Papa Doc

Many of the problems seen commonly in derby are those involving foot disorders, such as blisters, calluses, foot pain, sore toes, and bunions. Abnormal foot structure accounts for a major percentage of these. The foot is constructed of multiple bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles all of which function to provide shock absorption and propulsion. Since about 1.5 times your body weight bears down a foot in walking alone, it is evident that dysfunction of the foot causes damage. And you can see being overweight adds to the problems.

Many times skaters are practicing without a medically trained person on hand. Although it

There are two cruciate ligaments in the knee. They are both attached to the tibia (shin bone) and femur (thigh bone) and criss-cross in the knee; they are named from the point at which they attach to the tibia (anterior cruciate on the front part, posterior cruciate on the back part). The anterior ligament keeps the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur. The posterior ligament keeps the tibia from sliding too far back on the femur. The posterior cruciate ligament is actually a stronger ligament than the ACL.

One of the things I notice often in derby is the neglect of properly hydrating during practice and bouts. The intensity of the game tends to reduce the time for and the thought of hydrating the body.

“No sweat” means “ it’s good,” right? Not always the case--when exercising in hot, humid weather, it means danger. Sweating can be a social problem, but it is a life-saving process for you on the track.

The core temperature of your body is maintained in a narrow range (about 97℉ - 100℉) in a wide variety of environments. This is necessary because at too low a temperature, bodily functions slow down and cease. At too high temperatures, the body essentially cooks.

Asthma is best described as a genetically-determined, reversible over-reactivity of the small bronchial airways of the lung. This hyper-irritability results in chemical reactions (as described under allergy in Part I of this article) in the lung tissue which lead to spasm of the smooth muscles encircling the airway, swelling of the lung tissues, and increased mucus production.

Now is the time when skaters with allergies begin their annual “suffering” season along with the skating season. And although the allergy season often peaks in early spring to early summer and late summer to the first frost, some suffers have nearly year-round symptoms, depending on their specific allergens. This first article of two will cover allergy in general and upper respiratory problems of the eyes, ears, nose, and throat. The second article will cover asthma and EIB (exercise induced bronchospasm). I won’t cover skin and intestinal allergy.

Just as a derby blocker would, I recommend “hip checks” – before playing as well as during – because of several problems that occur in and around the hip.

Immunization: just kids’ stuff, eh?

No, my daring derby devastators, protecting yourself from disease is not just for kids. Adults never outgrow their need for vaccines. I have found many of our skaters do not know what they have had or what they need to have.

Think - you get an open wound on the track - when was your last tetanus shot? If it’s a normal, not-too-dirty injury, it could be up to 10 years ago and you'll be alright. If it’s a really dirty wound, only five years should have elapsed.

For two reasons, shoulder injuries are common in derby: 1) derby is a full contact sport often involving trauma to the shoulder and 2) the shoulder is a complicated, somewhat delicate joint. A brief overview of the some commonly seen injuries follows.