Welcome to 2022!
I hope everyone had a joyous, relaxing, and festive holiday season. Here is to 2022 being better than 2020 and 2021.
This edition gets published just after the college football playoff national championship game. Say what you want about the process, but in my humble opinion the two best teams are there. Indianapolis sure did look cold outside, but inside that stadium was one awesome game. Congratulations to the Bulldogs of the University of Georgia. I have no allegiance to either team, but as a college football fan the backstory of the Stetson Bennett IV the game winning QB is awesome and needs to be told over and over. In today's day of if I don't play on day one, I am transferring – his story of resilience, commitment, dedication, and belief in yourself is inspirational.
Well, now that college football is done, I am not sure what I will do on Saturday's maybe all the stuff I didn't do since the season started in August.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stay safe as we deal with the current variant. Encourage vaccinations, don't forget the 3rd dose, and wear a mask.
We start the year off with the Head, Neck, and Spine section. Christopher A. McGrew, MD, FACSM, has assembled some interesting articles on a variety of topics for this year's kick off edition. We have some very interesting case reports in this section covering concomitant persistent symptoms post-concussion and infectious mononucleosis and sport-related concussion preceding adrenal insufficiency and hypopituitarism.
There are two interesting invited commentaries in this edition, be sure to read them: “Are Circadian Rhythms a New Frontier in Athletic Performance?" by Niall Simmons, BSc; Sumona Mandal, BSc; Bruce Paton, BSc, PhD; and Irfan Ahmed, MBBS, MA, MRCGP, MSc, MFSEM and “Rethinking the 12% Body-Fat Minimum for Female Wrestlers," by Craig A Horswill, PhD and Anthony Roedeshimer.
This issue also contains two special communication articles. The first is “Family Dog Ownership and Youth Physical Activity Levels: A Scoping Review," by Colleen J. Chase, M.S.; Megan K. Mueller, Ph.D.; Caroline Garvey, M.S.; and Katie Potter, Ph.D. and the second is “Clinical Utility and Validity of Exercise Vital Sign in Children," by Julie A. Young, MA, ATC, PES; Brittany N. Hand; James A. Onate, PhD, FNATA; and Amy E. Valasek, MD.
In Pearls & Pitfalls, E. Randy Eichner, MD, FACSM, discusses lessons from losing lives to brutal heat. Web Alert reviews several interesting web sites and apps you'll want to check out.
Gratuitous advertising: If you can, consider attending ACSM's International Health & Fitness Summit in Dallas, TX from March 31 to April 3. ACSM's Annual Meeting is coming up in San Diego, hope to actually see everyone there.
Sincerely,
Shawn
Shawn F. Kane, MD, FACSM
Editor-in-Chief
