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Sudden Cardiac Death

sudden, cardiac, death, hearth, sport, athlete, scd

What’s up ? This is THE stephane ANDRE. With my training, I’m interested in biomechanics to avoid injuries. I read « Sport Medicine Media Guide » and I learned some good stuff.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is an extremely rare event. The most common reason for cardiac death related to sports is the cardiomyopathy hypertrophic, an abnormal enlargement of cardiac muscle. It’s a rare heart disease that predispose a person of SCD because of physical exertion.

Commotio cordis is another reason for SCD. It’s a direct trauma to the chest at a specific moment in the cardiac cycle and this trauma triggers a dangerous arrtyhmia (abnormal rhythm) of electrical system of the heart. A commotio cordis usually arrives in sports where a blunt projectile, such as baseball ball or hockey puck, hits the athlete’s chest.

Treatment

Cardiac arrhythmias that threaten the lives of young athletes are very difficult to treat. The immediate use of AED (automated external defibrillator) can provide an advantage.

Prevent

sudden, cardiac, death, sport, hearth, athlete, scd

Unfortunately, the only way to prevent death from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is to identify the disease and recommend the athlete avoid any strenuous activities. Cardiac ultrasound can diagnose this condition. Some experts have called for the screening of athletes with ultrasound or electrocardiograms (EKG), although this screening is controversial because of the high cost and scarcity of this condition.

However, athletes with cardiac symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath in relation to physical activity, palpitations, convulsions and especially syncope (fainting) must stop the competitions and must do deeper tests.

In addition, a family history of cardiac abnormalities justifies a complete cardiac evaluation. Especially a known parent with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or a history unexplained sudden death in a family member.

There is the creation of different forms of protection for the chest and pads, but unfortunately no method has prevented this tragic event. The rules regularly change in the sport and some times to try to avoid commotio cordis. For example in baseball and softball, it’s the limitation of the use of aluminium bat. This rule can protect the pitcher by decreasing the speed of the ball after contact with the bat. There are other rules too, such as using a softer ball and teaching players to turn their chest when the ball is hit by the bat.

Stats

  • Fortunately, SCD is extremely rare in the sport. For the majority of people do sports to cardiac benefits.
  • In young athetes, the most common causes of SCD are 25-30% hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and 20% commotio cordis.
  • Coronary artery abnormalities are the cause of 14% of SCD in athletes.
  • Marc-Vivian Foe, a Cameroonian soccer star had a sudden cardiac death during a match in 2003.

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-Steph

P.S. If you’re in Miami and you like Caribbean food, go to my cousin’s bistro to eat Haitian food, click here .

Machine Trunk Rotation

machine trunk rotation abs

What’s up ? This is THE stephane ANDRE ! I read a Frederic Delavier’s book « Strength Training Anatomy » and I learned good stuff.

Attention

Torso’s rotation in the machine are proscribed for people suffering from lower back or having already had a herniated disc, as they might aggravate or reappear this lumbar pathology.

machine trunk rotation abs

Standing on the turntable with your hands on the handles :

  • Rotate your pelvis from one side to the other, keeping your shoulders fixed and controlling the rotation. Your knees are slightly bent to avoid the risk of ligament stretching.

This exercise works mainly external and internal obliques and a little less rectus abdominis. Sets with high reps give better results.

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-Steph

Broomstick Twists

broomstick twist

What’s up ? This is THE stephane ANDRE ! I read a Frederic Delavier’s book « Strength Training Anatomy » and I learned good stuff.

Standing with your legs apart and the stick placed on your trapezius above your posterior deltoids. Your hands are on the stick but don’t press on it :

Make a torso rotation on one side then the other, keeping your pelvis motionless with an isometric contraction of your glutes.

This exercise works when your right shoulder is forward : the right external oblique, left internal oblique and a little bit rectus abdominis, quadratus lumborum and extensor spinae on the left side.

For more intensity, it’s possible to slightly round your back. A variant is to do this movement sitting on a bench, which will block your pelvis and focus the effort on your abs.

seated broomstick twist

It’s with sets of several minutes that you get the best results.

Attention

Torso rotations are prohibited for people suffering from low back or having had a herniated disc as this may aggravate or resurgence of this lumbar pathology.

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-Steph

General Stretching Of The Upper Body

stretching upper body

What’s up ? This is THE stephane ANDRE ! I read a Frederic Delavier’s book « Strength Training Anatomy » and I learned good stuff.

Stand with your feet a little wider than your pelvis width and you back is straight :

  • Hold your ams vertically with your hands clasped and your fingers crossed. Your palms directed upwards :

  • Inhale to inflate your lungs to the maximum and stretch your intercostal muscles. Push your palms up keeping your back and head upright.

  • Exhale slowly by relaxing and starts again.

This stretching exercise stretches intercostal, rectus abdominis, latissimus dorsi, teres major, triceps. When you incline your torso laterally, you stretch more your external oblique and internal oblique, quadratus lumborum and the internal and medium part of your erectors spinae.

stretching upper body lateral

Note

This stretch is great for relaxing the body after a training with heavyweights like leg press, squat, deadlift because the ribcage and spine have been compressed.

This movement may occasionally replace or supplement the stretching at the bar  to rebalance the pressure and tensions of the intervertebral joints.

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-Steph

Incline Bench Sit-Ups

incline bench sit ups

I read a Frederic Delavier’s book « Strength Training Anatomy » and I learned good stuff.

Sitting on the bench with your feet under the pads and your hands behind your neck. Inhale and tilt your torso without ever exceeding 20° :

  • Move your torso back up by slightly rounding your back to better target the effort on recuts abdominis

 

  • Exhale at the end of the movement.

This exercise work the entire rectus abdominis muscles and iliopsoas, rectus femoris and tensor fasciae latae (these last 3 muscles help pelvis anteversion). This movement is to do with high sets.

Variant

incline bench sit ups

When you back up, you can do a rotation of your torso to transfer a part of the effort to the obliques.

Example

A rotation to the left work more intensely right abdominal external oblique, left abdominal internal oblique and rectus abdominis on the right. Twists can be done alternately or unilaterally. The goal is to focus on the muscular sensation and it’s unnecessary to incline the bench too much.

Diagram showing the senses of action of abdomen muscle and the system of viscera’s compression

action abdomen muscle system viscera compression

 

  1. Rectus abdominis

  2. Abdominal external oblique

  3. Abdominal internal oblique

  4. Transverse abdominal

With quadrupeds, the entire rectus abdominis muscles passively support the viscera (like a hammock ) and help a little in locomotion.

With human being in bipedal mode, the entire rectus abdominis muscles have hugely strengthened so that the torso and pelvis is upright and prevent the pelvis from tipping excessively during walking or running. They became powerful muscles of contention and they built a strong core to maintain viscera in an active way.

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-Steph

Gym Ladder Sit-Ups

gym ladder sit ups

I read a Frederic Delavier’s book « Strength Training Anatomy » and I learned good stuff.

Hook you feet in the gym ladder with your thighs vertically. Your back to the floor and your hands behind your head :

  • Inhale and raise your torso as high as possible by rounding your spine.

  • Exhale at the end of the movement.

This exercise mainly works rectus abdominis and a little bit internal and external obliques.

rectus abdominis

abs muscles anatomy

It’s good to know that farther is your torso from the gym ladder and hook your feet lower, this increases the mobility of the pelvis. This allows a greater range of motion and works more flexors muscles of the hips (iliopsoas, rectus femoris and tensor fasciae latae).

Share this article if you think it can help someone you know. Thank you.

-Steph

Stretching Of Glutes

stretching glutes

I read a Frederic Delavier’s book « Strength Training Anatomy » and I learned good stuff.

Sitting on the floor with one leg stretched out and the other leg bent with your foot on the floor and moving from the outer side of your leg stretched. Press on the outer side of your knee bent with your opposite elbow. This exercise mainly stretches the muscles of the gluteus maximus and the lateral rotator group (piriformis, gemellus superior, obturator internus, gemellus inferior, quadratus femoris and obturator externus).

Variant

It’s possible to press on your knee with your 2 hands.

lateral rotator group muscles hip

stretching glutes variant

Share this article if you think it can help someone you know. Thank you.

-Steph