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.
Editor's Note: From time to time we like to cross-post content between DNN/ DerbyLife and FiveOn Five. Here is an original article posted to Derby News Network this weekend, in response to the lack of live streaming video coverage of any kind from Wild West Showdown 2012.
The roller derby season has started. New blood runs through the veins of many teams, and there are countless blogs, articles, and Facebook status updates telling “fresh meat” useful tidbits about how to take hits, feedback, and adjust to the sudden shakeup that their lives have undergone in order to wear sweat-wicking shorts and skates for hours at a time.
Have you ever been hit so hard in the chest that you literally cannot take a breath? You can breathe out but not in, and you keep expelling more and more air in the hopes that one of these times you will be able to suck some in? If you play roller derby, you probably know the feeling. It’s a legal blocking zone, and quite a delicious one for a blocker who has you lined up just for that. That was me, on the floor, yellow Bronx Gridlock jammer star on, in the middle of my first GGRD team scrimmage.
For derby girls, derby is everywhere, in everything. Hip checks are practiced while we’re putting away the dishes, jammer holes are seen in freeway traffic as we drive to work, and great blocks are made while shutting the heavy glass doors in the frozen food aisle of the supermarket. Real life is constantly being seared into by the fiery tendrils of derby life. On one particular morning, as I lay pretzeled on an uncomfortable couch, I saw derby in the snoozing fur ball of a dog curled up and fast asleep behind my legs.
I was sitting at a table across from my coach, one on one. I wasn’t sure that I could describe the expression on his face. Resignation? Encouragement? Disappointment? I knew what was coming. Today was the day he was letting the women on our training team know who was eligible to be picked up by a house team and who needed more time. If he’d started the conversation like that, it could really only end one way.
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.
I've camped out in tornado alley...during a tornado. I've been caught in a Lake Michigan riptide and made my way back to shore. I've met and defeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu opponents mano a mano, finished marathons, Ironman, and 24-credit hour semesters with a 4.0 GPA. But for the life of me, man, I could not jump over a three-inch cardboard triangle to save my life.
Enjoy this article from the forthcoming Galactic Issue, and stay tuned to HELLARAD on facebook and their website for the reveal of where you can get this issue!words by Velveteen Savage
photos by Mister Moxxxie
