Thursday, January 20, 2011
Friday, April 16, 2010
Extreme Makeover: The Kyle Hill House Edition
Ok, so I have been doing some home improvement projects, inspired by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Tool Time, and the Lowe's and Home Depot commercials I've been seeing. Needless to say Kyle's house (my current home as well) could use a bit of a face life. As I am going through the color schemes at Home Depot the color "Beach Sand" catches my eye. I thought to myself, "since the carpet is blue I could paint the walls this beach sand color and create a beach ambiance. I bought a small can to test it out on a wall, some rollers and brushes, put on my painting clothes and went to town on the wall. The color turned out great! I'm not gonna lie I was pretty impressed with myself. I finished one room and then did another cuz I was feeling very ambitious. The next thing I know the sink faucet is shooting water OVER the sink instead of IN the sink. It was too hard to clean off the hard water build-up around the faucet so I was back at Home Depot looking for sink fixtures. The hard part was removing the old faucet! We shut off the water in the house and climbed under the sink to remove the screws that attached the faucet. They were corroded stiff but after a long battle and a few wrenches later I got the faucet off; however, water started shooting out everywhere and all over me! I yell at Beej, "I thought you turned the water off!" he said he did and told me to just plug the holes with my finger while he puts in the new faucet. We got the faucet in, turned the water back on, twisted the faucet knob and Wala! water flowing like rain from above! Slowly but surely this house is becoming a home! Now move that bus!! That's when everyone gets all teary-eyed.
My conclusion to this is that home improvement projects can be fun and they teach me skills like team work and problem solving; just like college! I'm jus sayin'!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
My Story of Skating
Two things that I really enjoy are Latin American culture and skateboarding. As a kid in junior high skateboarding was my life. Everyday after school I would meet up with my friends and skate out in the front yard, or wherever we could. I soon entered high school and got caught up with the madness of marching band, my ska band, and of course, girls. I guess you could say I kinda took a hiatus from skating.
At age 19 I left on a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Lima, Peru. As I served the people of Peru I gained a great appreciation for them and their country. One experience that I often reflect upon is the time I was in a little town on the outskirts of Lima called Marquez. It was a humble town along the beach, and one day I happened to see a kid in the plaza with a Blind board. I asked if I could borrow it for a minute, and sure enough he let me do a few tricks. I was surprised that I landed a kickflip first try. I also did a few shuvits and 180s, and before I knew it a crowd had gather around me. As they stood there I could see by the looks on their faces that they were pretty impressed with my simple tricks. Needless to say people were more anxious to talk to me, and when they sat down and learned how to gain true happiness through the gospel of Jesus Christ. They had no idea this skateboarding gringo had a message that could truly bless their lives.
Skateboarding has definitely blessed my life. It has given me an outlet to release my stress in a positive way. It is a good source of exercise to keep me fit. And it has opened doors to sharing the gospel.
Chico Brenes is a good example of someone who is "Living the American Dream" but always remembering, and never forgetting, his humble roots. He does a lot to promote skateboarding in his home country of Nicaragua. He is an inspiration to me and many others. His motives are simple. Spend time with his family, including his father whom he hasn’t seen in five years, share his countries beauty and culture with his fellow American skateboarders and finally, to give back to Nicaragua and help strengthen the burgeoning skate scene of his homeland. Click on the link to check out his trip.
Firsthand: "Chico Brenes" Episode
At age 19 I left on a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Lima, Peru. As I served the people of Peru I gained a great appreciation for them and their country. One experience that I often reflect upon is the time I was in a little town on the outskirts of Lima called Marquez. It was a humble town along the beach, and one day I happened to see a kid in the plaza with a Blind board. I asked if I could borrow it for a minute, and sure enough he let me do a few tricks. I was surprised that I landed a kickflip first try. I also did a few shuvits and 180s, and before I knew it a crowd had gather around me. As they stood there I could see by the looks on their faces that they were pretty impressed with my simple tricks. Needless to say people were more anxious to talk to me, and when they sat down and learned how to gain true happiness through the gospel of Jesus Christ. They had no idea this skateboarding gringo had a message that could truly bless their lives.
Skateboarding has definitely blessed my life. It has given me an outlet to release my stress in a positive way. It is a good source of exercise to keep me fit. And it has opened doors to sharing the gospel.
Chico Brenes is a good example of someone who is "Living the American Dream" but always remembering, and never forgetting, his humble roots. He does a lot to promote skateboarding in his home country of Nicaragua. He is an inspiration to me and many others. His motives are simple. Spend time with his family, including his father whom he hasn’t seen in five years, share his countries beauty and culture with his fellow American skateboarders and finally, to give back to Nicaragua and help strengthen the burgeoning skate scene of his homeland. Click on the link to check out his trip.
Firsthand: "Chico Brenes" Episode
Friday, March 5, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Science of Skateboarding
Many people see a skateboard and only see a useless wooden toy. Some might argue that skateboarding isn't even a real sport. The Discover Channel's Time Warp gave viewers an in depth look into the mechanics of skateboarding and demonstrated that a skateboard can be seen as an instrument that allows individuals to challenge the laws of gravity while making it look so simple. Skateboarding truly is physics at its best! Not to mention Greg Lutzka is one of its top scientists! Check it out!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Priceless
This is probably one of my favorite pictures. It was featured on www.berrics.com e-mails of the week. Every time i look at it i cannot help but laugh. This is what skateboarding is all about; getting excited! I only wish there were more people like this crotch-grabbing kid in the world. I'm just sayin'!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Skateboarding Safer Than Basketball?
Dr. Michael Yorgason
Recently, I've been asked by several patients about the potential injuries that might occur as a result of Billings' new skateboard park. As orthopedists, we have always assumed that skateboarding was a high-risk activity, based on the number of patients who show up in the emergency department with injuries.
The difficult thing, however, is to quantify how much risk any particular activity has. For instance, it would be nice if we knew the exact risk of wrecking a motorcycle during a motocross race, or of breaking your pelvis during a horseback ride.
We all suspect these are dangerous activities, but given the level of scientific study available, and the complexity of each of these events (how long was the ride, where was it, what was the weather, etc) we probably will never have a definite understanding of the risk involved with these activities.
That being said, I did some research about skateboarding injuries and came to these conclusions:
The best research which quantifies risk of skateboarding comes from the Journal of Trauma, Oct. 2002, and is written by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They determined the number of skateboarding injuries per active skateboarder and compared those numbers to in-line skating and basketball. Skateboarding had an injury rate of 8.9 per 1,000 participants. In-line skating was 3.9/1,000 and basketball produced 21.2 ER-treated injuries per 1,000 players. Statistically, skateboarding is safer than playing basketball.
A study done at Montana State University-Bozeman in 1996 gives us a good characterization of these injuries. Most injuries were in boys ages 10-14 years - not surprising, as that illustrates the typical skateboarder. Thirty-three percent of the injuries happened during the first week of skateboarding. Wrist, arm or ankle fractures account for 50 percent of injuries.
The remainder are sprains, contusions and, rarely, a severe injury such as head or neck injury. Skateboarding on public streets or adjacent to traffic is more dangerous and can produce serious injuries due to collision with motor vehicles.
Skateboarders rarely use protective equipment such as helmets and wrist guards. If we compare that to in-line skaters, however, studies suggest these two protective devices would decrease the rate of injury and perhaps the severity (a sprain vs. fracture).
My own experience with skateboarding injuries suggests it is very similar to snowboarding, with broken or sprained wrists the most common injury.
In comparison, the most common basketball injury is an ankle sprain, followed by knee ligament injuries and ankle fractures.
In summary, I now plan to tell my patients that skateboarding IS a dangerous activity. The most likely significant injury is a fractured wrist. The overall risk is less than playing basketball, and is probably similar to riding a bicycle or snowboarding (depending on how many risks or tricks are attempted).
Wearing wrist guards and a helmet can significantly reduce the risk of injury. The potential benefit from the skateboard park is that it will shift riders from the sidewalks and streets to the park, and there will be fewer falls due to surface irregularity.
Dr. Michael Yorgason is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with additional fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery. He practices at Montana Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, PC.
Recently, I've been asked by several patients about the potential injuries that might occur as a result of Billings' new skateboard park. As orthopedists, we have always assumed that skateboarding was a high-risk activity, based on the number of patients who show up in the emergency department with injuries.
The difficult thing, however, is to quantify how much risk any particular activity has. For instance, it would be nice if we knew the exact risk of wrecking a motorcycle during a motocross race, or of breaking your pelvis during a horseback ride.
We all suspect these are dangerous activities, but given the level of scientific study available, and the complexity of each of these events (how long was the ride, where was it, what was the weather, etc) we probably will never have a definite understanding of the risk involved with these activities.
That being said, I did some research about skateboarding injuries and came to these conclusions:
The best research which quantifies risk of skateboarding comes from the Journal of Trauma, Oct. 2002, and is written by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They determined the number of skateboarding injuries per active skateboarder and compared those numbers to in-line skating and basketball. Skateboarding had an injury rate of 8.9 per 1,000 participants. In-line skating was 3.9/1,000 and basketball produced 21.2 ER-treated injuries per 1,000 players. Statistically, skateboarding is safer than playing basketball.
A study done at Montana State University-Bozeman in 1996 gives us a good characterization of these injuries. Most injuries were in boys ages 10-14 years - not surprising, as that illustrates the typical skateboarder. Thirty-three percent of the injuries happened during the first week of skateboarding. Wrist, arm or ankle fractures account for 50 percent of injuries.
The remainder are sprains, contusions and, rarely, a severe injury such as head or neck injury. Skateboarding on public streets or adjacent to traffic is more dangerous and can produce serious injuries due to collision with motor vehicles.
Skateboarders rarely use protective equipment such as helmets and wrist guards. If we compare that to in-line skaters, however, studies suggest these two protective devices would decrease the rate of injury and perhaps the severity (a sprain vs. fracture).
My own experience with skateboarding injuries suggests it is very similar to snowboarding, with broken or sprained wrists the most common injury.
In comparison, the most common basketball injury is an ankle sprain, followed by knee ligament injuries and ankle fractures.
In summary, I now plan to tell my patients that skateboarding IS a dangerous activity. The most likely significant injury is a fractured wrist. The overall risk is less than playing basketball, and is probably similar to riding a bicycle or snowboarding (depending on how many risks or tricks are attempted).
Wearing wrist guards and a helmet can significantly reduce the risk of injury. The potential benefit from the skateboard park is that it will shift riders from the sidewalks and streets to the park, and there will be fewer falls due to surface irregularity.
Dr. Michael Yorgason is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with additional fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery. He practices at Montana Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, PC.
