Predicting NFL Success By What Draft Picks Say

Thankfully, the NFL Draft and all its hype is behind us.  The matchmaking is complete but the guessing game begins as to which team picked the right combination of athletic skill, mental toughness and leadership potential in their player selections.  Hundreds of hours of game film can be broken down to grade performance with X’s and O’s.  Objective athletic tests at the NFL combine rank the NCAA football draftees by speed and strengths, just as the infamous Wonderlic intelligence test tries to rank their brain power.  

However, despite all of this data, coaches and general managers often point to a player’s set of fuzzy personal qualities, dubbed the “intangibles”, as the ultimate tie-breaking determinant to future success in the league.

Always looking for the edge in this crystal ball forecasting, teams are turning to other technologies and methods that have been used in related assessment arenas in business and politics.  As any good self-improvement speaker will tell you, success leaves clues.  By studying established leaders, certain traits, attitudes and themes can be identified as consistent “bread crumbs” left behind for others to follow.  In the same way, potential leaders that don’t pan out also demonstrate patterns of behavior that can be linked to their less-than-hyped performance.

Now, a new tool is available to NFL front offices and, as with many high-tech innovations, they have the U.S. military to thank.  Achievement Metrics, a risk prediction service for the sports industry, now provides speech content analysis meant to give the odds of a budding superstar either rising into a leadership role or sinking into legal trouble based on just their public comments.  Their base technology grew out of the work that their sister company, Social Science Automation, has provided to the CIA and government agencies including profiles of possible terrorists, based on their use of language.

Using only the transcripts from a player’s recent college press conferences or interviews, the company’s computer algorithms find patterns in a player’s words and phrases.  Its not just a few vocabulary no-no’s that set off the alarms, but rather a pattern of selected triggers from a “hot list” of over 2000 words.  So, unlike the Wonderlic IQ test that might allow for some pre-test cram sessions to increase the score, this analysis is much more intricate and based on an athlete’s words from the past.  And, by using just the transcripts of speech, the tone, volume and pronunciation of the words don’t matter; simply the ideas and subconscious selection of phrasing.

Combining numerical text analysis stats such as word meanings and frequency with established psychological profiling theories, players can be categorized in dimensions such as need for power, level of self-centerdness, ability to affect destiny and many more.

Currently, the database includes an analysis of 592 NFL players’ speech patterns matched with their off-field behavior, both positive and negative, with a correlation algorithm.  As much as this seems like a scene from Minority Report and the fictional “Pre-Crime” department, the accuracy of the results are impressive, according to the company website:

-  89 percent (89 out of 100) of the players placed in the high-risk category have been arrested or suspended while in the NFL.

-  Even more striking, only 0.13 percent (two out of 1,522) of players categorized as low-risk have been arrested or suspended during their professional careers.

-  Of the players in the database who have been arrested or suspended while in the NFL, the models placed 98 percent (104 out of 106) in the intermediate- or high-risk category based on their football-related speech from college.

Below is the current scatter plot graph that shows the distribution of NFL subjects along a “bad behavior” continuum from their database.  Any college football player who ends up in Areas 3 or 4 after his speech analysis is not good news for his future employer.

 

Here is Roger Hall, Achievment Metrics’ CEO and psychologist, explaining the process at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference held in March:

As Hall notes in his presentation, quarterbacks can have a major influence on an NFL team, so there has been much focus on the 2011 crop of draft picks and their chances of success.  Not to leave us hanging, Hall recently released the analysis of this group alongside some of the established QBs in the league.  On the Y-axis is the Positive Power score, or the level of belief in self-controlled destiny and along the X-axis is Ingroup Affiliation or the level of team orientation.  If given a choice, a team would probably prefer their prospect to be in the Aaron Rodgers/ Philip Rivers quadrant rather than the Alex Smith/Matt Leinart quadrant.

Assessing off-field risk is only the beginning for this type of analysis as long as the correlation equals causation relationship is believed and backed up with more data.  While some old school scouts and evaluators will cling to their intuitions, more forward-thinking GMs will try any new angle to get the edge.  It may just turn out to be a $20 million edge.

See also: NFL Scouting Combine Not A Good Predictor of Draft Pick Success and Advertisers Live And Die With Superstar Endorsements

Running Out Of Memory

Diane Van Deren

While the idea of running a marathon seems life-changing in a “bucket list” kind of way, the drudgery of a serious training plan can generate some second thoughts.  Even though the details of the weekday workouts vary, the one staple of most plans is the weekend “long run.”  

Consisting of progressively more miles as race day nears, these runs of 15+ miles train not only the legs and heart but also the brain.  Breaking through mental barriers and learning how to deal with fatigue helps the marathoner talk back to his or her body and helps them get over the inevitable psychological wall during the race.  

In fact, our brains can offer us too much information during those hours on the road.  Knowing that you just started mile three of an 18 mile training run can be just as difficult as approaching mile 15 exhausted but having to dig deep for three more.  What if you could turn your brain off and just deal with the current moment; no looking back or forward?  It is something Diane Van Deren lives with every day.

One of the world’s best ultra-runners (as in races of 50 miles or more), Van Deren puts in more miles on her feet during a week than many cyclists do in the saddle.  She is a veteran and champion of some of the world’s toughest 50 mile, 100 kilometer and 100 mile races.

But Van Deren fights her own personal battle every day.  In 1997, after suffering for years from epileptic seizures, she made the tough decision to undergo a lobectomy.  By isolating and removing a damaged kiwi-size portion of the right temporal lobe of her brain, the seizures stopped but so did significant pieces of her short term memory.  Beyond just embarrassing lapses of names and faces, Van Deren would lose keys, directions and experiences before they could be filed away into her long term memory archive.

During her struggles with seizures, the former pro tennis player would escape to running in the foothills of the Rockies as this would ward off an oncoming episode.  Now, she no longer runs from the attacks and instead runs for the joy of competition against the best in the world. Yet, her new battle is navigation and making her way home since any recollection of her path is gone after a few more strides.  She uses a system of “bread crumbs” and clues to find her way back.

The fascinating aspect of her new memory condition is the lack of awareness of distance traveled and distance to go.  There are no pre-planned workout distances that she dutifully fulfills until she’s reached that day’s goal.  Of course, a GPS or pedometer could tell her how far she has gone, but she prefers the blissful ignorance of running only to the sound of her feet on the ground.

“It’s a kinesthetic melody that she hits,” Don Gerber, a clinical neuropsychologist at Craig Hospital, a rehabilitation hospital in Englewood, Colo said in a New York Times piece. “And when she hits it, she knows she’s running well.”

But does her lack of memory provide some type of advantage to her perception of fatigue?  If you were on a 20 mile run, but did not know how far you had gone or how far you had to go, would your brain sense the same fatigue signals from your muscles?

In an in-depth Runner’s World article, several neuroscientists debated whether Diane’s lack of awareness of her effort increases her tolerance of pain.  "It's a mental state," Gerber says. "You become enmeshed in what you're doing. It's almost Zen. She can run for hours and not know how long she's been going."  Others argue that its not that simple. Dr. William Theodore, chief of the clinical epilepsy division at the National Institute of Health commented, "Certain parts of the brain are related to pain, but they're very deep structures. They're almost never involved in epilepsy surgery."

Still, imagine your peace if you were able to tune out the constant jabber of your inner voice telling you how you should feel based on objective data like miles or hours endured.  For those that grew up in the Great White North, you might remember playing for hours in the winter snow, only to be told when you finally come in the house that it was -15 degrees outside.  Without that data, you’re left to just your body’s messages about how you feel.

To get a sense of that peace, the incredible Radiolab podcast caught up with Van Deren last month for an interview but also to capture the soothing sound of her feet padding along a trail with a matching rhythm of breaths.  Sometimes its worth it to turn off the iPod, the heart monitor and the GPS and just run, focused only on yourself.

Back To The Beginning

It was just over three years ago that I wrote a short article called "The Sports Cognition Framework" for my squeaky new blog.  It was one of the first five articles I had ever written and it shows.  However, it captured the core of my passion and interest which is reflected in the name I chose for this blog, Sports Are 80 Percent Mental.  Learning about the connections between skill, psyche, and tactics in sports remains my goal.

Between that simple start and today's post (#185 for those scoring at home), I have wandered all across the spectrum of sports science, sports medicine, sports psychology and fitness research.  Along the way, there was a weekly column for Livescience.com and a few dozen articles for Life's Little Mysteries.

However, the focus of my writing has become blurred.  In a quest to get freelance articles placed online and expand the readership of this blog, I've tried covering an ever-increasing universe of sports research.  As with many endeavors, it is time to refocus on the original intent of this project.  It is time to get back to the beginning.

Most importantly, I value and appreciate your loyal visits to this site and your tweeting, liking and linking of the articles you enjoy.  I hope that will continue but wanted to give you a heads-up that future articles will be centered on the core concept of sports cognition.  Focused quality over quantity will be my mantra.

To that end, what questions do you have?  Have you thought about this stuff, too?  To be more specific, currently in the sports training world there is the popular, yet more general theory of "practice makes perfect" skill development, along with practical mental coaching tips and tricks.  What drives me, though, is drilling down much further into the brain-body connection and picking apart the root causes of sports expertise.

The research is there, buried in academic journals.  If it can be extracted, explained and extended out to coaches, parents and players, then we can break down some traditional training myths while developing a better understanding of the sports we love.

So, my humble request is that you give the more specific 80% Mental a chance by visiting, keeping your RSS subscription, and joining the conversation both here and on our Facebook page.

Thanks!
Dan

P.S. My breakthrough to re-purpose my work was inspired by a new manifesto from Steven Pressfield, appropriately titled, Do The Work.  The Kindle version is now selling at the very reasonable price of free, thanks to Seth Godin and the Domino Project.  I highly recommend it!

Exercise Helps Older Brains - Now We Know Why

Research conducted at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine in Dallas suggests that it's never too late for women to reap the benefits of moderate aerobic exercise. In a 3-month study of 16 women age 60 and older, brisk walking for 30-50 minutes three or four times per week improved blood flow through to the brain as much as 15%.

Rong Zhang, the lead researcher in the study, discussed the team's findings in a presentation titled, "Aerobic exercise training increases brain perfusion in elderly women" at the Experimental Biology meeting (EB 2011), held April 9-13, 2011 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC.

At the beginning of the study, the researchers used Doppler ultrasonography to measure blood flow in the women's internal carotid arteries, which are located in the neck and supply the brain with necessary glucose and oxygen-rich blood. After assessing the women's physical health and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), which is the body's maximum capacity to transport and use oxygen during exercise, the team tailored training programs for each woman according to her fitness level.

Training started at a base pace of 50-60% of the participants' VO2 max for 30 minutes per session, three times per week. By the third month, the team had increased the sessions to 50 minutes each, four times per week, and added two more sessions at 70-80% of the women's VO2 max for 30 minutes.

At study's end, the team measured blood flow in the women's carotid arteries again and found that cerebral blood flow increased an average of 15% and 11% in the women's left and right internal carotid arteries, respectively. The women's VO2 max increased roughly 13%, their blood pressure dropped an average of 4%, and their heart rates decreased approximately 5%.

According to Dr. Zhang, the results provide insight into how vascular health affects brain health. "There are many studies that suggest that exercise improves brain function in older adults, but we don't know exactly why the brain improves. Our study indicates it might be tied to an improvement in the supply of blood flow to the brain."

A steady, healthy flow of blood to the brain achieves two things. First, the blood brings oxygen, glucose and other nutrients to the brain, which are vital for the brain's health. Second, the blood washes away brain metabolic wastes such as amyloid-beta protein released into the brain's blood vessels. Amyloid-beta protein has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Whether the increased blood flow to the brain improves learning and reasoning has yet to be determined, says Dr. Zhang. "I don't have the data to suggest a correlation between brain perfusion and cognitive function, but this is something we eventually will see after this study is completed," he says. "We do know there is strong evidence to suggest that cardiovascular risk is tied to the risk for Alzheimer's disease. We want to see how we can fight that."

Dr. Zhang stresses the importance of the finding that improvement in brain blood flow is possible in one's senior years. "We often start to see a decline in brain perfusion and cognitive function in the 60s and 70s. That's when the downward trajectory starts. We want to see how much we can do to reverse or delay that process."

Source:  American Physiological Society

You'll Also Like: Exercise Grows Kids' Brains, Literally and Exercise Pumps Up Your Brain

Workouts Have Gone Digital With TrainingPeaks.com

Gear Fisher, CEO of Peaksware

Along with everything else that is digital in our lives, our workouts are now captured in 0's and 1's.  Its not enough that we run, walk, bike or swim, we now have a need to capture data about our efforts so that we can benchmark, measure and improve our future performances.

Gear Fisher recognized this trend way back in 1999, before there were iPods, iPhones, Nike+ or wearable GPS.  He started his new Peaksware company with a simple website, which has now grown into TrainingPeaks.com, one of  the leading online exercise management tools.

I caught up with Gear, now CEO of Peaksware, recently to discuss this wave of digital sweat tracking and get his thoughts on the future of exercise.

Dan Peterson: There seems to be a data revolution going on in the fitness world, between
heart rate monitors, GPS, Nike+, and Web-based activity apps. How did we get
here and what's next on the horizon?

Gear Fisher: I think that’s very true, it’s been growing for 10 years, but really only the last 3 or 4
have we seen a major uptick in acceptance. When we started the company in 1999,
there were only a handful of companies with downloadable devices. What’s more, few
people knew what to do with the data. Today, with Garmin, Timex, iPhone and Android
apps, and the other big players, they’ve made it easier and easier to get the data off the
devices and into the cloud for analysis... and with amazing accuracy. Consumers now
expect a fitness device to be downloadable if they pay over $200.

With smartphones, its even easier to collect GPS data and get it to the cloud for storage, sharing and
analysis. In the future, it’ll get even easier, I would not be surprised to see implanted
sensors that monitor additional metrics like body temperature, hydration, hunger,
blood sugar, real-time aerodynamics.. in fact, its happening now! Tracking workouts,
monitoring nutrition, making fitness social, working with a coach, these are all key
components for an emerging market which is just now getting started. It’s gaining mass
market appeal and adoption because the big players like Nike are on-board too.
We’ve carved out a niche in the high-end endurance athlete and coach market, but
we’ll see the same approach trickle down to many other verticals. Like Formula 1 or
NASCAR, our customers are the early adopters of new ideas in managing fitness and
nutrition via the internet.

TrainingPeaks has really served as the test-bed for these new ideas. Some of these ideas are now starting to reach the mass market, just like the technology in the race car’s alternator makes its way to the production line a few years later. It’s an understatement to say that the fitness industry, and its broader umbrella, the health care industry, needs a major revamp, and we’re going to be part of that
revolution.

Dan: Professional coaches and elite athletes understand how to turn all of this
data into useful knowledge for performance improvement, but do you think the
weekend warriors are also ready and able to make sense of it?

Gear:  Yes, they are definitely eager and and interested. This is where we come in. Making
sense of data, using it as a motivator and to make decisions going forward. There are
a few books like Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan’s “Training and Racing with a Power
Meter” that focus entirely on making sense of the data. We’ve worked hard at “boiling
down” how a workout affected your physiology. This is the essence of Training Stress
Score (TSS). Providing a single, meaningful number for every workout that can be
compared and shared. But even without hard-core analysis, it’s fun to see a map of
your route and to replay and review what your output was like for a particular climb,
sprint or interval. There are a LOT of enhancements coming in the near future that
will continue to “make sense of the data” and provide meaningful daily insight into your
workouts and nutrition.

Dan: Can personal fitness coaches play a role in turning this data into improvement
for the average athlete?

Gear: Absolutely! Coaches are particularly adept at not only analyzing the data, but
deciding how it affects training and making decisions as to how an athlete should adjust
their training based on the information. A coach is a “data and motivation” professional.
Many age-groupers use coaches for the sheer benefit of time savings. There’s a lot
to learn, and a coach makes training time efficient and prevents mistakes. There is no
computer system that can provide you better results than working with a coach, in fact,
we often say the best way to use our software is with a coach.

Dan: What was the initial inspiration for Peaksware and its flagship product,
TrainingPeaks? How far have you come in meeting those initial goals?

Gear: In 1999, Joe and Dirk Friel asked me to build a web-based training log to replace their email/fax/paper system which they were using for their coaching company.
They had some early Filemaker Pro database tools, but it was clunky and nearly
impossible to get reliable and regular information back from clients. After I built the
initial web app, I proposed that we open up the systems to the public and start a
subscription business whereby athletes and coaches could use the same tools. That
started “TrainingBible.com”. Essentially, it was an online version of Joe’s very popular
TrainingBible book series. We then realized that if we made the systems more agnostic,
any coach with any methodology could use it. From there, we grew organically and I
quit my job about 2 years later to begin working on the company full time.

Since then, it’s been pretty remarkable, we have 30 people now, over 10 different software products
across desktop, mobile and web, and we’re growing faster than ever. It was a “right
time with the right product and right team” sort of moment, I’m lucky and proud to be
a part of it. It also feels like we’ve really just started. I often say that we are a 10 year
old start-up, because there is so much opportunity ahead and the industry is being
redefined continuously.

Dan: With so many sources of training data available to athletes, it seems
TrainingPeaks has positioned itself as the hub that can integrate all of these
different formats into a single repository. Is the training industry starting to agree
on some standards to make this easier?

Gear:  It is certainly core to our strategy to be the Switzerland of training data and training
methodology. We work with nearly all device manufacturers and even have as one of
our marketing slogans that we are the “One Source” to monitor, analyze and plan your
fitness and nutrition. As for a data standard? Not really. There is some consolidation,
but every hardware vendor seems to want to do their own thing. I have seen some
pretty good usage of the “.fit” binary file format that Dynastream (owned by Garmin) has
created and made available to the world. Even our own “.pwx” format has become fairly
popular and adopted by a few other software and hardware products. However, we’re
really not close to a standard.

Where I do see some conformance is in how data is saved on devices. More and more devices are simply acting like mass storage devices that can plugin via USB to any computer, instead of using proprietary drivers and such for custom downloading. Even better are those that simply send the data to the cloud and make the data available via an API. Currently, we support over 25 different file
formats through our own API, and we routinely see data from over 90 devices, so there
is still a lot of legacy and fragmentation.

Dan: Will there someday be a single device we can wear that collects everything
and feeds coaching information back to us in real-time out on the road?

Gear: There already is! A few different iPhone/Android apps that focus on real-time data
collection are already available today. SRM, the German power meter company, does
a real-time data feed during the Tour de France every year, allowing viewers to see
GPS location, heart rate, power, cadence, speed of many riders. I’m sure we’ll see a
lot more progress in this area too. It is somewhat hampered because of mobile phone
network latency/bandwidth issues and lack of mobile network coverage, but it’s an
exciting area that we are interested in.

Dan: Peaksware recently purchased the SprintGPS suite of apps to integrate with
TrainingPeaks. What does this mean for TrainingPeaks users?

Gear: We are committed to having world-class software for every screen, whether that’s
your smartphone, tablet or 24” monitor on your desk at the office. And, we want all of
our apps for every screen to integrate with each other seamlessly. These apps gave
us a platform to build out some killer new features and products, and we are already
well under way to extend them to Android. For a few dollars, customers can get the
apps and see what collecting fitness data is all about. A majority of our customerbase
still has no downloadable device. When you collect and add your own data
into TrainingPeaks and see the calendar and charts light up, it’s a very powerful and
compelling emotional connection to our software.

Our mobile apps make it incredibly easy to get data to the cloud. Because smartphones are truly computers in your pocket, they really open up a world of opportunity and we want to be there to provide those tools to our customers. We are seeing huge adoption of mobile, not only through
native apps, but also through our web-app, which can be accessed from nearly any
smartphone. I’m quite certain that we’ll have many customers in the future that
don’t even bother to use the traditional “browser” interface from a PC or Mac, they’ll
interact with their data entirely through mobile, and we’ll make sure it’s a world-class
experience.

Dan: For the first two days that the new apps went on sale in March, Peaksware
donated all proceeds, over $5000, to three charities, American Cancer Society’s
Determination, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training and
theNational Multiple Sclerosis Society’s BikeMS programs. What inspired this
gift?

Gear: When we acquired the apps from the original company, we thought we’d be able to
simply transfer the apps from the their iTunes store to our own iTunes store. However,
because of a legal snafu, Apple prevented us from doing so. It meant that all existing
SprintGPS users would have to obtain the apps all over again from our store in order
to continue receiving support and upgrades. Not ideal and a bit of a pain for existing
customers. So, when trying to decide how to manage this snafu, we tried to turn
lemons into lemonade, we didn’t want to force people to buy the apps all over again,
but if we had to, we thought it would be a great opportunity to raise money for charity.

We didn’t want the money from customers that had already paid for the app. Because
we didn’t have any supportable method to make the apps free again, we felt this was
a reasonable solution and our customers would be understanding of the position we
were in. So, although customers would have to re-buy the apps, we made the price 99
cents and donated it all to charity for the initial launch. It was a good way to raise some
money for these great partners of ours.

Dan: Living near the gorgeous Colorado scenery, do you sometimes head out for a
run or a ride with absolutely no data-gathering devices?!

Gear: Well, in fact, I do.. but I hate when it happens. Usually its because one of 10 different
devices that I have is not charged, I forgot it at the office or I can’t find it. Tracking my
data is a motivator for me, and it’s just so easy to record what you did using one of our
compatible devices.

For me, I’ve long given up my competitive racing past, and am
really out to just maintain fitness and have a good time with friends, and I enjoy looking
back at my workouts. It’s almost to the point where if I do a workout without a device, it
feels like it didn’t count! I need that motivation to get me out the door, and the fear of a
blank white TrainingPeaks calendar is what gets me out the door on many mornings!

Dan: Thanks, Gear!

Are Bank Shots Best In Basketball?

Its the final game of the NCAA basketball tournament and the basketball is in your hands. The score is tied and there are only a few seconds left on the clock. You have the ball about 10 feet away from the basket on the right side of the court, just outside the free-throw lane. It's decision time: Is it best to try a direct shot to win the game on a swish? Or do you use the backboard and bank home the winning basket?  Time's up; the buzzer sounds. Were you a hero or a goat?

New research by engineers at North Carolina State University show that you had a better chance of scoring that particular game-winning bucket with a bank shot than with a direct shot.

After simulating one million shots with a computer, the NC State researchers show that the bank shot can be 20 percent more effective when shooting at many angles up to a distance of about 12 feet from the basket. Bank shots are also more effective from the "wing" areas between the three-point line and the free-throw lane. However, straight-on shots -- those corresponding to the area around the free-throw line -- from further than 12 feet are not as well suited for bank shots.

The researchers also found the optimal points where the simulated made baskets were aimed. The results show the optimal aim points make a "V" shape near the top center of the backboard's "square," which is actually a 24-inch by 18-inch rectangle which surrounds the rim. Away from the free-throw lane, these aim points were higher on the backboard and thus further from the rim. From closer to the free-throw lane, the aim points were lower on the backboard and closer to the rim.

(Credit: Image courtesy of North Carolina State University)

The researchers also discovered that if you imagine a vertical line 3.327 inches behind the backboard and found where it crossed the aim point on the "V" shape on the backboard, you'd find the optimal spot to bank the basketball to score a basket.

"Basketball players can't take a slide rule out on the court, but our study suggests that a few intuitive assumptions about bank shots are true," says Dr. Larry Silverberg, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and the lead author of a paper describing the research. "They can be more effective than direct shots, especially from certain areas of the court -- and we show which areas on the court and where the ball needs to hit the backboard."

The researchers made a few assumptions while conducting the study. They used a men's basketball, which is slightly bigger and heavier than a women's basketball; launched the simulated shots from 6, 7, and 8 feet above the ground; and imparted 3 hertz of backspin -- which means three revolutions per second -- on the shots. The latter variable was shown in previous research to be optimal for successfully converting a free throw.


Source: North Carolina State University and Larry M Silverberg, Chau M Tran, Taylor M Adams. Optimal Targets for the Bank Shot in Men's Basketball. Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, 2011; 7 (1) DOI: 10.2202/1559-0410.1299

See also: NBA Teams Win With Ethnic Diversity and  Sports Fans Have Selective Memories

Are You Allergic To Spring Marathons?

As almost 40,000 runners get set to take part in next month's London Marathon, a new study has found that one in three will suffer from allergies after the event.  Post-marathon sniffles are a common complaint among runners, but they are often put down to infections taking advantage of a depleted immune system caused by the effort involved.

Now, however, researchers at Northumbria University have shown how far symptoms such as itchy eyes, a runny nose and congestion can be attributed to allergic reactions.

A team led by Dr Paula Robson-Ansley recruited 150 runners doing last year's London Marathon and asked them to complete a health questionnaire, take a blood test, and report on the symptoms they experienced up to three days after the event.

Eye and nose problems were reported by 61% of the runners sampled and subsequent blood tests to determine whether immunoglobulin E antibodies were present -- the telltale sign of an allergic reaction -- revealed that 35% of the runners were experiencing an allergy.

The study also found that 14% were specifically allergic to tree pollen. Tree pollen is particularly high in London in April as this is when pollen from high birch and London plane trees is released and tree-pollen counts had been high on the day of the 2010 marathon itself.

Dr Robson-Ansley comments: "These post-event sniffles might seem minor, but there are clear risks that people could go on to develop exercise-induced asthma and airway inflammation. Our survey also revealed that only 8% were taking anti-allergy medication so there is a clear gap between the number of people who could benefit from treatment and the number actually doing so."

In a further result that has implications for next year's Olympic Games, Dr Robson-Ansley found that 29% of the runners were showing an immunoglobulin E reaction to grass pollen.

"The Olympics are taking place during the peak grass-pollen period," she says, "so, if almost three out of ten people are potentially allergic to this common aeroallergen, it is a priority to have Olympic athletes tested before the games so an appropriate treatment regime can be put in place."

Dr Robson-Ansley's advice on athletes and asthma is as follows:

• If you think you have allergies, you need to find out as much as you can and develop a management plan.
• Ask yourself the following:
  • What time of year are you affected?
  • What causes your allergies (blood and skin-prick tests may be necessary)?
  • What are your normal symptoms?
• Consider using a corticosteroid nasal spray or a non-sedating antihistamine as a preventative measure. But be aware that it can take up to two weeks for the treatment to work fully (and avoid taking non-sedating antihistamines around competitions).
• Know your training and competition environment. Find out about typical pollen counts for the location and time of year. Tree pollen for example is usually released in the spring, grass pollen in late spring and early summer, and weed pollens in late summer into autumn.
• Try to minimise exposure to pollens by running when the pollen count is low (cooler and cloudy days are associated with lower pollen counts compared to warmer, drier days). Shower and wash your hair after outside exercise to get rid of residual pollen. Change your clothing and rinse your nose with salt-water washes after exercise.
• Remember that asthmatic athletes take medication regularly and according to instruction. Talk to your GP about whether you might need additional medication or to change your medication if you are training or competing in high pollen or in polluted environments.

Source: Northumbria University

See also: Cherry Juice At The Marathon Finish Line and Bad Air Affects Women More Than Men In Marathons

Body Checking In Youth Hockey Causes More Brain Injuries

Youth hockey players in the Atom division of Hockey Canada are more than 10 times likely to suffer a brain injury since bodychecking was first allowed among the 9 and 10-year-olds, says a study led by St. Michael's Hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano.

The findings, published online in the journal Open Medicine, add to the growing evidence that bodychecking holds greater risk than benefit for youth and support widespread calls to ban the practice.

According to the researchers, led by Cusimano, director of the Injury Prevention Research Centre at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, the odds of visiting an emergency department due to a brain injury from bodychecking increased significantly among all minor hockey players after Hockey Canada relaxed bodychecking rules in the 1998/1999 season. At that time, the organization allowed, for the first time, body contact among 9 and 10 year-olds in the Atom division.

The team examined the records of 8,552 male youth 6-17 years-old who attended one of five emergency departments in Ontario for hockey related injuries that occurred before and after the rule change. Researchers found more than half of hockey-related injuries were a result of bodychecking. What's more, the risk of a head or neck injury, including concussions, increased across all minor hockey divisions.
"Our work confirmed the fact that body checking is the most common cause of injury in hockey. While proponents argue lowering the age for bodychecking helps players learn how to properly bodycheck and reduces injuries at older ages, our study clearly showed the opposite ― the risk of all injuries and especially, brain injuries, increases with exposure to bodychecking," Cusimano said. "While all age groups showed increases in injuries, the youngest were the most vulnerable and that bodychecking puts youth unnecessarily at the risk of the long-term effects of brain injuries, such as cognitive and social-behavioural problems."

For some time, researchers like Dr. Cusimano have called on organizations like the NHL to take more leadership in reducing the incidence of brain injuries. In recent weeks, pressure has mounted on the NHL after Pittsburgh Penquins captain Sidney Crosby and Montreal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty suffered serious concussions that sidelined both players.

"Ice hockey is a sport with great potential to increase the health of individuals but practices that increase the risk for the vast majority of players must be minimized," Cusimano adds. "It is now very clear that there is no benefit to any one or any group to continue to allow bodychecking. Hockey organizers, sponsors, the media, coaches, trainers, and players and parents must come together to advocate for multifaceted approaches that include changes to the rules to reduce the risk of injury."

Source: St. Michael's Hospital and Michael D Cusimano, Nathan A Taback, Steven R McFaull, Ryan Hodgins, Tsegaye M Bekele, Nada Elfeki; Canadian Research Team in Traumatic Brain Injury and Violence. Effect of bodychecking on rate of injuries among minor hockey players. Open Medicine, Vol 5, No 1 (2011)

See also: New Return-To-Play Guidelines For Sports Concussions and Youth Sports Concussions Double In Last Ten Years

Research Says Don't Bother With Stretching Before You Run

Stretching before a run neither prevents nor causes injury, according to a study presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).  More than 70 million people worldwide run recreationally or competitively, and recently there has been controversy regarding whether runners should stretch before running, or not at all.

This study included 2,729 runners who run 10 or more miles per week. Of these runners, 1,366 were randomized to a stretch group, and 1,363 were randomized to a non-stretch group before running. Runners in the stretch group stretched their quadriceps, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius/soleus muscle groups. The entire routine took 3 to 5 minutes and was performed immediately before running.

The study found that stretching before running neither prevents nor causes injury. In fact, the most significant risk factors for injury included the following:

• history of chronic injury or injury in the past four months;
• higher body mass index (BMI); and
• switching pre-run stretching routines (runners who normally stretch stopping and those who did stretch starting to stretch before running).

"As a runner myself, I thought stretching before a run would help to prevent injury," said Daniel Pereles, MD, study author and orthopaedic surgeon from Montgomery Orthopedics outside Washington, DC. "However, we found that the risk for injury was the same for men and women, whether or not they were high or low mileage runners, and across all age groups. But, the more mileage run or the heavier and older the runner was, the more likely he or she was likely to get injured, and previous injury within four months predisposed to even further injury," he added.

Runners who typically stretch as part of their pre-run routine and were randomized not to stretch during the study period were far more likely to have an injury. "Although all runners switching routines were more likely to experience an injury than those who did not switch, the group that stopped stretching had more reported injuries, implying that an immediate shift in a regimen may be more important than the regimen itself," he added.

The most common injuries sustained were groin pulls, foot/ankle injuries, and knee injuries. There was no significant difference in injury rates between the runners who stretched and the runners who didn't for any specific injury location or diagnosis.

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

See also: Get Off The Treadmill And On The Trail and High Intensity Workout Gets The Job Done

Is There Bias In Selection Of March Madness Teams?

By examining historical data, statisticians in the College of Science at Virginia Tech have quantified biases that play a role in granting Division I at-large basketball teams inclusion in the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

Assistant professors Leanna House and Scotland Leman found that in addition to the standard Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) used by the 10-member selection committee, biases such as the team's marquee and the strength of its schedule also increase the entry odds for college basketball's tournament.

"We wanted to quantify how much bias there is for bubble teams," Leman said. So-named "bubble teams" are those that do not have an automatic bid but are still considered potential teams to be invited to the tournament. Usually bout 30 teams fall into this category.

One bias for bubble teams, House and Leman found, was consideration of the marquee (or pedigree) of the team. For instance, a team that historically has an outstanding record and is usually included in the tournament has that fact in its favor.

"Having a rich history of a spot in the tournament will 'break the tie,'" House said.  She and Leman found that inclusion probabilities were much higher for marquee teams. For example, in the 2009-10 season, the bias of not being a marquee team lowered Virginia Tech's chances of receiving an at-large bid from 0.83 to 0.31. During the 1999-2000 season, the marquee bias increased the University of North Carolina's chances from 0.32 to 0.85.

"UNC's marquee status during that season had a substantial influence on the committee's decision." Leman said. "Of that, I'm sure."

The statisticians also explored the influence a team's schedule has on its RPI in addition to its record. By using a hypothetical model, Leman and House determined that the more powerhouse teams a bubble team plays in a season, regardless of whether they win or lose, will help them win a bid in the tournament.
"Of course scheduling is a complex process and involves a lot of negotiation," Leman said. "But in cases where a coach is able to select to play a powerful team or a smaller, less powerful team, it is better to pick the power team. The rule of thumb is: the more powerhouse teams, the better."

At the beginning of each March Madness decision-making process, the selection committee is provided documentation that contains season statistics and the RPI for each team. Other measures of team strength are excluded.

"The RPI accounts for known, quantitative biases in raw winning percentages that may impact their ratings, but it has been shown repeatedly that raw winning percentages per team are not adequate for ranking teams," Leman said. "Tournament decisions made for teams with only moderately high RPIs (bubble teams), until now, were not clear."

Leman and House say their research was motivated by a chance meeting with Virginia Tech head basketball coach Seth Greenberg in a restaurant in the spring of 2010. At that time, Virginia Tech had not won a bid for the tournament. Greenberg suggested that he would like to know how tournament decisions are made for at-large teams.

The two statisticians, along with graduate assistants John Szarka and Hayley Nelson, stepped up to the challenge and have presented their conclusions just in time for this year's March Madness to begin.
"We don't want to create, improve, or validate a ranking system," House said. "Our goal was simply to evaluate how the selection committee has chosen teams for the tournament in the past."

Source: Virginia Tech

See also: For Sports Betting, The Crowd Usually Picks The Favorite and Sports Superstitions Just Might Work

Coaches Can Be Moral Role Models

Highly publicized ethical lapses by sports celebrities have raised questions about morality in athletics. If coaches help their athletes achieve peak physical performance, can they also teach their sports charges to make ethical choices?

New research from Concordia University has examined how coaches exert moral influence over athletes and how athletes respond. The study garnered data from 17 elite coaches who had once been athletes themselves.

The investigation found compelling evidence that coaches can provide important moral guidance for their athletic charges. "Coaches have a unique relationship with their athletes," says Sandra Peláez, who completed the study as part of her PhD thesis at Concordia's School of Graduate Studies and Department of Exercise Science.

"Coaches are mentors, parent figures, career enablers, and judges -- all at the same time," continues Peláez. "Every coach, however, doesn't influence every athlete he or she works with. The coach-athlete relationship is what enables a coach's influence and therefore determines how much influence a coach has. We found athletes would evaluate the relationship with their coaches and then decide whether to accept moral guidance or not."

Be good or be benched
Like most people, the study found athletes receive early moral direction from their parents. Yet as athletes become more engaged in sport, coaches become their most important source of moral guidance. This may be because athletes admire and trust their coaches. It may also be because coaches have significant power to enforce their standards, if only by "benching" players who do not adhere to rules.

While study participants agreed that moral influence was an important aspect of coach-athlete relationships, they found morality hard to define. In the course of the study, four core moral values emerged. These were "elite sports involvement" (e.g. discipline), "interaction with others" (e.g. respect), "self-related" (e.g. enjoying the sport) and "game" (e.g. striving to win).

Coaches' cultural backgrounds also influenced their definitions of morality. "Cultural differences are crucial -- and this study is the first to draw attention to this important point," says Peláez. "Things that are accepted in one culture are not accepted in others. For example, in some Eastern European countries, you are either training or you are in the hospital. If you skip practice, you will be punished because it's your moral obligation to be there. It's part of your commitment to your country, your teammates and your coach."

Moral concepts inherited
The study also broke new ground by showing that coaches inherit their moral values from their own coaches. Participants discussed moral issues using what their own coaches did as their frame of reference. Whether they copied these practices or criticized them, their understanding of morality was based on what they learned from their coaches when they were athletes.

"Getting coaches to articulate how they see their role -- how they feel they can influence the process -- is important," says Simon Bacon, a professor in Concordia's Department of Exercise Science and Sandra Peláez's thesis supervisor.

"Our study results will help us develop materials to increase moral behaviours in sports settings," he continues. "Many children participate in organised sport and spend considerable time with coaches. Understanding how coaches influence moral development and ultimately build character is important to society, as it offers another way to teach moral values."

Source: Concordia University

See also: Youth Sports Coaches Should Prioritize Teaching Over Winning and For Exercise, Kids Do As Parents Say Not As They Do

Overweight Kids Think Better After Exercise

Regular exercise improves the ability of overweight, previously inactive children to think, plan and even do math, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers report.  They hope the findings in 171 overweight 7- to 11-year-olds -- all sedentary when the study started -- gives educators the evidence they need to ensure that regular, vigorous physical activity is a part of every school day, said Dr. Catherine Davis, clinical health psychologist at GHSU's Georgia Prevention Institute and corresponding author on the study in Health Psychology.

"I hope these findings will help reestablish physical activity's important place in the schools in helping kids stay physically well and mentally sharp," Davis said. "For children to reach their potential, they need to be active."

To measure cognition, researchers used the Cognitive Assessment System and Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III that measure abilities such as planning and academic skills such as math and reading. A subset of the children received functional magnetic resonance imaging highlighting increased or decreased areas of brain activity.

MRIs showed those who exercised experienced increased brain activity in the prefrontal cortex -- an area associated with complex thinking, decision making and correct social behavior -- and decreased activity in an area of the brain that sits behind it. The shift forward appears consistent with more rapidly developing cognitive skills, Davis said.

And the more they exercised, the better the result. Intelligence scores increased an average 3.8 points in those exercising 40 minutes per day after school for three months with a smaller benefit in those exercising 20 minutes daily.

Activity in the part of their brain responsible for so-called executive function also increased in children who exercised. "In kids you just don't know what impact you are going to have when you improve their ability to control their attention, to behave better in school, to make better choices," Davis notes. "Maybe they will be more likely to stay in school and out of trouble."

Similar improvements were seen in math skills; interestingly, no improvements were found in reading skill. Researchers note that improved math achievement was "remarkable" since no math lessons were given and suggests longer intervention could produce even better results.

Children in the exercise program played hard, with running games, hula hoops and jump ropes, raising their heart rates to 79 percent of maximum, which is considered vigorous.

Cognitive improvements likely resulted from the brain stimulation that came from movement rather than resulting cardiovascular improvements, such as increased blood and oxygen supplies, Davis said. "You cannot move your body without your brain."

The researchers hypothesize that such vigorous physical activity promotes development of brain systems that underlie cognition and behavior. Animal studies have shown that aerobic activity increases growth factors so the brain gets more blood vessels, more neurons and more connections between neurons. Studies in older adults have shown exercise benefits the brain and Davis's study extends the science to children and their ability to learn in school.

About one-third of U.S. children are overweight. Davis suspects exercise would have a similar impact on their leaner counterparts.

Source: Medical College of Georgia and By Davis, Catherine L.; Tomporowski, Phillip D.; McDowell, Jennifer E.; Austin, Benjamin P.; Miller, Patricia H.; Yanasak, Nathan E.; Allison, Jerry D.; Naglieri, Jack A. Exercise improves executive function and achievement and alters brain activation in overweight children: A randomized, controlled trial.. Health Psychology, Vol 30(1), Jan 2011, 91-98

See also: Surprising Study Says Inactivity Not The Cause Of Childhood Obesity and Fit Kids Get Better Grades

For Sports Betting, The Crowd Usually Picks The Favorite

Point spreads -- the number of points by which a strong team can be expected to defeat a weaker team -- are supposed to reflect the "wisdom of crowds." But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that crowds don't have a clue.

"Point spread betting markets seem to offer an important example of crowd wisdom, because point spreads are very accurate and are widely believed to reflect the 'crowd's' prediction of upcoming sporting events," write authors Joseph P. Simmons (Yale University), Leif D. Nelson (University of California at Berkeley), Jeff Galak (Carnegie Mellon University), and Shane Frederick (Yale University). But previous research shows that bettors are biased in their predictions; their intuitions tend to favor "favorites" over "underdogs", in everything from NFL football to NCAA basketball betting.

The authors conducted a season-long investigation of the betting habits of enthusiastic NFL football fans from diverse regions of the United States. Participants wagered more than $20,000 on football games against point spreads that were manipulated to favor the underdog.

The authors first tested a hypothesis that crowds will wisely choose underdogs against spreads that disadvantage favorites. The bettors failed this test, predicting vastly more favorites (89 percent) than underdogs. Next, they found that even when bettors were warned that the spreads had been increased they still predicted favorites only slightly less often (83 percent).

"In this context, the temptation to rely on one's intuition is so strong as to lead people to rely on what they intuitively feel to be true (this favorite will prevail against the spread) rather than on what they generally know to be true (the favorite will usually lose against the spread)" the authors write. And it seems people have trouble learning from their mistakes: the crowd's predictions worsened over time, rather than getting better.

Finally, the researchers hit upon a method of eliciting better choices. "Asking people to predict point differentials rather than make choices against point spreads decreased reliance on faulty intuitions and produced vastly different, and vastly wiser, predictions against the spread," the authors conclude.


Source:  University of Chicago Press Journals and Joseph P. Simmons, Leif D. Nelson, Jeff Galak, and Shane Frederick. Intuitive Biases in Choice vs. Estimation: Implications for the Wisdom of Crowds. Journal of Consumer Research, June 2011

See also: TV Ratings A Better Predictor Of NFL Consumer Demand Than Attendance and ESPN Study Finds Retired NFL Players Are Heavy Users Of Pain Meds

Youth Baseball Pitchers Need To Stay Under 100 Innings Per Year

For years, sports medicine professionals have talked about youth pitching injuries and the stress the motion causes on developing bones and muscles. In a new, 10-year study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers showed that participants who pitched more than 100 innings in a year were 3.5 times more likely to be injured.

"The study proved a direct link between innings pitched in youth and adolescent baseball and serious pitching injuries. It highlights the need for parents and coaches to monitor the amount of pitching for the long-term success and health of these young athletes. We need to all work together to end the epidemic of youth sports injuries, and education through campaigns like STOP Sports Injuries is in excellent first step," said lead researcher, Glenn S. Fleisig, PhD, of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama.

The study followed 481 pitchers for 10-years (1999-2008). All were healthy, active youth (aged 9 to 14 years) baseball pitchers at the beginning of the study. Every year each participant was asked whether he played baseball in the previous 12 months and if so what positions, how many innings pitched, what types of pitches he threw, for what teams (spring, summer, fall, winter), and if he participated in baseball showcases. Each player was also asked every year if he had an elbow or shoulder injury that led to surgery or retirement from baseball.

During the 10-year span, five percent of the pitchers suffered a serious injury resulting in surgery or retirement. Two of the boys in the study had surgery before their 13th birthday. Only 2.2 percent were still pitching by the 10th year of the study.

"It is a tough balancing act for adults to give their young athletes as much opportunity as possible to develop skills and strength without exposing them to increased risk of overuse injury. Based on this study, we recommend that pitchers in high school and younger pitch no more than 100 innings in competition in any calendar year. Some pitchers need to be limited even more, as no pitcher should continue to pitch when fatigued," said Fleisig.

The study also looked at the trend of playing pitcher and catcher in the same game, which did appear to double or triple a player's risk of injury but the trend was not statistically significant. The study also could not determine if starting curveballs before age 13 increases the risk of injury.


Source:  American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and K. E. Wilk, L. C. Macrina, G. S. Fleisig, R. Porterfield, C. D. Simpson, P. Harker, N. Paparesta, J. R. Andrews. Correlation of Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit and Total Rotational Motion to Shoulder Injuries in Professional Baseball Pitchers. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010; DOI: 10.1177/0363546510384223

See also: Do Young Athletes Need Practice Or Genetics? A Conversation With Peter Vint and  Breaking Curveballs And Rising Fastballs Are Optical Illusions

ESPN Study Finds Retired NFL Players Are Heavy Users Of Pain Meds

Retired NFL players use painkillers at a much higher rate than the rest of us, according to new research conducted by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  The researchers say the brutal collisions and bone-jarring injuries associated with football often cause long-term pain, which contributes to continued use and abuse of painkilling medications.

The study is published online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. It involved 644 former NFL players who retired from football between 1979 and 2006. Researchers asked them about their overall health, level of pain, history of injuries, concussions and use of prescription pain pills.

The study found that 7 percent of the former players were currently using painkilling opioid drugs. That's more than four times the rate of opioid use in the general population. Opioids are commonly prescribed for their analgesic, or pain-relieving, properties. Medications that fall within this class of drugs include morphine, Vicodin, codeine and oxycodone.

"We asked about medications they used during their playing careers and whether they used the drugs as prescribed or whether they had ever taken them in a different way or for different reasons," says principal investigator Linda B. Cottler, PhD, professor of epidemiology in psychiatry at Washington University. "More than half used opioids during their NFL careers, and 71 percent had misused the drugs. That is, they had used the medication for a different reason or in a different way than it was prescribed, or taken painkillers that were prescribed for someone else."

Those who misused the drugs during their playing days were more likely to continue misusing them after retiring from football. Some 15 percent of those who misused the drugs as active players still were misusing them in retirement. Only 5 percent of former players who took the drugs as prescribed misused them after they retired from the NFL.

Cottler, director of the Epidemiology and Prevention Research Group in the Department of Psychiatry, says it's not clear from the study whether retired players became dependent on the drugs. What is clear from the survey, she says, is that retired NFL players continue to live with a lot of pain.
"The rate of current, severe pain is staggering," she says. "Among the men who currently use prescription opioids -- whether misused or not -- 75 percent said they had severe pain, and about 70 percent reported moderate-to-severe physical impairment."

Pain was one of the main predictors of current misuse. Another was undiagnosed concussion. Retired NFL players in the study experienced an average of nine concussions each. Some 49 percent had been diagnosed with a concussion at some point during their playing careers, but 81 percent suspected they had concussions that were not diagnosed. Some players believed they may have had up to 200 concussions during their playing days.

"Many of these players explained that they didn't want to see a physician about their concussions at the time," says Simone M. Cummings, PhD, a senior scientist in psychiatry who conducted phone interviews with the former players. "These men said they knew if they reported a concussion, they might not be allowed to play. And if you get taken out of a game too many times, you can lose your spot and get cut from the team."

She says players with suspected-but-undiagnosed concussions reported they borrowed pills from teammates, friends or relatives to treat the pain themselves, thus misusing opioids in an attempt to remain in the NFL. Although 37 percent of the retired players reported that they had received opioids only from a doctor, the other 63 percent who took the drugs during their NFL careers admitted that on occasion they got the medication from someone other than a physician.

Retired players currently misusing opioid drugs also are more likely to be heavy drinkers, according to Cottler.  "So these men are at elevated risk for potential overdose," she says. "They reported more than 14 drinks a week, and many were consuming at least 20 drinks per week, or the equivalent of about a fifth of liquor."

The ESPN sports television network commissioned the study, which also was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The ESPN program "Outside the Lines" spoke informally to many retired players about their use of painkillers. One reported taking up to 1,000 Vicodin tablets per month. Another reported ingesting 100 pills per day and spending more than $1,000 per week on painkillers.
Former St. Louis Rams offensive lineman Kyle Turley said in a statement to ESPN that he knew of many players who took drugs to help them deal with the pain inflicted by the injuries they sustained in the NFL.

"I know guys that have bought thousands of pills," Turley said. "Tons of guys would take Vicodin before a game."

The researchers say offensive linemen had particularly high rates of use and misuse of opioids.
"The offensive linemen were twice as likely as other players to use or misuse prescription pain medicines during their NFL careers," Cottler says. "In addition, this group tends to be overweight and have cardiovascular problems, so they represent a group of former players whose health probably should be monitored closely."

In fact, Cottler says it would be a good idea to continue monitoring everyone who has played in the NFL. She says this study revealed that some 47 percent of retired players reported having three or more serious injuries during their NFL careers, and 61 percent said they had knee injuries. Over half, 55 percent, reported that an injury ended their careers.

"These are elite athletes who were in great physical condition when their playing careers began," she says. "At the start of their careers, 88 percent of these men said they were in excellent health. By the time they retired, that number had fallen to 18 percent, primarily due to injuries. And after retirement, their health continued to decline. Only 13 percent reported that they currently are in excellent health. They are dealing with a lot of injuries and subsequent pain from their playing days. That's why they continue to use and misuse pain medicines."

Source:   Washington University School of Medicine and Linda B. Cottler, Arbi Ben Abdallah, Simone M. Cummings, John Barr, Rayna Banks, Ronnie Forchheimer. Injury, pain and prescription opioid use among former NFL football players. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.12.003

See also:  NFL Concussions Taking Bigger Toll On Players and NFL Linemen Trade Health For Super Bowl Rings

After The Game, Get Off The Couch

Spending too much leisure time in front of a TV or computer screen appears to dramatically increase the risk for heart disease and premature death from any cause, perhaps regardless of how much exercise one gets, according to a new study published in the January 18, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Data show that compared to people who spend less than two hours each day on screen-based entertainment like watching TV, using the computer or playing video games, those who devote more than four hours to these activities are more than twice as likely to have a major cardiac event that involves hospitalization, death or both.

The study -- the first to examine the association between screen time and non-fatal as well as fatal cardiovascular events -- also suggests metabolic factors and inflammation may partly explain the link between prolonged sitting and the risks to heart health.
The present study included 4,512 adults who were respondents of the 2003 Scottish Health Survey, a representative, household-based survey. A total of 325 all-cause deaths and 215 cardiac events occurred during an average of 4.3 years of follow up.

"People who spend excessive amounts of time in front of a screen -- primarily watching TV -- are more likely to die of any cause and suffer heart-related problems," said Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, MSc, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, United Kingdom. "Our analysis suggests that two or more hours of screen time each day may place someone at greater risk for a cardiac event."

In fact, compared with those spending less than two hours a day on screen-based entertainment, there was a 48% increased risk of all-cause mortality in those spending four or more hours a day and an approximately 125% increase in risk of cardiovascular events in those spending two or more hours a day. These associations were independent of traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, BMI, social class, as well as exercise.

The findings have prompted authors to advocate for public health guidelines that expressly address recreational sitting (defined as during non-work hours), especially as a majority of working age adults spend long periods being inactive while commuting or being slouched over a desk or computer.

"It is all a matter of habit. Many of us have learned to go back home, turn the TV set on and sit down for several hours -- it's convenient and easy to do. But doing so is bad for the heart and our health in general," said Dr. Stamatakis. "And according to what we know so far, these health risks may not be mitigated by exercise, a finding that underscores the urgent need for public health recommendations to include guidelines for limiting recreational sitting and other sedentary behaviors, in addition to improving physical activity."

Biological mediators also appear to play a role. Data indicate that one fourth of the association between screen time and cardiovascular events was explained collectively by C-reactive protein (CRP), body mass index, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol suggesting that inflammation and deregulation of lipids may be one pathway through which prolonged sitting increases the risk for cardiovascular events. CRP, a well-established marker of low-grade inflammation, was approximately two times higher in people spending more than four hours of screen time per day compared to those spending less than two hours a day.

Dr. Stamatakis says the next step will be to try to uncover what prolonged sitting does to the human body in the short- and long-term, whether and how exercise can mitigate these consequences, and how to alter lifestyles to reduce sitting and increase movement and exercise.

Source:  American College of Cardiology and Emmanuel Stamatakis, Mark Hamer, and David W. Dunstan. Screen-Based Entertainment Time, All-Cause Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events: Population-Based Study With Ongoing Mortality and Hospital Events Follow-Up. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2011; 57: 292-299 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2010.05.065

See also: Exercise - The Cure For The Common Cold and Training In The Heat Even Helps Competing In Cool Temps

How Fast Can Fast Get?

Running and swimming records are broken again and again at almost every international athletics event. But, can human performance continue to improve indefinitely? Will runners continue to accelerate off the starting blocks and reach the finish line in faster and faster times? Will swimmers always be able to dive into the record books with a quicker kick?

Writing in the International Journal of Applied Management Science, researchers from South Korea have analyzed data from sports events over the last one hundred years and have calculated that we could reach the upper limits on elite human performance within a decade.

Yu Sang Chang and Seung Jin Baek of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management in Seoul used non-linear regression models to accurately extrapolate the data from 61 running and swimming events. They have found the "time to limit" to be somewhere between 7.5 and 10.5 years. So, we may still see records being broken at the 2012 Olympics in London and perhaps at Rio 2016, but after that...who knows? The researchers believe their discovery of a "time to limit" has a number of policy implications for the local and national sport associations as well as for the international rule-setting federations.

Of course, US swimmer, Michael Phelps famously proclaimed that, "You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get." Phelps has set around 40 world records. Sprinter Usain Bolt of Jamaica, similarly shaves split seconds from his 100-metre time almost every time he runs. Countless researchers have previously suggested that humans have a performance limit, Bolt's 9.58 second 100m shattered the previous theoretical running speed limit of 9.60s suggested 40 years ago.

"The limit of speed in sport events has been a popular topic for the public because watching athletes setting new records to win is exciting and stimulating for many sport fans," Chang and Baek suggest. "In addition, setting new world records may even be inspiring to the public because the process of improving and winning the competition reminds them of what they can accomplish in their own life."

Other researchers have criticized the use of linear regression to extrapolate to a limit. However, the present work uses the officially recognized world records on 61 sporting events during the period from 1900 to 2009. (29 running and 32 swimming events all at the Olympic level. "Therefore, this study may be the most comprehensive study undertaken so far," the researchers say.

Their statistical analysis suggests that improvements in running and swimming are slowing down and will eventually reach a maximum in the time period they suggest. However, their analysis does not take into account changes in the rules, measurements, and environmental conditions. If the governing federations move the starting blocks as it were, Phelps' prediction that there are no limits may come true and athletes will continue to make a splash in the record books indefinitely.

Source:  Inderscience Publishers  and Yu Sang Chang, Seung Jin Baek. Limit to improvement in running and swimming. International Journal of Applied Management Science, 2011; 3: 97-120

See also: The Fastest Man On No Legs and Usain Bolt Can Be Even Faster, Researchers Claim

Artificial Intelligence Gets A Kick From Soccer Androids

The world's best players may soon be facing a new challenge from football playing robots, which their creators claim will be able to play and beat a human team. According to new research in WIREs Cognitive Science, building robots to play football is driving the development of artificial intelligence and robotic technology which can be used for roles including search and rescue and home help.

The author, Claude Sammut, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems in Sydney, reviewed the technology demonstrated at the RoboCup international robot soccer competition which this year took place in Singapore. Competitions have become a popular way for motivating innovations in robotics and provide teams of scientists with a way of comparing and testing new methods of programming artificial intelligence (AI).

"Football is a useful task for scientists developing robotic artificial intelligence because it requires the robot to perceive its environment, to use its sensors to build a model of that environment and then use that data to reason and take appropriate actions," said Sammut. "On a football pitch that environment is rapidly changing and unpredictable requiring a robot to swiftly perceive, reason, act and interact accordingly."

As with human players football also demands communication and cooperation between robotic players and crucially requires the ability to learn, as teams adjust their tactics to better take on their opponents.
Aside from football the competition also includes leagues for urban search and rescue and robotic home helpers which take place in areas simulating collapsed buildings and residential homes, revealing the multiple use of this technology.

While a football pitch layout is structured and known in advance, a search and rescue environment is highly unstructured and so the competition's rescue arena presents developers with a new set of challenges. On the football pitch the robots are able to localize and orientate themselves by recognising landmarks such as the goal post, yet in a rescue situation such localization is extremely difficult, meaning that the robot has to simultaneously map its environment while reacting and interacting to the surroundings.

In the home help competitions the robot is programmed to recognise appliances and landmarks which will be common in most homes, but in addition to orientating themselves they must react and interact with humans.

As the robotic technology continues to develop the rules of the competitions are altered and made harder to encourage innovation, it is the organisers' aim that this will drive the technology to a level where the football playing robots could challenge a human team.

"In 1968 John McCarthy and Donald Michie made a bet with chess champion David Levy that within 10 years a computer program could beat him," concluded Sammut. "It took a bit longer but eventually such programs came into being. It is in that same spirit of a great challenge that RoboCup aims, by the year 2050, to develop a team of fully autonomous robots that can win against the human world soccer champion team."

So while, for the moment, football players can focus on beating each other to lift silverware, tomorrow they may be facing a very different challenge.

Source: Claude Sammut. Robot soccer. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2010; DOI: 10.1002/wcs.86 and  Wiley - Blackwell

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See also: Soccer Robots Are Getting Smarter At RoboCup and Soccer Robots Getting Smarter At RoboCup

Computerized Concussion Testing Yields More Cautious Return To Play Timeline

When computerized neuropsychological testing is used, high school athletes suffering from a sports-related concussion are less likely to be returned to play within one week of their injury, according to a study in The American Journal of Sports Medicine. Unfortunately, concussed football players are less likely to have computerized neuropsychological testing than those participating in other sports.

A total of 544 concussions were recorded by the High School Reporting Information Online surveillance system during the 2008-2009 school year. Researchers looked at each of those instances to see what caused the injury, what sport was being played, what symptoms were experienced, what type of testing was used, and how soon the athletes returned to play.

When looking at the causes and duration of concussions, the research found that:

* 76.2% of the concussions were caused by contact with another player, usually a head-to-head collision
* 93.4% of concussions caused a headache; 4.6% caused loss of consciousness
* 83.4% experienced resolution of their symptoms within a week, while 1.5% had symptoms that lasted longer than a month.

Computerized neuropsychological testing was used in 25.7% of concussions, and in those cases, athletes were less likely to return to play within one week, than those athletes for whom it was not used. Interestingly, however, researchers found that injured football players were less likely to be examined using the computerized neuropsychological testing than injured athletes participating in other sports.

"Although it is now recognized as one of 'the cornerstones of concussion evaluation,' routine neuropsychological testing in the setting of sports-related concussion is a relatively new concept," write the authors, William P. Meehan III, MD, Pierre d'Hemecourt, MD, and R. Dawn Comstock, PhD. "This is the first study, of which we are aware, to query the use of computerized neuropsychological testing in high school athletes using a large, nationally representative sample."

Source: High School Concussions in the 2008-2009 Academic Year: Mechanism, Symptoms, and Management. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010; 38 (12): 2405 DOI: 10.1177/0363546510376737

See also: NFL Concussions Taking Bigger Toll On Players and Football Players May Still Injure Brain Even Without A Concussion