COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 26, 2012) Hip injury, sweat rate, cardiac screening, disordered eating, and dental care were just a few of the topics discussed today at the third annual Medicine of Cycling Conference. Medical experts presented a range of diverse topics from their respective fields and, casting the cyclist-as-patient into the spotlight, each presentation exposed medical issues specific to cyclists.
With the help of modern technology, Mark Greve, MD, medical director of Team Type 1, started the day with a check-in from the USA Pro Challenge. He discussed what it's like to be a team physician for a team in a major race. While this year's race was largely uneventful from a team physician perspective, Dr. Greve discussed his medical kit, how often he gets to ride his bike during events (rarely, if ever), and how he manages the language barrier with TT1 athletes from around the world.
Claudette Lajam, MD of New York University Langone Medical Center started off the day with her presentation on Lower Extremity Conditions in Cycling. Dr. Lajam highlighted IT Band Syndrome, hip dysfunction, labral tears, arthritis, and hip arthroplasty, as well as hip impingement and knee problems that affect all ages of the cycling population.
Next up Monique Ryan MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, HFS, brought her decades of experience working with endurance athletes to bear in her talk on Nutrition Strategies Designed for the High Performance Cyclist. In her presentation, Ryan detailed optimal foods for after, during, and before training, plus emphasized the need to jumpstart recovery immediately post training and racing. To support her topic, Ryan cited many studies and literature that examined carbohydrate absorption rates and sweat rates in cyclists to determine optimum intakes of carbohydrates and fluids when training and racing.
Michael Giudici, MD continued with his presentation on Pre-participation Cardiovascular Screening for Competitive Athletes. His talk examined the answer to the question, "What are the causes of sudden death in young competitive athletes, and what can we do to identify them?" and named myocarditis, coronary artery anomalies, and heat stroke effect on the heart as some of the threats to competitive athletes. He concluded with current American Heart Association recommendations for pre-participation cardiovascular screening of competitive athletes.
Gloria Cohen, MD finished off the morning sessions with The Female Cyclist, where she discussed The Female Athlete Triad: Eating Disorders, Amenorrhea and Osteoporosis. In addition, Dr. Cohen pointed out to participants that estimates of disordered eating are unknown, they vary from 4-39 percent; it is still a widely under-reported condition.
The afternoon sessions began with conference organizer, Anna Abramson, MD, announcing the results of a survey-based study of team physicians, team owners and team captains.
Paul Abramson, MD, gave a talk on Integrative Medicine and Cycling, which was followed by a presentation on Evaluation and Field Management of Traumatic Facial Injuries. Aaron Liddell, MD DMD and John Tannyhill MD DDS drew attention to the many headlines in the cycling media about serious facial crashes in the pro peloton, including facial/head lacerations and mid-face trauma, both of which are some of the hardest things to fix. They also emphasized the importance of dental care, citing a couple top pro racers who were out for a significant portion of season due to wisdom tooth infections.
Margarita Sevilla, MD offered advice on how to prevent deaths in triathlon during her presentation on Triathlon Medicine. Preparedness and education are key, according to Dr. Sevilla. She also added general tips on how to prevent injury, such as core strengthing, proper bike fit, treadmill analysis, incorporating rest, and cross training.
The third annual Medicine of Cycling Conference concluded with a presentation by Matthew Fedoruk, PhD, Science Director of the US Anti-Doping Agency, whose talk on Cycling and Anti-Doping: A Health Professional's Perspective detailed educational efforts to explain the health ramifications of doping in cycling. To help conference participants become better informed, Fedoruk offered attendees many resources for medical practitioners, athletes, and coaches, as well as websites, phone numbers.
Dates for the fourth annual Medicine of Cycling Conference will be forthcoming, please check the website for more information.
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