Cold sores - not the lip kind

As fall hits in a matter of days and some of us continue into the fall touring season, fall leagues, and college season a key issue in terms of keeping your body healthy comes up - playing in cold temperatures.

My friend's Lisa and Shawn brought this up about the same time I was thinking about it last spring. I had just hurt my hamstring at Double Down in Central Michigan after a good warm up and countless months of stretching and working out in preparation for the season. I realized that the majority of my injuries happen in the colder months.

Pictured Above: Goat at Chicago Heavyweight Championship. Notice the belt on John Hassell - Greatest trophy ever (photo courtesy of Adam-photographer for CHC)

The problem seems simple to solve. It comes down to:

• Make sure you warm up properly
• Put on warm clothing at any breaks (arguably wear warm clothing while playing)
• The toque is an amazing piece of warm clothing
  
• Continue to do mini warm ups throughout the day
• Stop playing for any body twinges you feel and evaluate

If only I had a little voice in my head that would remind me of those four things. If anything, it is very useful to have one person on your team who is responsible for constantly reminding the rest of the team of these simple concepts.

PJ