ACSM Olympic Games Expert Commentary

Every Breath You Take…

Beijing ranks among the most polluted cities in the world with the air concentrations of carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter approaching or exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency's established limits. And while the Chinese government has taken steps to clean up the air for the 2008 Olympic Games, there is no guarantee that these steps will be effective.  As such, performances at these games may suffer.  This is especially so in those athletes that require high levels of ventilation for extended periods of time, such as marathoners.  Exposure to elevated levels of these pollutants has been reported to result in cough, chest pain, difficulty in breathing, headache and eye irritation.  More importantly, exposure can also bring on acute asthma attacks and respiratory infections, even in those without chronic asthma.  This fear has recently been exemplified when U.S. cyclists donned protective masks upon their arrival as a precautionary measure.  What effect the potentially high pollution levels will have on these athletes’ performances is hard to predict due to a lack of scientific data with this population.   There are limited data to suggest that heavy exercise with exposure to elevated ozone levels can have a detrimental effect on pulmonary function.  Whether these detriments translate into poor athletic performance is unknown.  Hopefully, these games will not provide any anecdotal evidence.

Michael J. Berry, PhD, FACSM
Professor and Chair, Health and Exercise Science
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

ACSM's Staff Roving Reporter...

(click images for larger view)

I'll be bringing you a different perspective from Beijing. I work in the medical and scientific meetings area at ACSM, and have traveled to China for vacation. I've always wanted to go to the Olympics, so I figured, why not now? I am traveling with a friend from high school. We arrived in Beijing on Tuesday morning after a long flight. We were immediately greeted by everything Olympic. Once you arrive at Beijing's new airport terminal, I don't think it’s possible to look around and NOT see something related to the Olympics. Once we were out of the secure area, we saw tons of volunteers - some at tables with information, others just walking around to help. Two of the Olympic mascots were also greeting those arriving, so of course we had our photo taken with one of them. There was a large area for athletes and Olympics personnel as well. We rode the train to baggage with some Australian rowers, and the cycling team from Great Britain.

Yesterday we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Again, I don't think you could go more than five minutes without seeing an Olympic volunteer or security personnel. Tiananmen Square was set up with landscape sculptures depicting Olympic sports, logos, and the "One World. One Dream." tag line. We were stopped about five different times yesterday by Chinese people who wanted their photos with us. Everyone has been so kind. My friend has been learning Chinese for a couple of years, so she is often able to communicate, at least a little, with people. They seem to really appreciate that. The Chinese who have learned some English also seem very proud to be able to speak that to us.

We plan to go to The Great Wall Today. We have not yet been to see the Olympic stadiums, but will probably do that tomorrow. While we were not able to get tickets for the Opening Ceremonies, we think it may be fun to be in the area around that time anyway.

Stephanie Garwood
ACSM staff

Performances of Female Olympians: Menstrual Cycle Influences?

A number of studies have been conducted to determine if menstrual phase has an influence on performance.  Maximal oxygen uptake (a marker of aerobic ability) has been found to be unchanged between menses and mid-cycle for both non-active and active women.  Some inter-individual variation has been noted however.  Strength has also been shown to be consistent throughout the cycle (e.g. grip strength, knee extension exercises) as was anaerobic, or high intensity, activity (e.g. running on treadmill with high incline until fatigue).  Results from one study that included an assessment of menstrual symptoms demonstrated that power performance (maximal jump power) was lower during menses than mid-cycle for women with menstrual symptoms.  Therefore, results of research studies, when taken as whole, suggest that for athletic women menstrual cycle phase does not compromise performance although the presence of premenstrual or menstrual syndrome symptoms might exert a negative influence for some individuals.

Barbara Bushman, Ph.D., FACSM
Professor - Dept. Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

Missouri State University

Springfield Missouri

An Orthopedist's View on the (Paul) Hamm Injury

The unfortunate combination of injuries Mr. Hamm sustained is not common, but would be understandable because of the demands placed on his body by the sport. Both of his arms are weight bearing in almost all of the required activities in gymnastics. The fracture was healing, but he couldn't place normal weight across the hand, so there was a relatively higher load placed on the other arm and shoulder as he loaded the arms.

Also, there usually is compensation in body position, so the higher applied loads might have been placed in a less than optimal position, thereby increasing the stresses on the shoulder. Finally, there might have been some subclinical injury to the shoulder that was not symptomatic until the extra loads and positions were applied. In all, it was a toxic combination, and under the stress of the time constraints, became more than the body could handle in trying to compete at this high level.

W. Ben Kibler, MD, FACSM

Medical Director for Lexington Clinic

Sports Medicine Center, Lexington, KY