{"id":7637,"date":"2018-02-13T03:32:19","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T02:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=7637"},"modified":"2018-02-13T03:57:39","modified_gmt":"2018-02-13T02:57:39","slug":"things-awesome-sports-kongres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2018\/02\/13\/things-awesome-sports-kongres\/","title":{"rendered":"All things awesome about Sports Kongres"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Christina Le\u00a0@yegphysio<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Are you seeking more knowledge? Are you seeking more fun? Good news, if you want an epic combination of research and<\/em> beers, look no further than Sports Kongres<\/a>!\u00a0Hosted in the lovely city of Copenhagen, this year\u2019s edition featured 700 researchers and clinicians from all over the world, making it the largest sports conference ever held in Denmark!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re anything like me, you suffer from severe FOMO<\/a> when you\u2019re not at a major conference.\u00a0To remedy that FOMO, I thought I\u2019d write up this \u201call things awesome about Sports Kongres\u201d blog for anyone who couldn\u2019t make it to Copenhagen,\u00a0doesn\u2019t own a Twitter account\u00a0(who are you and how did you find this blog?!), or\u00a0attended but want to relive their\u00a0cherished\u00a0memories.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, my brain saw a massive spike in usage over the three days. The poor guy is still recovering. Thankfully, a few cells are operating at their usual 37% capacity. And those few brain cells present to you (in no particular order) my top 5 awesome messages from Sports Kongres 2018:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Dr. Keith Baar: chatting collagen and cross-links!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Keith’s keynote kicked off the conference by digging deep into connective tissue. Maybe not the sexiest topic but it\u2019s crucial to understand the molecules behind our movement. He pointed out that two things make our tissues stronger: collagen and cross-links. That is, more collagen and more cross-links lead to stronger and stiffer tissues. This is highly desirable in something like ligaments where greater strength means withstanding more force and being less vulnerable to injury. But what about tendons? What is its ideal structure and function? This a trickier question because tendons are unique in that they are the bridge between a compliant tissue (muscle) and a stiff tissue (bone).<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    The answer is tendon function must vary by region!1<\/sup>\u00a0This means the bit closer to the muscle should be more mobile and the bit closer to the bone should be more rigid. In other words, at the myotendinous junction (MTJ), there is a shearing force which causes cross-links to break and the tendon to be more extensible. At the bony insertion, there is minimal shearing and minimal cross-link breakdown which leads to a stiff tendon region. Balancing these two dynamics should lead to a well-functioning tendon unit.<\/p>\n

    Now that you\u2019ve wrapped your head around that, let’s see how it applies in a practical setting. Inactivity leads to stiffness of the tendon at all regions. This is not ideal, especially at the MTJ. So how do we restore tendon function following\u00a0immobilization, rest, underloading, etc? The key is heavy and slow loading. This type of loading increases shearing at the MTJ which increases cross-link breakdown and ultimately restores the extensibility of the tendon at the MTJ! From some animal and in vitro studies, Keith suggested short periods of activity (5-10 minutes) followed by long periods of rest (6 hours) might be the key to optimizing connective tissue health.2<\/sup>\u00a0Well go on then, test it out!<\/p>\n

    2<\/strong>.\u00a0Dr. Chris Bleakley: calling the POLICE!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Ask physios, doctors, or even patients what to do after they sprain their ankle. Everyone rattles off protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevate \u2013 PRICE! Well, I hate to break it to you but the price ain\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

    Chris gave us a great overview of the literature supporting all the components of PRICE. But ice, compression, and elevation have varying levels of evidence. Did you know we\u2019ve been applying ice for 2000 years yet there are only 9 RCTs looking at its effectiveness? There is some science showing us that ice helps for decreasing pain but effects on inflammation are unknown.3<\/sup>\u00a0Moving on, compression is meant to reduce edema (which is good) but might negatively affect lymphatic function (which is not so good). The rationale behind elevation is to negate the effects of gravity and reduce hydrostatic pressure. But these benefits only occur while elevated and it\u2019s impossible to walk around with your ankle above your head all the time. Subsequently, the \u201cICE\u201d part of the acronym can still be helpful but might not be as useful as we think.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    So where does the \u201cOL\u201d come from? If you\u2019re Danish, you know \u00f8l comes from a brewery. But this \u201cOL\u201d stands for optimal loading! Yes, we are officially trading in \u201cR\u201d as in rest for \u201cOL\u201d as in optimal loading! Don\u2019t be fooled and interpret this as any kind of loading.\u00a0If someone has an acutely sprained their ankle, you\u2019re not going to recommend jumping on the first day. Tissue healing timelines still apply! Perhaps optional loading<\/em> is more appropriate. It doesn\u2019t mean all rest but it doesn\u2019t mean all load either. It implies loading to whatever extent you are comfortable with and whatever is safe! So the next time your handball teammate rolls her ankle, go call the POLICE!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    3. Dr. Jasper Schipperijn: using GPS to inform physical activity intervention!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I will fully admit my bias here. Physical activity, particularly in youth, has been an area that I\u2019ve become more interested in since starting my PhD. So this presentation wowed me. Jasper has cleverly combined GPS, accelerometer, and GIS data to measure physical activity trends and behaviours in school children. Technology FTW! We know that many youth do not meet physical activity recommendations (shout out to Dr. Ulf Ekelund\u2019s presentation) but we don\u2019t know the best way to change this.4\u00a0<\/sup>Understanding the daily activity habits of children can give us better insight on how to get those little legs moving! Check out this quick video demonstration on how Jasper\u2019s lab tracks school children\u2019s activity throughout the day:<\/p>\n