Article reposted from Journal Review
Author: John M. Bottorff
Rock climbing, mountain bike riding, boating, camping, hiking, water/snow skiing and speed skating as a youth were just a few of the activities this week’s Health Hero did as part of his youth that lead him into his present career. When injury strikes a Wabash College athlete, they call on Mark Elizondo to do his magic and get them back in their game.
Elizondo, who grew up in Ogdon, Utah, believes people are much more active there.
“Indiana is agriculturally based and flat by comparison,” Elizondo points out as a possible reason.
Elizondo received a master’s degree in athletic training at Indiana State University, Terre Haute. That is where he met his wife, then Amanda Snider.
He started training in the high school arena. In 2006, Elizondo read a newspaper article about Jack Mansfield leaving as head trainer at Wabash College. So, he applied for an assistant training position and got the nod for the job. In 2014, moved into the head training position.
Elizondo is impressed with Division III athletes for several reasons.
“There are no scholarships,” he said. “They are students first in a difficult climate academically at Wabash. Division III does not allow scholarships so the players aren’t getting paid to play and earn their success. They are motivated differently.”
High intensity training increases the opportunity of torque injuries from cutting and jumping. Elizondo believes prevention is the key. He believes the field is split 50/50 on whether bracing knees is effective, and he is on the side of using them.
“Bracing knees does not prevent high velocity injury but can decrease the amount of damage,” he said. “Having good communication between coaches and trainers lowers the rate of injuries.”
He credits these conversations for development of new drills and skills that decrease concussions.
On the subject of fitness we talked about core exercises.
“Everyone thinks that a strong core is a ‘six pack,’” Elizondo said. “But core includes hip rotators, the iliopsoas, gluteus maximus, medius and minimus. Not just the stomach.”
He believes it to be important to stimulate circulation in muscles by “rolling them out” something that you can see on YouTube. Tissues are layered and keeping them moving freely is important.
The use of cold can preserve cell damage in the case of injury. Elizondo said the content of a damaged cell can empty out and the chemical effect can cause fluids to be drawn out of adjacent cells causing them to implode. The use of cold slows this process which is part of inflammation. He points out that inflammation is a necessary part of repair that just needs to slow down at first. Also, ice doesn’t decrease swelling, that’s what wrapping or compression is for. That is all part of the adage I.C.E.: Ice, ace (bandage wrap) and elevate which allows gravity to pull fluids out of the swollen area. It is important to note that while ice won’t hurt tissue, chemical ice bags can cause skin to freeze commonly known as frost bite.
The use of heat dilates blood vessels allowing for more blood to flow to repairing tissue to bring the building blocks and energy. Heat should never be used on a fresh injury as it will cause further swelling and tissue damage. Elizondo points out that heat can improve range of motion and release endorphins, that’s why it feels good. Keep the temperature moderately warm and normally not longer than 10 minutes.
His goal is to bring the athletes to pre-injury status and better by strengthening weaknesses that expose players to injury. Keeping them strong because, “Wabash Always Fights!”
See you on the water.