OT: Iowa's internal investigation into rhabdo outbreak
Many of you will have seen this on Dr Saturday's blog, but I thought it was worth posting here as well. The internal investigation has been completed. The most shocking thing to me was this:
The strength and conditioning coaches were aware of heat injury and dehydration, but they did not know about rhabdomyolysis until the cluster (of 13 players) occurred.
How is that possible??? The rest of the highlights:
Committee conclusions
• The committee is as certain as possible that the strenuous squat-lifting workout the players did on Jan. 20 caused rhabdomyolysis in the 13 who were hospitalized, as well as serious muscle injuries to players who did not develop advanced rhabdomyolysis symptoms.
• The 13 players were in no way responsible for their own injuries. Rhabdomyolysis was not associated with use of prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, supplements or energy drinks.
• Heavy workouts of the type done on Jan. 20 had been conducted successfully in June 2004 and December 2007 and were not known to cause rhabdomyolysis. Therefore, the football coaches, strength coaches or athletic trainers did not have reason to suspect that a similar workout in 2011 would cause rhabdomyolysis in 13 players. However, timing of the 2011 workout was different than in 2004 and 2007. The 2004 workout occurred in June, and the 2007 workout was in December after a one-week break. The 2011 workout followed a three-week break.
• There was no evidence to support media and public claims that the workouts were intended to “punish” the football team or that the players were threatened with harsh treatment if they did not excel in the workouts. At a Jan. 18 meeting, the strength coach did make comments to the effect that last season’s close losses should concern everyone in the football program, including players … and that the workouts would determine “who wants to be here.”
Committee recommendations
• The football program should reaffirm its decision to abandon the intense, high-volume squat-lifting workout conducted on Jan. 20, 2011.
• The football program should develop effective mechanisms for determining when players are experiencing unexpected complications that can result from a specific type of workout.
• Whenever a few members of a team become injured or ill after a strenuous workout, all members of the team should be tested to make sure they are not suffering from the same conditions.
I don't know how we lost any recruits to Iowa this year.
March 23rd, 2011 at 11:50 AM ^
I guess everything is just fine now with Iowa's S&C program. I hope that none of those kids have permanet injuries from their condition. What a crock. Sounds like the same spin doctor who works for Tressel has a contract witht Iowa.
March 23rd, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^
March 24th, 2011 at 12:42 PM ^
It was punitive action that went overboard. I am still stunned nobody took the fall for this. Iowa lost leads in the fourth quarter, seemed gassed towards the end of games and the staff wanted to send a message. Unfortunately, they graduated a large senior class who should have been providing the leadership last year and did not end up getting the punishment.
March 23rd, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^
after a three week break. Rhabdo happens when you get a combination of intense and excessive exercise (both are relative measures).
I am an MD (79) and a chem major (75). This stinks worse than that tOSU stuff. That is an AWFULLY high # of cases. We know dehydration and overly harsh workouts cause rhabdo but drugs, especially ANABOLIC STEROIDS, are a MAJOR cause.I have not heard a peep about this possibility. It would be very difficult to cause rhabdo in so many young trained atheletes unless some other factor is involved. Performance enhancing drugs of some sort should definately be investigated.
It certainly stinks of something related to PED's. I heard on the radio here in Iowa today that they had done that workout numerous times without any health issues. There are certainly questions that need to be answered, but Iowa won't pursue the case any further. The kids affected are medically cleared to play now, and they are participating in spring practice.
March 24th, 2011 at 11:45 PM ^
The probable reason for the issues this time is that the workout came right after 3 weeks off, instead of after a continuous period of supervised conditioning. Those who ended up hospitalized, and probably some others as well, didn't keep up their training over break. Not saying it's the players' fault, they have paid strength coaches for a reason, but PEDs doesn't seem as likely given the circumstances.
As a doctor who has treated related disorders, I remain very skeptical about the conclusion that the workouts alone caused this cluster of cases. To have so many develop it at once with no other cause strains credultiy.
In addition, one must carefully parse the committee's statement that there were no contributory "prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, supplements or energy drinks "Has the committee also excluded illegal drugs?
I doubt that the committee could confidently exclude a role of such drugs, even if "tox screens" for illegal drugs were done in everyone upon the hospital admission of each athlete. The problem is that a wide variety of stimulant drugs would be detected only within a few days of the most recent use; yet, even drugs taken regularly but stopped a week prior, could still produce profound delayed effects on nerve cells. These effects could make a person more vulnerable to a neurochemical cause of rhabdomyolysis.
Such stimulants are taken by some students to improve academic or athletic performance. .
Other possibilities also exist. I admittedly do not have access to any detailed records. But the committee statement does not convince me. Perhaps the committee is not so sure either, since they only claime to be "as certain as possible" about the cause." This statement means very little, since a 1-2% level of confidence mght be "as certain as possible" given this odd cluster of cases.
My Daughter got Rhabdo while training with the Marines. Scared the hell out of me. I hope those young men will all be ok.