is one thing you would like people to know about athletic trainers?

The value of Athletic Trainers to our patient population and the communities we work in. When we are utilized, supported, and collaborated with by our stakeholders, regardless of practice setting (e.g. secondary school, college and university, professional sports, industrial, police, fire, and military, and medical practices) Athletic Trainers save a great deal of resources, not only financially, but in the form of lost time from work, participation, etc.  Support your local Athletic Trainer!

 

Ross Dexter, DAT, MKin, LAT, ATC, CSCS is an athletic trainer with The Center Foundation and serves Summit High School in Bend, OR. Find out more about Ross and our entire athletic training team here.