Sports « Weekly Gravy

As older people start to lose some of their mental abilities, regular exercise might slow the progression to dementia, a new study indicates. With five months of physical activity, the mental ability of seniors with so-called mild cognitive impairment improved significantly, researchers in Canada report. They also found that computerized training to improve memory added to the benefits of exercise. But taking vitamin D supplements had no effect on tests of thinking and memory. “There is no cure for dementia, but lifestyle choices can help prevent it and partly counteract the impact of age and chronic diseases on brain health,” said study co-author Louis Bherer. He’s a neuropsychologist and senior scientist and director of EPIC Center at the Montreal Heart Institute. Mild cognitive impairment is the intermediate state between normal brain aging and early dementia, the study authors noted. Research has shown this is the optimal time to implement preventive strategies and early treatment. For the study, Bherer and his colleagues randomly assigned 175 men and women, average age 73, to exercise only three times a week; or to exercise plus vitamin D supplements or computerized cognitive training, or both for 20 weeks. The vitamin D dose was 10,000 IU three times a week. The study found that 20 weeks of aerobic and resistance exercise along with computerized cognitive training, which works to improve memory… read on > read on >

If your child is in sports camp this summer, you’ll want them to have fun and stay safe. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) offers some tips on dealing with existing medical conditions, staying hydrated and heat safe, avoiding weather dangers and protecting skin from the sun. “Just as parents don’t drop off their children at a pool without a lifeguard, they shouldn’t send young athletes to camp without this vital information,” said Scott Sailor, former president of NATA, in an association news release. Before camp, make sure your child has had a physical exam and that you’ve completed any questionnaires about existing medical conditions and medications, NATA recommends. If your child takes medication regularly, find out who will be in charge of administering it. Also, double check that the medication will not cause adverse side effects from sun exposure or strenuous exercise. Ask whether the camp has medical insurance in case of an injury, illness or accident, NATA recommends. If your child’s sport requires particular equipment, check it for proper fit and condition. Make sure new shoes and equipment are broken in. Your child should take along a water bottle to stay hydrated during activities and in the dorm at night during sleep-away camp. Pack towels and flip flops for showers. Remind your child not to share water bottles and towels to prevent spreading… read on > read on >

It doesn’t matter if you exercise every day or squeeze it all into the weekend. If you do the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week, you’ll get heart benefits, a new study finds. Both regimens protect you from atrial fibrillation (a-fib), heart attack, heart failure and stroke, compared with inactivity, researchers reported in the July 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Our study suggests that it’s the volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most in terms of cardiovascular health,” said lead researcher Dr. Shaan Khurshid, a research fellow in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Efforts to increase physical activity, whether they’re spread out evenly or concentrated within a day or two each week, result in similar protective effects on several cardiovascular outcomes and overall cardiovascular health, he said. “I think these findings should be encouraging, counter to the notion some people may feel that if they can only exercise, you know, once or twice a week they shouldn’t do it at all, or not expect to have the benefit,” Khurshid said. This is good news for the legions of so-called weekend warriors. In this study of nearly 90,000 British adults, half of active individuals accrued most of their exercise in one to two days. The study highlights the flexibility with which… read on > read on >

Lifting weights regularly builds strength and muscle — and it doesn’t matter if those weights are heavy or light. It’s the act itself, and being consistent, that pays off, according to a new study. All forms of resistance training are beneficial, including body-weight exercises such as planks, lunges and push-ups, according to kinesiologists at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, who looked at weight, frequency and consistency. “There are a dizzying number of factors and combinations to consider when creating a weightlifting program to maximize strength and muscle growth,” said kinesiology professor Stuart Phillips, who did the study with graduate students Bradley Currier and Jonathan Mcleod. “This is an age-old debate among athletes and strength and conditioning coaches: what combination leads to the best gains?” For the study, the researchers reviewed 192 studies that included more than 5,000 people in all. The work capped years of focus on three resistance-training variables: how much you lift; how often; and how many times, including one, two, three or more training sessions per week. The researchers collected and analyzed massive amounts of data. Many fitness experts say lifting the heaviest weights three to five times is the best way to build strength and that using weights a person can lift eight to 10 times is best for building muscle size, the study authors noted. McMaster researchers have spent the… read on > read on >

Pickleball is a hot trend and it’s getting folks exercising who haven’t been so active in a long time. It’s also racking up injuries — both overuse type and acute traumas — often in those aged 50 and up. A new poll suggests these players are forgoing care when they hurt their knees, wrists and rotator cuffs. Sports medicine experts are urging them not to ignore their nagging pain. Dr. Luis Gandara, a specialist in sports medicine at Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute in Florida, sees a few types of pickleball injuries, including those that are acute from a fall and those in which someone has aggravated chronic pain issues, such as existing arthritis in a hip or other joint. “Then [there are] the other ones who enjoy it so much that they play either too many hours or play too many games in a row,” Gandara said. “And those are the ones that we see having the overuse type of injuries due to the time and span, or the improper use of the equipment, like the paddle’s too heavy, improper mechanics or they may be using the wrong shoes to play.” About one-third of people surveyed last month in a new Harris Poll for Orlando Health reported avoiding sports or a hobby because of a nagging injury. Nearly half said it wasn’t worth seeing… read on > read on >

The couch potato life may not be a happy one. When older adults become more sedentary, their overall quality of life takes a hit, new research cautions. Sitting still is your enemy, the study suggests. Even slow walking can help improve your mental and physical health, say the British researchers who tracked more than 1,400 adults age 60 and up. “We set off to look at whether people who reduced their physical activity levels or increased their sitting time in their older years had poorer quality of life later on,” said study lead author Dr. Dharani Yerrakalva. The answer to both questions was yes, said Yerrakalva, a doctoral fellow with the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge. This really matters, she and her colleagues said, noting prior research suggests that as quality of life worsens, the risk for hospitalization goes up. So too does the risk for a premature death. Connie Diekman is a food and nutrition consultant and former president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She said the findings serve as a “strong confirmation of what most health organizations recommend: Stay physically active to keep the body and mind healthy.” “Regular activity helps people feel vital, strong and anxious to keep enjoying life,” said Diekman, who was not part of the study. There are several ways… read on > read on >

Someone who wants to work out, socialize and feel the beat at the same time may want to put on their dancing shoes. Dancing has many health benefits, according to a doctor from the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Fla., who is a competitive ballroom dancer. “I have patients ranging in age from young children to 90-year-old adults who enjoy Latin and other styles of dancing,” said Dr. Kathleen Davenport, a physiatrist who specializes in the nonsurgical treatment of orthopedic injuries and conditions, with special expertise in dance medicine. She is also company physician for the Miami City Ballet. “Dancing checks a lot of boxes. In social dancing, you interact with different people and can make new friends, which has multiple psychological benefits,” Davenport explained in a hospital news release. “On the physical side, you need good balance, you need core strength, you need strength in your lower and upper extremities if you’re doing partner work. Dancing can also be an excellent cardio workout.” Physical exercise is also good for brain health, according to research. “When dancing you need to remember the steps and how to do them,” Davenport said. “We have found that dancing is beneficial for people of all ages as it can help keep memory active as we go through our years.” Good practices help prevent injury when beginning… read on > read on >

Getting regular exercise can help protect against mental decline in an aging brain. But poor sleep can take away those benefits. A new study found that people who were more active but slept less than six hours on average had faster cognitive (mental) decline. After 10 years, their cognitive function was equivalent to that of their more inactive peers. “Our study suggests that getting sufficient sleep may be required for us to get the full cognitive benefits of physical activity. It shows how important it is to consider sleep and physical activity together when thinking about cognitive health,” said lead author Dr. Mikaela Bloomberg, of University College London (UCL) Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, in England. “Previous studies examining how sleep and physical activity might combine to affect cognitive function have primarily been cross-sectional — only focusing on a snapshot in time — and we were surprised that regular physical activity may not always be sufficient to counter the long-term effects of lack of sleep on cognitive health,” Bloomberg added in a university news release. The new study included more than 8,950 people in England who were aged 50 and older. Participants were asked how much sleep they get on an average weeknight and were divided into three groups: those who averaged fewer than six hours; those who got the optimal six to eight… read on > read on >

Heather Anderson, a star Australian rules football player who died last November, is the first female professional athlete to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. “She is the first female athlete diagnosed with CTE, but she will not be the last,” researchers wrote in a paper published Friday. Anderson was 28 when she died from what was believed to be suicide. CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head impacts, like those suffered when heading a ball in soccer (football). The finding was made possible after Anderson’s family donated her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank, hoping to discover “whether a lifetime of exposure to repetitive head trauma contributed to her death,” according to a report co-written by one of the researchers. It was published on a nonprofit academic news site, The Conversation. Dr. Michael Buckland, director of the Australian Sports Brain Bank, identified low-stage CTE when conducting the postmortem analysis. “There were multiple CTE lesions as well as abnormalities nearly everywhere I looked in her cortex. It was indistinguishable from the dozens of male cases I’ve seen,” said Buckland in a news release from the Concussion Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the United States. Although women athletes previously had not been diagnosed with CTE, evidence suggests women are more susceptible to concussions in sports than men,… read on > read on >

Pickleball has burst onto the scene, inspiring people of all ages to pick up a paddle. But as with any sport, it’s possible to get hurt. Some best practices can help prevent injuries, according to a sports medicine expert. For pickleball players, the most common injury is to the rotator cuff tendon in the shoulder. This can cause shoulder pain, especially with movement and use. Problems range from tendonitis and bursitis to a tear of the tendon itself. Bigger tears can create weakness. Someone might not be able to use their arm. “The unfortunate reality of the rotator cuff is that everyday use can cause tearing and damage,” said Dr. Bruce Moseley, an orthopedic surgeon from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “You don’t necessarily have to do anything wrong or abnormal to get a rotator cuff tear — in many instances it just happens as a consequence of living.” Most adults who use their shoulders are at risk. For many people, rotator cuff damage appears over time. In pickleball, reaching overhead requires a lot of force from this tendon, which can worsen rotator cuff injuries. These tears are not preventable. But the shoulder does better when it’s flexible and strong. Moseley suggests stretching and doing light to moderate strengthening. “If you warm up and stretch before your activity and ice down afterwards, your shoulder… read on > read on >