Cameron is Two

This post is not really kinesiology related, but Cameron turned two last Friday, and I thought I would add some pictures of him to the blog.  He has grown up so much the past two years and is really smart.  I said I wouldn't try to force him to learn his anatomy, but he really enjoys learning information and I just couldn't resist.  He can point to and say his brain, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, pecs, heart, belly, elbow, shoulder, patellas (it comes out more "tella", but that's impressive for a two year old), and ankle.  He can also stretch, show his muscles, and he likes to try and do pushups.  Who knows, he might just follow in my footsteps and pursue a career in kinesiology!  Below are some pictures of him.

 Maybe a future professor?

 He's finally started wearing baseball caps, so of course it has to be a Cardinals hat!

 Pointing to his pecs.

 Showing his belly.

 Stretching.

He's gained almost 25 pounds and grown around 15 inches in 2 years.

There is hope

If you have read this blog in the past, then you know I hate the term "muscle memory."  Just a short recap, but the reason for this is that the muscle cannot remember anything.  All movement is a coordinated process between the nervous system and the muscular system.  However, athletes, coaches, and even so called experts on ESPN (I'm talking about you Sport Science Guy) continue to use the term.  It was refreshing to read an article this week about Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer and his attempt to change his pitching mechanics, and to hear him use the words "neuromuscular programming" instead of "muscle memory."  He essentially said that by attempting to change his pitching mechanics, he is trying to overwrite 10 years of neuromuscular programming.  I don't know a lot about Bauer but he seems like a very smart guy.  He is essentially attempting to make some changes to his throwing motion, and this will require the brain to activate different motor units at different frequencies and with different timing patterns.  Neuromuscular programming is a good description of what is going on.  It is certainly better than muscle memory.  Hopefully more athletes and coaches will start to use this terminology and it will start to replace incorrect terminology.

Classic Lateral Ankle Sprain

Last Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant suffered a lateral ankle sprain.  You can see the video here.  Bryant went up for a shot and his left foot landed on the foot of the defender, forcing his ankle into inversion (bottom of the foot turning towards the mid-line) and plantar flexion (foot pointing down).  This type of mechanism of a lateral ankle sprain occurs commonly in sports like basketball and volleyball.  The players are in close proximity to each other which increases the likelihood of them landing from a jump onto the foot of another player.  The reports said Bryant suffered a severe ankle sprain, but since he was able to attempt to play on Friday, it was likely a Grade II (moderate) ankle sprain. 

You can see in the picture above that the mechanism of a lateral ankle sprain damages the lateral ankle ligaments, which include the anterior talofibular, the posterior talofibular, and the calcaneofibular ligament.  Bryant likely suffered damage to all 3 ligaments.  The best treatment of this injury is a period of rest, management of pain and swelling, followed by rehabilitation to restore range of motion, strength, proprioception, and functional movements.  Since the Lakers are trying to get into the NBA playoffs, rest is not really an option for Bryant (although he isn't playing tonight because of this injury and because he has the flu).  This injury will definitely affect him the rest of the season, although he is a great athlete and has shown the ability to play through pain in the past.