Tag: Mark Letendre

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MLB Umpires are Well Cared for Thanks to Athletic Trainer

On April 2, 1996, The New York Times Sports section lead with the following story line: “John McSherry, working the first inning of his 26th season as a major league umpire, collapsed and died in Cincinnati yesterday on the opening day of the baseball season. He was believed to be the first person to be stricken fatally on the field during a major league baseball game since 1920.”  mackie_book_064.jpg

At the time of the incident, “McSherry, working behind home plate at Riverfront Stadium, called just seven pitches before walking back toward the stands and collapsing.” University Hospital in Cincinnati said the 51 year-old McSherry had suffered sudden cardiac death.

In the winter of 1999 when the National & American leagues merged under the auspices of the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, a decision was made to establish the 68 umpires (now 74 with video replay), as a team unto itself — creating their own support system and medical staff.

Mark Letendre, former head athletic trainer for the San Francisco Giants, and the man who gave me my start in 1989 to consult for the Giants, was named to head Umpire Medical Services. My sports medicine and lifestyle management program, which is now based at St. Charles Parish Hospital, was eventually named as an approved site for MLB umpires to come during the offseason for fitness, nutrition, and wellness participation and counseling.

During the season, injured MLB umpires were afforded rehabilitation and reconditioning in my program, due to the fact that New Orleans had a triple A designation with the Zephyrs. Umpires would rehab in the morning and work the Zephyrs games at night or the afternoon, as part of their work hardening program to return to “the big leagues.”

For the last 16 years, I have also participated in the annual Umpire Retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona – the same location where I spent ten years in spring training with the Giants, as their performance conditioning and nutrition consultant.

The retreat, which is orchestrated by Letendre, provides umpires with complete medical evaluations and screening, along with uniform and equipment fitting, dietary counseling by my dietitian, physical therapy evaluation for injury prevention, and on-field functional assessments, which I administer, along with a team that I bring from New Orleans and Los Angeles.

The Commissioner’s office also reviews any rule or regulation updates, strike zone issues, video replay review, pace of the game changes, as well as, offer financial lectures.

As for the functional evaluations, each umpire (without gear) must complete two game simulation events: the Home Plate Assessment and a Timed Functional Activity.

For the Home Plate Assessment, each umpire must perform eighteen sets of 16 “squats” (umpire’s normal ball/strike stance behind home plate) with not more than 30 seconds rest between repetitions and not more than two minutes and five seconds of rest between sets.

In 2015, Umpire Adam Hamari recorded the highest number of plate squats – 10,355 during 38 plate jobs – calling 272.5 pitches per game. Veteran umpire Joe West was second with 10,331 squats in 35 plate jobs.

The Timed Functional Activity – the Running Matrix – requires the umpire to complete six timed activities – which simulates an umpire moving up the line to cover a play at both first and third base, drop-stepping, turning and running to cover an outfield fly ball, curling in and covering a play at second base, checking an outfield play then curling in for a play at second base, and moving from second base to cover a play at third base.

The umpire’s running and rest time for all six legs of the matrix must not be greater than 256 seconds. All umpires tested passed this year.

I can already smell the ballpark popcorn. All that’s left is – play ball.

Mackie Shilstone, a regular contributor to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, has been involved in the wellness sports performance industry for nearly 40 years. He is currently a fitness consultant to Serena Williams and has trained numerous other professional athletes and consulted a litany of professional sports franchises. He is St. Charles Parish Hospital’s fitness and wellness expert. Contact him at mackieshilstone.com

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Arizona Athletic Trainer Provides Expert Opinion on Concussions

In my sports fitness column last week – Concussions For NFL Players Are Linked to Other Injuries – I referenced University of North Carolina research appearing in the November issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, which traced the association of concussions in NFL players to the potential for an increased risk to lower extremity injuries at some point in their careers.

Subsequently, several readers made poignant comments on this topic. One reader noted, “dubious findings since nearly 50% or greater (of NFL players) have lower extremity injuries, (so) further research is definitely warranted,” while another reader posted, “this (research) is very interesting, and makes sense. However, it is hard to prove causality in this case.”

In the same journal’s upcoming December issue, UNC researchers write that, “college athletes are at increased risk of acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury for up to 365 days after concussion.”

This study – “Acute Lower Extremity Injury Rates Increase after Concussions in College Athletes”- examined National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 athletes from January 1, 2010 to October 8, 2013.

These athletes participated in a variety of sports such as – men’s cross country, field hockey, football, and soccer, along with women’s sports like – basketball, soccer, swimming, and tennis.

Eighty-three college athletes with concussions were “physician-diagnosed,” of which forty-four were randomly selected for data analysis. Non-concussed college athletes (58) were matched to individuals who were concussed – with, “acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury rates collected for two years using electronic medical records.”

The results reflected that, “within 1 yr. after concussion, the group with concussion was 1.97 times more likely to have experienced an acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury after concussion than before concussion, and 1.64 times more likely to have experienced an acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury after concussion than their matched nonconcussed cohort over the same period.”

In fact, “up to 180 days after concussion, the group with concussion was 2.02 times more likely to have experienced an acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury after concussion than before concussion.”

Due to the fact that the current college study has a small numbers of participants, New Orleans Orthopedic surgeon and lower extremity injury expert Field Ogden said, “all you can say is what their conclusions are – that a concussed athlete is more likely than a nonconcussed athlete to have a lower extremity injury within the next year.”

Notes Ogden, “(it) makes sense — an athlete that plays whatever sport with such abandon as to sustain a single concussion is, in my opinion, more likely to sustain another significant injury: lower extremity, repeat concussion, and etc.”

So after two separate concussion studies – one on retired NFL players and the current one on Division 1 college athletes – what’s the take-away message?

Mark Letendre, former fourteen year head athletic trainer (A.T,C) for the San Francisco Giants and for the last sixteen years, head of Umpire Medical Services for Major League Baseball (MLB) explains that, “as we gain more insight into the long term effects of concussions, studies which evaluate its potential effects on lower extremities injuries will play a bigger role in the total recovery and functional health of the concussed athlete. It’s still too early to tell.”

Well stated from a man who has been instrumental in the design and implementation of the concussion management program for MLB umpires.

Needless to say, much more research is needed on the long- term effects a concussion has on an athlete’s ability to perform and withstand future injury related to prior head trauma.

The investigators concluded that, “our findings underscore the need to explore functional movement and dynamic postural control assessments in post concussion injury assessment protocols.

It looks like all professional sports have much more work ahead to keep players safe.

Mackie Shilstone, a regular contributor to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, has been involved in the wellness sports performance industry for nearly 40 years. He is currently a fitness consultant to Serena Williams and has trained numerous other professional athletes and consulted a litany of professional sports franchises. He is St. Charles Parish Hospital’s fitness and wellness expert. Contact him at mackieshilstone.com.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.nola.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/11/optimum_performance_athletes_w.html