Melbourne Cricket Ground

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

On Sunday (17/11/2013) I had the opportunity to attend Open Day at the MCG which was celebrating 175 years of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC).  The MCC was founded on 15^th November 1838 when five men agreed to form a cricket club in Melbourne.  The MCG itself was built 15 years later in 1853 and is colloquially known as the ‘G.  Over the last 160 years the MCG has hosted numerous sporting events, including cricket and Australian football (AFL), but also the Melbourne Olympics (1956) and Commonwealth Games (2006). 

With a capacity of 100,024 seats the atmosphere created in this stadium is intense, spine-tingling, dramatic, emotional, just ‘marvellous’ as Richie Benaud would say.  Being based in Brisbane I have only been to the MCG a handful of times, but it is always a memorable experience.  My favourite memory would have to be the finish of the women’s marathon in the 2006 Commonwealth Games when the late Australian Kerryn McCann entered the ‘G and  won against Kenyan Hellen Koskei  in a sprint finish in front of 90,000 cheering fans. 

So after a miserable week of cold, wet and windy weather, the weather and sporting gods brought out an almost perfect, sunny, 23 degree day for Open Day.  Guided tours of the MCG can be taken throughout the week, but  Open Day allowed the general public FREE access to a self-guided tour of one of the best sporting stadiums in the world.  Visitors were able to wander through the Long Room (normally limited to members) and the Committee Room, view the Cricket Nets, sit in the Cricket Viewing Rooms (very comfortable!), inspect the change rooms, medical facilities and press room, enjoy the view from the media centre and press box (one of the best seats in the house) and probably the highlight for many; walk or kick the footy on the hallowed MCG grass!

Open Day was certainly a popular event (thousands attended), and at times it felt a bit like you were in a cattle yard.  I would recommended the guided tour for those interested in seeing the MCG as the MCC guides are a wealth of knowledge and you are able to spend much more time in each area of the stadium.  The only thing you would miss out on is being able to walk on the field.      

The next big event at the MCG will be the Boxing Day Ashes Test match between Australia and England.  Hopefully by this time, the Aussies will be leading the series! 

Below are some photos from the day. 

LB

 

 

View of Melbourne’s sporting precinct from the Eureka Skydeck – 88 floors up.

 

View from the members dining room.

 

Just a few people on the field.

 

Bill Lawry Cricket Nets. 

 

Medical Rooms next to Players Change Rooms.

 

Statue of Australian sprinter Betty Cuthbert outside the MCG.

 

 

Injury Prevention

ANKLE SPRAINS

Ankle injuries are one of the most common injuries seen at sports medicine clinics.  Ankle sprains are the most common type of ankle injury, with injury predominantly involving the lateral ankle ligaments following a plantar flexion - inversion stress.   Ankle sprains are particularly prevalent in the sports of Australian Rules Football (AFL), basketball, soccer and netball (1).  Health care and socioeconomic costs associated with ankle sprains are significant both during initial management and post-injury.  Many people who have ankle sprains suffer from residual problems such as instability, weakness, activity restriction and osteoarthritis (2).    Injury prevention is thus pertinent to the athlete and society. 

RISK FACTORS

Risk factors can be classified as intrinsic or extrinsic.  Intrinsic factors are inherent to the athlete and can be modifiable (e.g. strength, flexibility, skill level) or non-modifiable (age, gender, genetics).  Extrinsic factors are not inherent to the athlete and include training load, equipment and the environment. 

Previous ankle injury has been shown, by a number of studies, to be a significant risk factor for recurrent ankle injuries (3).  A recent review of risk factors by Noronha et al., (2006) suggested that preliminary evidence shows reduced ankle dorsiflexion range of motion may increase the risk of ankle sprains.  This is supported by the research findings of Willems et al., (2005).

The literature is divided on other proposed risk factors including athlete height and weight, limb dominance, joint laxity, muscle strength, reaction times and postural sway (3). 

A small study by Beynnon (2001) found that women with increased tibial varum and calcaneal eversion range of motion are at greater risk of suffering ankle ligament injury, while men with talar tilt are at greater risk. 

Baumhauer et al., (1995) reported college athletes with greater plantar flexion strength and smaller dorsiflexor to plantar flexor strength ratios had an increased number of inversion ankle sprains.  The 2006 review by Noronha et al., suggested postural sway and proprioception may be predictors of ankle sprain, however the quality of the studies reviewed makes it difficult to draw conclusions. 

There is no evidence to suggest shoe type affects ankle injury rates in basketball.  However, in soccer there appears to be a relationship between cleats and playing surface, but this requires further research (4).

PREVENTATIVE STRATEGIES

The last Cochrane review of preventative measures against ankle sprains was published by Handoll et al., in 2001.  A number of studies had and have since investigated prophylactic ankle bracing or strapping and balance or proprioceptive training programs as preventive measures.  

There is now extensive evidence that both bracing and strapping decrease the incidence of ankle sprains.  These interventions appear most effective in those who have previously sprained an ankle and are important in preventing recurrent ankle sprains (5).  The financial and time costs of bracing versus strapping must be considered.   In the long term bracing is more economical than strapping (6)

There is strong evidence that balance training is effective in reducing the risk of ankle sprain.  Again this appears to be more effective in those with previous ankle sprains (7).  Typically balance training programs have focussed on single leg stance activities as well as utilising balance boards, foam pads, hopping and jumping tasks and technical training (McKeon & Mattacola, 2008). Balance programs have varied between studies and were implemented for between four weeks and two years.   There is no consensus on optimal length of training or the optimal time to implement a training program. 

A recent review by (8) suggests shoe type does not play an important role in injury prevention. 

PREVENTION PROGRAM

My recommendations are:

1)   For athletes who have never sprained an ankle, it would be the athlete’s choice to use an external ankle support. There is no harm in the athlete wearing a brace or strapping, so it may be beneficial to do so prophylactically.  For example, a club may implement compulsory bracing in an attempt to minimise time and money lost to injury. 

2)  All athletes who have had an ankle sprain within the last 2 years should use ankle strapping or bracing.  Two years after injury, injury risk appears to be similar to those who have never had a previous ankle sprain (7, 9) so after this time it would return to being the athlete’s choice. 

3)  Teams should implement a neuromuscular and balance program which would include education about injury mechanisms and technique, single leg stance tasks, balance board exercises and sports specific drills (10-12).   This would begin as an extensive training program during the pre-season.  It would then be reduced, but still continued during the competition season and could easily be directed within a standard training session. 

4)    All previous ankle sprains should be identified and treated as an important part of preventing recurrent ankle sprains.  Treatment should target the active stabilising system, which emphasis on sensorimotor control as well as dorsiflexion range of motion. 

LB REFERENCES

1. Fong D, Hong Y, Chan L. A systematic review on ankle injury and ankle sprain in sports. Sports Medicine. 2007;37(1).

2. Braun B. Effects of ankle sprain in a general clinic population 6 to 18 months after medical evaluation. Archives of Family Medicine. 1999;8.

3. Beynnon B, Murphy D, Alosa D. Predictive factors for lateral ankle sprains: a literature reviewq. Journal of Athletic Training 2002;37(4).

4. O'Connor AM, James IT. Association of lower limb injury with boot cleat design and playing surface in elite soccer. Foot and ankle clinics. 2013 06/;18(2):369-80.

5. McKeon P, Mattacola C. Interventions for the prevention of first time and recurrent ankle sprains. Clinics in Sports Medicine. 2008.

6. Chung-Wei C, Kimi U, Veerle M, Kerkhoffs G, van Tulder M. Economic evaluations of diagnostic tests, treatment and prevention for lateral ankle sprains: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2012.

7. Bahr R, Lian Ø, Bahr IA. A twofold reduction in the incidence of acute ankle sprains in volleyball after the introduction of an injury prevention program: a prospective cohort study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 1997;7(3):172-7.

8.Verhagen E, Bay K. Optimising ankle sprain prevention: a critical review and practical appraisal of the literature. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2010;44.

9. Beynnon B, Renstrom P, Alosa D, Baumhauer J, Vacek P. Ankle ligament injury risk factors: a prospective study of college athletes. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. 2001;19.

10. Petersen W, Braun C, Bock W, Schmidt K, Weimann A, Drescher W, et al. A controlled prospetive case control study of a prevention training program in female handball players: the German experience. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2005;125.

11. Verhagan E, van der Beek A, Twisk J, Bouter L, Bahr R, van Mechelen W. The effect of a proprioceptive balance board training program for the prevention of ankle sprains. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2004;32(6).

12.Thacker A, Stroup D, Branche C, Gilchrist J, Goodman R, Weitman E. The prevention of ankle sprain in sports - a systematic review of the literature. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 1999;27(6).

Golf

GOLF JARGON

Congratulations to Queenslander Adam Scott, who yesterday won the Australian PGA Championships, played at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.  This wins caps off a successful year for Scott who also won the US Masters, the Australian Masters and the Australian Open.  He is ranked number 2 in the world behind Tiger Woods.

Golf seems to have its own language and jargon is used extensively in the sport.  As a sports physiotherapist I think it’s important to understand these terms so you can communicate effectively with your athlete and coach.  So here’s a list of the basics to get your head around:

The Golf Course

1 = teeing ground: area at the beginning of a hole from which the first stroke is taken
2, 6 = water hazard: area of water on the course
3 = rough: longer and thicker grass
4 = out of bounds: area outside the course
5 = bunker/sand trap: depression in the ground covered with sand  7 = fairway: area of the course between the tee and the green
8 = putting green: area around the hole with very short grass
9 = pin/flag stick: marks the hole
10 = hole/cup

Picture from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Golf_field.svg

 

Equipment

Caddie: person who carries the player’s clubs and may offer advice
Tee: a stand to support the stationary ball for the first stroke at each hole
Club: composed of a shaft with a grip and a clubhead.  Made of various materials
   Woods: used to long-distance shots
    Irons: Versatile, used for a variety of shots.  Numbered from 1-11 corresponding to their loft angle
   Wedge: a sub-class of irons with a greater loft angle.  Used for short distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy shots
   Putters: short distance, roll the ball into the hole

 

Shots

Backswing: body rotates club backwards (wind up)
Downswing: body moves the club from the top of the swing to the point of impact
Chip: A short shot that travels through the air then rolls to the hole
Hook: A shot that initially takes a trajectory opposite to the side of the golf ball from which the player swings but eventually curves sharply back towards the player
Jab: A putting stroke that is short and quick
Lay Up: A stroke played to position the ball in a certain spot
Putt: A shot played on the green
Shank: A horrible shot that doesn’t go where the player intended
Slice: A shot that initially takes a trajectory on the same side of the golf ball from which the player swings but eventually curves sharply back opposite of the player.
Zinger: A ball hit high and hard

Scoring

Par: Standard number of shots for the hole
Ace: A hole in one
Condor: 4 under par shot (also be called “triple eagle")
Albatross: 3 under par score (also known as a “double eagle”)
Eagle: 2 under par score
Birdie: 1 under par score
Bogie: 1 over par score

If you (both players and physios) want to know more on golf, then I would highly recommend Sports Physiotherapist Michael Dalgleish and The Golf Athlete http://www.thegolfathlete.com/

LB

 

 

References:
http://www.golftoday.co.uk/golf_a_z/articles/glossary.html#o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_glossary

  

Athletics

1500m Classic

Last night I attended the Intraining and Nike 1500m Classic held at the University of Queensland (UQ).  UQ has an Olympic standard track thanks to renovations after the 2011 flood.  The afternoon and night program included primary, secondary and open athletes, and it was also great to see a large crowd in the stands on an almost perfect spring Brisbane night.   

I am definitely a biased supporter of Nick Toohey who I have worked with over the last two years and it was great to see him win back to back titles last night, and make it four wins in total.  Nick will be aiming to make the Commonwealth Games team for Scotland 2014 early next year.    

You can follow Nick’s journey at www.the3rd200.wordpress.com

 

Results below:

Women 1500m Open Elite

1  McGowan, Brittany 22 University of Qld 4:25.45

2  Burdon, Olivia 15 Maroochy 4:29.04

3  Lund, Isabel 17 Gold Coast Victory 4:33.35

 

Men 1500m Open Elite

1  Toohey, Nicholas 25 Pacific 3:50.05

2  Elliott, Jackson 31 Gold Coast Victory 3:50.68

3  Curran, Jack 19 QA 3:51.07

 

Congrats Nick!

LB

A New Knee Ligament?

It's fascinating how little we know about the human body.  Could there be an anterolateral ligament (ALL) in the knee?  How did we miss it and why could it be important? 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131105081352.htm

Journal Reference:

Steven Claes, Evie Vereecke, Michael Maes, Jan Victor, Peter Verdonk, Johan Bellemans. Anatomy of the anterolateral ligament of the knee. Journal of Anatomy, 2013; 223 (4): 321 DOI:

Rock Tape

 

Rock Tape

Most people have seen coloured strapping tape applied to athletes during tennis, rugby, beach volleyball and many other sports.  There are many brands of this dynamic tape, including Kinesiology Tape, RockTape, SpiderTech.  I have completed level 2 training in Kinesiology Taping and have assisted in teaching on Rock Tape courses.  Revive Ashgrove is holding an introduction to Rock Tape course if you are interested in learning more.  Details below.

 

LB

 

 

 

Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup

 

 

 

Today the 153^rd Melbourne Cup will be run at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria.  Known as ‘the race that stops the nation’ most Australians will watch as 24 horses run 3200m at 3:00pm AEDST time. 

 

The present record holder is Kingston Rule who won with a time of 3min 16.3sec in 1990.  In contrast, the world record for the two miles (approx. 3200m) for men is 7:58.61 set by Daniel Komen and the women's record is 8:58.58, set by Meseret Defar.

 

Interesting fact: Each of the major race days at Flemington has an official flower.

Melbourne Cup Day - Yellow Rose

Victoria Derby Day - Corn Flower (blue)
Oaks Day - Pink Rose
Stakes Day - Red Rose

 

Today’s horses are listed below; the favourite is Fiorente trained by Gai Waterhouse and ridden by Damian Oliver.

1. Dunaden
2. Green Moon
3. Red Cadeaux
4. Sea Moon
5. Brown Panther
6. Fiorente
7. Foreteller
8. Dandino
9. Ethiopia
10. Fawkner
11. Mourayan
12. Seville
13. Super Cool
14. Masked Marvel
15. Mount Athos
16. Royal Empire
17. Voleuse De Couers
18. Hawkspur
19. Simenon
20. Ibicenco

21. Verema
22. Dear Demi
23. Tres Blue
24. Ruscello

 

For more stats and background info on The Cup check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Cup

 

Injuries

I don’t follow horse racing and in fact I’ve only ever treated 1 jockey for physiotherapy in private practice, so my knowledge of injuries in jockeys and horses is limited to say the least.  Below is an outline of horse anatomy - interestingly quite similar to human anatomy. 

 

Picture from: http://www.animal-mrt.com/equine-muscle-release-therapy-emrt/

 

Jockeys

From the literature, it appears that jockeys have a high injury rate.  Waller et al.(1) , found most injuries occurred to the jockey’s head or neck (18.8%).  Most head injuries occurred from being thrown from the horse (41.8%).  This was also the cause of many back (55.1%) and chest (49.6%) injuries.  Other frequent body areas injured were leg (15.5%), foot/ankle (10.7%), back (10.7%) arm/hand (11%) and shoulder (9.6%). 

 

Jockeys do not ‘sit’ on the horse when racing, instead they grip the horse with their knees, ankles, and thighs and lean forward over the horse’s wither (spinous processes of T3-11). The jockey’s back is parallel to that of the horse. Because of this seating position, if the horse stops suddenly the jockey is usually propelled forward over its neck into the rail or on to the track and into the path of other horses(2).

 

Horses

Most thoroughbred racehorses weigh 450–550 kg. They are capable of reaching speeds of over 64.4 kph(2). Horses involved in racing should be seen as elite athletes.  They develop back and neck pain and other musculoskeletal injuries due to the nature of their work, as well as fractures and stress fractures, nerve injuries, and soft tissue injuries from falls, accidents and over-training(3).

 

Did you know there are specialist equine physiotherapists? 

If you are interested in becoming an animal physiotherapist check out the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA): http://www.physiotherapy.asn.au/APAWCM/The_APA/National_Groups/Animal.aspx

 

References

1.Waller AE, Daniels JL, Weaver NL, Robinson P. JOckey injuries in the united states. JAMA. 2000;283(10):1326-8.

2. Turner M, McCrory P, Halley W. Injuries in professional horse racing in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland during 1992–2000. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2002;36:403-9.

3. Goff L. Equine Physiotherapy [cited 2013 5/11/2013]. Available from: http://animalphysio.com.au/physiotherapy/2/equine-physiotherapy.