Tour of Flannders,Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix it must be spring!

Rain, flowers, warmer temps, and rough cobblestone roads whats not to love.......pollen maybe. While Quick step's Stijn Devolder has won Flanders for the second time thanks in part to Boonen be a marked man for this race and the American everyone wants to see win one of these classics George Hincapie running out of rode the other two classics are this week. Recovery is an obvious important strategy and must be maximized like a Grand tour. The Distances and ridding full gas during the spring has the top guys on the line of injury or illness. In my temple hills clinic we often see that nutrition and supplementation can make a huge difference in recovery. We alter diets to be less pro-inflammatory and add supplements that create an anti-inflammatory effect naturally. A recent study done pre and post ACL-Surgery found in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving men undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, supplementation with the antioxidants, vitamin C (500 mg) and vitamin E (200 IU - 50% d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, 50% d-alpha-tocopherol), twice daily, for a period of 2 weeks pre-surgery and 12 weeks post-surgery, was found to attenuate the increase in IL-10 (proinflammatory cytokine that may potentiate muscle atrophy), found in patients after ACL surgery. Immediately following surgery, levels of inflammation and muscle damage increased in both the active and placebo groups. The group that received antioxidants was found to have a significantly lower IL-10 response, compared to the placebo group. These results suggest that supplementation pre- and post-surgery may benefit patients undergoing ACL surgery, by reducing levels of IL-10 - an inflammatory cytokine - thereby potentially reducing the extent of muscle atrophy. Of course this is just one part of recovery and a total recovery program will always be the best option. I once again will be hoping that Big George gets his Win.

Ref: "Modulation of inflammation by vitamin E and C supplementation prior to anterior cruciate ligament surgery" Barker T, Leonard SW, et al, Free Radic Biol Med, 2009; 49(5): 599-606. (Address: Maret G. Traber, 571 Weniger Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.