The Athlete's Lawyer

Too much exercise can be counter productive and put you on your butt ! Plan rest, nutrition and recuperation as carefully as you plan your workouts and you will avoid overuse injury

Having studied exercise physiology, I am often taken aback by some of the extreme forms of training and competition being promoted by so-called “sports gurus.”  The are recipes for injury, disability and worse.  While the human body is indeed a miraculous collection of systems, it is not immortal and our bodies need time to rest and recuperate after the stresses of sports training and Read the rest of this entry »

The National Football League is looking into kickoff modifications in order to help ‘deal with injury numbers’ according to news reports this week.  Indicating that it was a matter of safety, along with possible suspensions for player who make illegal hits, the NFL is recommending that kickoffs be moved from the 30- to the 35-yard line — as it was before 1994.  Also, kicking team members must line up within five yards of the ball.  This would prevent the kicking team members from lining up 10-15 yards behind the ball to get a running start.  By the time these offensive players got downfield, they were at full speed.

The sound of the impact when 300 pounds of professional football player, sprinting at top speed, strikes another player moving in the opposite direction at maximum velocity, it something not soon forgotten.  The momentum of each player (speed times mass) is truly shocking.  The league recognizes the potential for devastating and career ending head, neck and brain injuries and is looking into way to modify the game while still keeping its essential features.  Read more at the Washington Examiner.

Brain injury in sports can occur even without outward manifestation, such as bleeding, swelling of the skull, bruising of the skin or laceration. Sports medicine specialists who study head injury in athletics have long noted that it is the movement of the brain inside the hard, bony shell (the cranium) that often determines the nature and extent of the brain damage. Director of the Brain Injury and Sports Concussion Institute at the University of Virginia School of Medicine Jeffrey Barth has explained, “if [a player] is not expecting it, the head snaps on the neck [when struck].”  The Sports Illustrated Special Report Concussions concluded by noting that when an athlete is caught off guard or going the wrong way, even a minor blow to the head can be devastating.  This is because the speed at which the head snaps back and how long it takes to decelerate often determine whether an athlete will be concussed.  It the snapping of the head and neck is rapid enough, the player can lose consciousness momentarily, and suffer a concussion.

To entirely prevent or mitigate concussive head-snapping, athletes Read the rest of this entry »

While competing in the FINA Open Water 10-kilometer World Cup, a swimming race held near Dubai, 26-year-old Fran Crippen, died.   According to news reports, Crippen was a medal-winning member of the U.S. national team who in July placed fourth in the 10K and third in the 5K at the 2010 world championships in Quebec. Temperatures at the time of the race had reached abnormally high levels for competition—roughly 87° in the water and 100° on land—and Crippen was said to have told his coach late in the race that he wasn’t feeling well. When Crippen failed to finish, several competitors turned around to start a rescue effort. The rescue concluded when deep-sea divers recovered his body near the final buoy on the triangular two-kilometer course. (Three other swimmers were hospitalized and later released with what were believed to have been heat-related issues.) According to the Sports Illustrated coverage, Crippen’s death marks the first fatality at a FINA event.

Sometimes, after running long distances in extremely cold conditions, Herndon Virginia sports injury lawyer Doug Landau, despite wearing layers, shows little brain activity !

When it gets dark earlier in the evening, and when glare and low sunsets compromise driver’s vision, it’s best to run off the roads or with a group.  Join a local running group in your area and enjoy your running.  Running off roads has its own set of special hazards.  For one thing, the uneven surfaces that I favor can cause twisted ankle in the low light conditions this time of year.  Also, the cold temperatures make soft cinder, mud and grass courses more unforgiving, leading to stress on the knees, IT bands and ankles.

If you run on streets, wear as much reflective and light colored gear as you can.  I understand that black clothing is “slenderizing,” but as a driver myself, I have a hard mew seeing runners in all black during “rush hour.”  If you can run during your lunch break, when the temperatures are higher and the lighting is better, try to do so.  It will keep your energy level high during the afternoon “doldrums,” and you won’t be so tired (or unmotivated) facing a workout after your commute home at the end of the day.  I tend to overdress in the winter with lots of layers, as I can always remove a light jacket, hat or open up some vents.  When there is snow on the ground, I like to wear high gators like mountain hikers wear.  It keeps snow and ice out of my running shoes and socks.  As long as my  extremities are warm (my hands, feet and head), then I can keep going for many miles.  But, as soon as I get wet and cold, I head for home,. hot soup and a bath.  Stay warm, run with friends, be safe and have fun this winter.

Doug Landau of the Herndon Law Firm ABRAMS LANDAU, at last year's National Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the Prince Georges Sports & Learning Complex ("PGS&LC") in Landover Maryland

If you want to see how fast you are or you do not like running in the cold air, try an indoor track meet at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex (“PGS&LC”).  PGS&LC is convenient for track and field athletes from Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC.  While the track itself is not banked, it is fast, well maintained, and there are bleachers and a high ceiling so that you do not feel cramped or unable to breath.  Plus there is an outdoor track outside and plenty of space to warm up and cool down.

The facility is located on approximately 80 acres adjacent to the Washington Redskins’ FedEx Field in Landover, MD.  Indoor track meets are run throughout the winter months, with special events for masters athletes, kids and high school athletes.  The track features a newly installed 200-meter Mondo Super X Synthetic surface.  Competitors are allowed to use a maximum 1/4 inch pyramid spikes ONLY!  Be sure to check out the 2010/2011 indoor track and field meets scheduled, featuring the areas finest high school and collegiate athletes.  Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. has competed at the Complex many times.  Last winter the PGS&LC hosted the indoor Masters National Track & Field Championships.  The development concept for the Complex is a mix of publicly and privately owned and operated facilities on the site, which is owned by The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

Sometimes even the fastest athletes need to stop and be thankful for the gifts and good health they have.  Thanksgiving is a time for celebration.  We celebrate family, friends and food.  It is a unique holiday that does not memorialize the great deeds of some war hero or leader, but rather the bounties that we have in the United States and the American tradition of gathering around the table to give thanks.

It is also a time to think of those who may be less fortunate than ourselves.  While I give of my time to volunteer, direct and help with school, sports and law related events, at ABRAMS LANDAU, we donate clothing, food, and supplies to the local free clinic, neighborhood resource center and community center.  In addition, regular donations of goods to Purple Heart, AmVets, the Lupus Foundation, Salvation Army, and the Red Cross Blood drives and National Bone Marrow Registry collection efforts.  While money may be tight throughout the USA, there are many ways we can give to others and contribute to help our fellow Americans.  Everyone at the Landau Law Shop hopes to do even more in 2011.

A pedestrian was struck in a hit-and-run at the Dumfries commuter lot Tuesday, but the Prince William Police would not take a report.  And it was not the first time this week someone was hit at the Dumfries commuter parking lot on Virginia Route 234 !  After a 38-year-old man was struck and killed there Friday morning, now the news reports that a U.S. Air Force Airman who had just gotten off of an OmniRide commuter bus after a day of work at the Pentagon, was hit by a car at the lot about 6 p.m. Tuesday.

He was walking past the entrance of the lot that faces Va. 234 when a car pulled into the lot from the busy six-lane road and then hit him in the knee, injuring the Medial Collateral Ligament.   “The guy stopped and got out of the car and told me the sun was in his eyes and he couldn’t see me,” the victim said.  He did not believe that he was seriously injured at the time. But when he got home he started to feel pain in his knee, and his wife then convinced him to call police and report the crash.  She called for him only to find an officer would not Read the rest of this entry »

Maryland law defines aggressive driving as committing at the same time or during a continuous driving period, three or more of the following offenses:

• traffic signal violation
• improper passing
• failure to drive in a single or proper lane
• following too closely
• failure to stop/yield right of way
• exceeding the speed limit

To Report an Aggressive Driving Incident that Occurred in Maryland you have two options. You can Read the rest of this entry »

To Report an Aggressive Driving Incident that Occurred in the District of Columbia you have two options for reporting an aggressive driver to law enforcement. You can report an aggressive driver by dialing 311 and your call should be directed to the appropriate department. 311 is designed to help citizens report non-emergencies such as situations that are not serious, not life-threatening or not currently in progress. To report the incident after the fact, you must be able to identify the operator of the vehicle and provide a tag number, car make and model and be willing to serve as a witness.

NOTE: Each law enforcement agency has specific requirements and procedures for reporting traffic safety violations. It is up to each agency to respond to file reports.