UPMC Offers Health And Safety Tips For Super Bowl Watchers

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 26 Jan 2009 - 7:00 PDT

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up to play their hearts out for a sixth Super Bowl win on Feb. 1. John Schindler, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the UPMC Cardiovascular Institute, offers these tips to ensure that your heart stays safely in the game.

- Get the ground game going - Set a goal to participate in regular aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes a day, seven days a week. It can be spread out over the day and keep in mind, the more the better.

- Offense is your best defense - If you have risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, tobacco use, diabetes, family history of heart disease, physical inactivity and obesity), schedule a preventative screening with your physician.

- Stick to the game plan - Don't get too emotionally involved in things you can't control. Stress releases adrenaline in the bloodstream that causes your heart rate and blood pressure to rise temporarily.

- Take the points - Get your blood pressure checked and calculate your body mass index. You can check your body mass index at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi. Set goals to help yourself achieve healthy levels.

- Each second of ball control is critical - If you develop discomfort in the chest, neck, jaw, back, shoulder or arm, along with difficulty breathing, call 911. These are symptoms of a heart attack.

- Every play matters - If you are taking medication for coronary artery disease, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, take your medicine exactly as directed. Also, discuss over the counter medications and dietary supplements with your physician.

- Limit the opposing team in the red zone - Keep your sodium intake to 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams a day, as recommended by the American Heart Association. This means eliminating chili sauce, salted nuts, hot dogs, chips and fast food.

- Err on the side of caution and don't give up the big play - Eat a variety of fish at least twice a week. Include oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids as prevention for coronary artery disease.

- Remember, you're part of a team - Discontinue unhealthy tobacco habits for yourself, your family and friends. Exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk for vascular disease.

- Stay in control - Limit your alcohol intake to less than two drinks a day for men and less than one drink a day for women. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of whiskey.

Alternatives to tailgate temptations

You can satisfy your appetite on Super Bowl Sunday without looking like a Steelers lineman post-game. Leslie Bonci, R.D., director of sports nutrition at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine and long-time Steelers nutrition consultant, gives the following advice to keep temptations to a minimum.

- Kick off the Super Bowl with a breakfast bowl. Oatmeal with chopped fruit and nuts, yogurt with berries and low-fat granola, or eggs with salsa in a whole wheat tortilla are all good options.

- Be sure to eat a healthy lunch so that your appetite won't be out-of-control come game time. Have a cup of soup and a salad or half-a-sandwich with lean protein (chicken or tuna); or combine brown rice in a bowl with chicken, salad and Asian dressing.
v - If you're hosting a party, try offering some healthy snacks: popcorn with a dash of chili powder, baked tortilla chips with black bean and/or salsa dips, and cut-up vegetables.

- Offer low-calorie entrees at half-time, too. Bake potato wedges instead of frying them. Use ground turkey in your chili, or try it with half ground turkey and half lean beef. Marinate chicken breasts yourself and cut them into small serving sizes, or broil a flank steak and slice it thinly.

- Beverage calories add up quickly. Offer light beer as well as low-calorie, non-alcoholic options.

- For dessert, fresh fruit cups, biscotti and key-lime pies (in small slices) tend to be lower in calories than traditional party fare.

Screaming Steelers fans can be hazardous to your ears

No matter where you watch the game, the piercing screams of Steelers fans and other loud sounds can be harmful to your ears. Though effects of noise exposure may go unnoticed for years, people with hearing damage will eventually experience permanent hearing loss that can't completely be compensated for by today's hearing aids.

"Any sound louder than 90 decibels - about the noise level of a loud party - can cause hearing damage after prolonged exposure," says Catherine Palmer, Ph.D., director of the Center for Audiology and Hearing Aids at UPMC's Eye and Ear Institute. "The echoes of thousands of screaming fans at a football stadium can be much louder, and so can sound levels at most bars, where loud music and televisions cause patrons to speak even louder, especially if those patrons are Steelers fans!"

Dr. Palmer recommends wearing hearing protection in loud settings. "Earplugs could make the game more enjoyable and safer for many fans, and there are certain types of earplugs that provide a quieter level of sound without distorting it," she adds.

Super Bowl screaming hurts your voice, too

The same loud cheering that hurts others' ears also can wreak havoc on your voice, according to Jackie Gartner-Schmidt, Ph.D., associate director of the UPMC Voice Center.

"Yelling and screaming during the game can cause temporary and perhaps permanent changes to your vocal cords," says Dr. Gartner-Schmidt. "Also, speaking loudly in an effort to be heard over background noise can be just as harmful, and you often don't realize you're doing it."

Laryngitis and hoarseness aren't the only consequences of abusing your voice. High-pitched screaming or yelling can cause a bleed of the vocal cords, or you could pull one of the muscles that you use to speak - both of which could require medical treatment.

To help you prevent damage to your voice, Dr. Gartner-Schmidt offers this advice:

- Rest your voice as much as possible: between plays, during the commercials and at half-time.

- Chew gum - the constant swallowing helps keep your throat moist.

- Take extra care if you're watching the game at a bar. Second-hand smoke irritates your throat. If you're drinking, you could become dehydrated, as well as more likely to yell, scream or speak loudly. If you can't pass up the bar scene, go to a non-smoking bar, and drink plenty of water between alcoholic beverages.

- In addition to protecting your hearing, ear plugs also will help you monitor how loudly you are speaking in a noisy environment.

- If you can't help but cheer, try not to strain your voice. Make a "whoa" sound, and use lots of breath support. If you do this correctly, your lips should tickle when you say the "w" sound. Don't speak or yell from your throat.

- Never scream. The only time you should scream is if you're in serious danger!

Being a Steelers fan is good for your mental health

"We're going to the Super Bowl!" Identifying with a sports team can provide a number of psychological benefits, according to psychiatrists at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) of UPMC. And, for most people, those benefits far outweigh any negative effects that one may experience if his or her favorite team loses.

"On Super Bowl Sunday, even though fans aren't playing in the game, by wearing black and gold and waving Terrible Towels, they can feel like they are part of the team. By becoming part of the 'Steelers Nation,' fans feel connected with players and fans from throughout the years. It's a connection that spans race, economics and geography," say WPIC practitioners.

By feeling that they are part of the team, fans can experience vicariously the struggle and drama of overcoming great obstacles. Win or lose, fans get to feel a joy in connecting and being a part of something larger than themselves; winning the Super Bowl gives fans the opportunity to feel like, despite any problems they are experiencing in their own lives, they are number one in the world.

"Simply put, rooting for a sports team is fun - and having a little fun is always good for your mental health. Go Steelers!"

Mental toughness is as important as physical strength for both Super Bowl teams

While being a fan of a Super Bowl team can be stressful, nerve-wracking, exhilarating and sometimes heartbreaking, imagine how mentally challenging it is for the players.

"Athletes at this level are usually well-trained to perform at their best both physically and mentally during high-pressure situations like the Super Bowl," says Aimee Kimball, Ph.D., director of mental training at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine. "Whether their team is considered the underdog or not, these athletes will need to stay focused on the process and not the outcome, which is tough to do in the Super Bowl for even the best-conditioned and most-skilled player. When you get to this level, the team who is more mentally tough often has the advantage."

While both teams will be well-prepared physically and strategically with a game plan, the players also will need to be mentally ready for the slightly different flow of a Super Bowl game compared to regular-season and play-off games, due to the ceremonial traditions, commercial hype and longer TV commercial breaks.

"Players should stick to their regular-season routines and approach this game as if it's any other game. After all, they are still just playing football," adds Dr. Kimball.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center