November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Many patient programs are centered on food and medication restrictions. New treatments and a better understanding of this condition have led to increased sports participation.
Approximately 29.1 million people in the United States (~9 per cent of the population) have been diagnosed with diabetes. This represents a rising health problem with significant impact on health care costs.
Diabetes is divided into three types:
• Type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes is the result of an inability of the pancreas to produce a sufficient amount of insulin. Insulin is a hormone responsible for taking sugar from the bloodsteam and allowing it to enter a cell where it is used for energy.
• Type 2 or non-insulin dependent diabetes is typically due to a resistance of cells to respond to the insulin available.
• Prediabetes or Impaired Glucose Tolerance is a reversible condition where blood sugars are elevated but not to a sufficient level to define the person as diabetic.
The goal of diabetic treatment is to keep the blood sugar at a constant, acceptable level. Establishing this state of euglycemia is much more difficult in a diabetic.
Diet, exercise and medication are the basic approaches to treatment. Increased activity will burn more sugar and therefore lower the insulin demand.
The use of programmable insulin pumps has allowed many athletes to participate at the highest levels of competition. The pump can sense the blood sugar level and release an appropriate amount of insulin.
“I advise patients to just move,” states Dr. Nathan Lassman, Chief of Endocrinology at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. “Any activity that a patient enjoys and can perform regularly is a big plus in treating diabetes.”
Diabetes should not be a disabling condition for aspiring athletes.
Dr. Alessi is a neurologist in Norwich and serves as an on-air contributor for ESPN. He is director of UConn NeuroSport and can be reached at agalessi@uchc.edu
Special Olympics has grown from humble beginnings
At the time of its inception in 1968, Special Olympics was a
program designed to provide an athletic outlet for people in the United States
who had intellectual disabilities.
It has grown to become one of the largest athletic organizations in the
world with over 4.4 million athletes, 1 million coaches and 226 programs in 170
countries.
Special Olympics was started by Eunice Shriver Kennedy and
her husband, Sargent Shriver, to address the lack of access to organized sports
for people with intellectual disabilities. Many of the original 1,000 participants suffered from Down’s
Syndrome.
In the past, many of these people were isolated from society
and often placed in institutions.
This restricted any meaningful physical activity and socialization with
peers.
Participants must qualify by being certified by an agency or
health professional as having intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays or
significant learning or vocational problems.
Special Olympics has grown from summer sports to winter
sports with a variety of team competitions. World games are held every two years and vary between summer
and winter venues.
Unified sports teams consist of participants who have
intellectual disabilities with those who do not. This provides another step toward more inclusive sports
participation. There are now half a million participants in unified sports
worldwide.
It is clear that periodic training culminating in a single
event is not sufficient for athletic fitness. This has lead to establishing Unified Sports Fitness Clubs
where fitness activities are measured and studied.
“The success of Special Olympics over the past 46 years is
based on its ability to evolve with the changing needs of intellectually impaired
athletes,” states Mr. Beau Doherty, president of Special Olympics Connecticut.
Special Olympics has become part of the fabric of worldwide
sports by including athletes who were previously excluded.
Dr. Alessi is a neurologist in Norwich and serves as an
on-air contributor for ESPN. He is
director of UConn NeuroSport and can be reached at agalessi@uchc.edu
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