Lake Placid Olympic Training Center Experience

Rather than continue this month with another installment of “Where Does it Hurt?," I felt it appropriate to speak about my valuable experience at the Lake Placid Olympic Training center. 

With the Chula Vista Training Center (California) rotation under my belt, I went into this rotation with much less trepidation.  The Lake Placid Center is the smallest of the three Olympic Training centers with everything contained in the same building.  The organization of the training and treatment facility is impressive.  Many of the athletes would perform much of their recovery programs on their own.  It seems that for every hour of training, the athletes would have about 20 minutes of therapy and/or recovery.  The recovery modalities included a cold plunge, foam rolling, Normatec compression pants, contrast baths, stick work, etc.  Everyone is very serious about their performance so they take advantage of everything available.  

As I was being introduced to their system, I was told that the developmental athletes were to be educated on what they can do by themselves, and not so much of what we can do for them.  There are two main reasons for this:

1. Many of the lower level athletes do not have medical staff available to them when they are touring so by only treating them and not teaching them, we were doing them a disservice.  We hold this tenet true in our office as well.  We try and teach our patients as much as possible to prevent their reliance on our services.  
2. The top performers/athletes may not receive the treatment they need if the medical staff is always busy with the lower level athletes.  

It seems like a prejudicial system and unfortunately it is.  It all boils down to business and monetary support.  The more medals we have, the more likely sponsors will be to contribute to the training centers.  The more sponsorship, the more funding for the facilities and athletes - thus the system is perpetuated.  

Another situation I was quickly exposed to is the sacrifice that the athletes endure in their quest for Olympic glory.  Many athletes are still in high school and attain their education online while they train.  These young athletes lose a large portion of their childhood as a result.  The sacrifice for the older athletes who are out of college and/or have entered the working world is even more harsh.  Many work food service jobs during the summer to stockpile funds that will sustain them through the competition season.  One story was particularly heartbreaking.  One of the athletes needed knee surgery over the summer and therefore could not work.  As a result, that athlete will essentially be accumulating credit card debt to handle the every day expenses throughout the competition season.  These athletes are away from their families and friends and are constantly fighting to achieve their Olympic dreams.  

I realized after being upstate that I have a much greater passion for the Winter Olympic events.  I learned that at 90 miles per hour these athletes experience 5 G’s of force on their bodies and have to time their breathing during turns in order to take in any oxygen.  The walls of the turns on this particular bobsled track are about 18 feet tall.  Some tracks are even higher.  When the sleds come through these high turns, they cn be 90 degrees to vertical and cross the wall at a height of over 14 feet.  The difference between watching these events on television vs. experiencing them first hand is indescribable.  Television cannot relay the magnitude of the force, speed, and grandeur of these events.  

During my time, I was able to work with athletes from Bobsled, Skeleton, Luge, Ski Jumping, Team Handball and Aerialists.  Many of the skills that I have learned over my years of practice came in handy.  My size was also a big plus.  I did not realize that most Bobsledders look like linebackers and require a heavy hand to manipulate.  I was flattered to learn that the Bobsled/Skeleton team asked that I join them for their “Cup Tour” with a paid medical staff position.  Unfortunately this would be a 12 week committment per year which I feel would be too much time away from my family and my practice.  I politely declined but told them that I would still like to be involved with the team.  So instead, I will be attending their World Championship in February up in Lake Placid for two weeks.  Moving forward, I also hope to work with them at their “Team Trials”  in Oct/Nov.  The ultimate goal is to be selected as part of the Medical Staff for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  Working bi-annually with the team should facilitate my invitation and I have my fingers crossed.  

Next month the article will return to its “Where Does It Hurt?” format.  Even though this article was off topic, I hope it was as educational for you as my experience was for me.  I encourage you to seek out and support our Olympic athletes and the Olympic Programs.  Professional athletes are amazing, but what percentage of those athletes would do what they do just for a medal?  I believe this speaks volumes.