Archive for March, 2011

Longview Physical & Sports Therapy and Longview Orthopedic Associates held their 5th Annual Sports Injury Seminar for high school coaches on March 12 at Pacific Surgical Institute in Longview.

The seminar included presentations by Brian Hoyt, MD (prescription drugs in athletics); Jon Kretzler, MD (compartment syndromes; Anthony Lauder, MD (hand and wrist injuries); Peter Kung, MD (shoulder pathologies in sports); and Dan Ruiz, ATC AT/L (healthy eating and supplements).

The LPST staff also offered a taping lab, a presentation on bracing by ATC Ed Earnest, proprioception/balance drills, and information about hand-wrist and elbow injury evaluation and prevention.

“The coaches continue to report positively regarding the injury seminar,” said LPST co-owner Dave Knoeppel, who organized the event. “One coach who has attended our clinic all five years felt this was the best one. The bottom line is getting information to the coaches and upgrading skills so they can help prevent and care for acute injuries.”

LPST's Ed Earnest provides taping tips to Wayne and Pam Hayes of Three Rivers Christian

Nichole Winiger and John Kowalski of Longview Physical & Sports Therapy were among 250 participants who completed the Sand & Misery Challenge in Castle Rock on March 5th. The event was organized by the Cowlitz Valley Runners.

Dr. Nichole Winiger (right) descends the climbing net

Winiger and Kowalski – both of whom are physical therapists – survived the rugged 3.1-mile course that required runners to deal with 16 obstacles, including a climbing wall, sandpits, mudholes, and a frigid creek crossing.

Neither had done an obstacle-course race of this type before.

Winiger, who runs regularly and has completed two half-marathons, said the Sand & Misery Challenge was intense. She was just getting over a cold and hadn’t trained for the hills the S & M had in store.

“I didn’t expect to do so much crawling,” she said. “But the biggest surprise was the chest-deep water crossing. It was so cold it took my breath away.

“After climbing a steep sand mound and jumping over a firepit, I didn’t have much energy left when we got to the tire crawl.”

Dr. John Kowalski at the creek crossing

Kowalski, who admits to not being much of a runner, was happy just to finish. “The obstacles were fun and a good break from running,” he said.

“The best part was jumping into the water because then I couldn’t feel my legs burning.”

Both plan to show up for a similar event – The Sasquatch Run – at the Toutle River RV Park in May.

Kowalski has also signed on for another May adventure, the Growlers Gulch 5K, a grueling mountain bike ride near Castle Rock that covers 26 miles and includes 5,000 feet of climbing.

“It’s even dumber than the S & M,” he said.

Winiger and Kowalski are all smiles at the finish line