More (About the) Swine Flu 4 You

In posts from this past October (and last October 2008), I reviewed some of the important steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting the flu.

Why? Because it's a Winter illness and basketball is a Winter Sport (at least here in the US).

But what about the rest of the world? What if you're one of the lucky players who plan to participate in an international tournament or travel program?

Well, according to an article that was published on Fiba.com today, new guidelines have been enacted for basketball players around the world.

As written in the article (which can be found in its entirety here),

"During a meeting of the medical leaders of the international team sport federations important questions regarding the H1/N1 pandemic (Swine Flu) at international sporting events was discussed. Experts from FIFA, IIHF, IHF, FIBA, FINA, IBAF, ICC and FIVB gathered on 1st November 2009 in Lausanne, at the headquarters of FIVB to discuss actions and precautions to be taken. As a result of the meeting and in view of close consultation with (the) WHO (World Health Organization) it was established that the following recommendations be met:

* Players diagnosed with H1N1 flu, by laboratory confirmation, should refrain from any sporting activities during a minimum of 7 days after the appearance of the first symptoms.

* Single dose vaccination against the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus is recommended, as a preventative measure, provided the players do not have existing underlying medical conditions;

*Application of strict rules of hand washing and coughing etiquette as well as avoiding contact with sick people" should be followed. "

So it's the same for ballers around the world

* Get vaccinated now to reduce your risk of getting Swine Flu

* Stay away from sick people

* Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough

* and Wash Your Hands, Wash Your Hands, Wash Your Hands.

Here's some more information about Swine Flu from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Around the World

I've been blogging here for about a year and a half now, trying to help young basketball athletes improve their health, fitness and performance.

Until this past week, however, I didn't know who was actually reading this blog.

Thanks to some technical assistance (Thanks, Jessica!) and a neat program called Sitemeter, I've recently discovered that this blog is not only getting hits from across the United States, but from across the world as well.

The picture above is a graphical representation of today's most recent visitors, including:

* Someone from Houston Texas (where I did my residency training) who read about ankle injuries.
* A person in Rochester, NY who wanted more information about plyometrics.
* A reader from Badalona Spain who was interested in learning more about mouthguard use.
* Someone who has (or knows someone) with patellofemoral syndrome from Bogota, Columbia.
* A Canadian who read about miserable malalignment syndrome.

When I first started this blog, I hoped it would at least help people across my home state of North Carolina. In fact, a little less than 2/3 (65%) of hits are coming from the United States. The rest come from Canada, the UK, South America, etc. It's opened my eyes about both the power of the internet as well as the international interest.

So please (por favor, 請, tevreden, παρακαλώ, svp, bitte, пожалуйста), wherever you play ball - jump on in and join the discussion! You've got friends here from around the world.