Scanning Sports

THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE - VOL 26 - NO. 1 - JANUARY 98

• New sports at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games will include snowboarding, women's ice hockey, and curling, according to the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee. The official Web site for the games is http://www.nagano.olympic.org. In February, also check PSM's coverage at www.physsportsmed.com.
  
  
• For an upbeat way to ring in the new year with eye-catching diet and exercise messages, check out photographer John Flaherty's 1998 Illustrated Calendar of Fat and 1998 Illustrated Calendar of Exercise. Each month of the exercise calendar depicts an activity comparison; for example, jumping rope for 15 minutes burns as many calories as reading the Sunday paper for 2 H hours. In the fat calendar, Flaherty dramatically shows fat face-offs between various food choices—such as eggnog vs hot apple cider. The Web address for ordering information is www.flahertyphotography.com.
  
  
• Freestyle figure skaters may be more vulnerable to migraine than other skaters, according to a report in the October 18, 1997, issue of The Lancet. In a survey, 22% of freestyle skaters (11) reported migraines, as compared with 4% of ice dancers (1). Most of the freestylers who reported migraines said that spinning affected their migraines. The author of the report says it's not clear if freestyle skating causes or triggers migraines, but that the cranial blood redistribution that occurs during skaters' spinning maneuvers resembles a migraine pattern.
  
  
• Exercise may boost creativity, according to a study in the September 1997 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers asked 63 exercisers and controls to find unconventional uses for a tin can or a cardboard box. The exercisers did either high-impact or low-impact aerobics, and the control group watched a short documentary on rock formations. Both exercise groups scored higher than the controls.
  
  
• The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in Indianapolis has produced a video and brochure on youth soccer safety for players, coaches, and parents. Topics covered are preparticipation screening, emergency treatment, nutrition, injury prevention, training, and rehabilitation. Further information on the video and brochure can be found by accessing the ACSM's Web site at http://www.acsm.org/sportsmed.

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