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Health & Fitness

Linsanity Continues

Another article on Jeremy Lin? I must be Linsane. Read a fellow Taiwanese American's thoughts on this amazing underdog story.

“Finally! “  That’s what my wife said to me after Jeremy Lin, the first Taiwanese-American NBA player was discovered by the NY Knicks. 

Asians are not typically known for basketball in America.  Yao Ming was an exception.  If you were 7 foot, 6 inches, you’d probably be playing in the NBA too.  Don’t get me wrong, we love basketball, and the sport garners increasing numbers of fans and participants across Asia.

We are known for some niche sports: most stereotypically, martial arts and table tennis come to mind. By the way, if there’s any doubt that table tennis is a legitimate sport, you should talk with my three-time US Olympian friend David Zhuang or watch some highlights.

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Other Asian countries (namely South Korea) typically do well in short track speed skating and archery.  Baseball, golf and volleyball also remain hugely popular in Asian countries. 

Is Lin’s popularity because of race?  Some people think we should always avoid the topic of ethnicity, but my Taiwanese background is the same as Lin’s, so I’ll bring it up.  I do believe that one of the reasons why he is so interesting is because of his ethnicity. 

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Hypothetically, if there were already 50 other Asian Americans in the NBA, we probably wouldn’t be writing articles about this phenomenon. Think about the great tennis player Arthur Ashe, who was the first African American to make the Davis Cup Team, and had multiple accolades including induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame.  

Jackie Robinson is another great athlete who was a “first”. For these men, the backdrop of being the first among their demographic does not take away from their incredible accomplishments. Rather, in my opinion, it only strengthens their legacies because they had to excel under scrutiny and pressure. It is unfortunate that racism, sexism, ageism, still exists in societies across the globe, but every individual who breaks through such an invisible barrier should be applauded. 

I watched an hour-long interview of Jeremy Lin filmed in October of 2011, by a Taiwanese station in which he describes his journey to the NBA. He spoke of discrimination during college basketball at Harvard and how he dealt with it.  He admitted many people close to him questioned his decision to pursue a career in the NBA.  He talked about the intense pressure and feelings of hopelessness when he didn’t perform to his own expectations. 

When asked what got him through, he credits family, his agent and ultimately his faith in God as the breakthrough which gave him “peace and joy” regardless of his performance.  Astonishingly, shortly after this October 2011 interview things seemed to get worse for Lin. 

On the first day of training camp, Dec. 9, 2011, Lin was cut by the Golden State Warriors.  A few days later he was claimed by the Houston Rockets only to be waived again in less than two weeks.  The NY Knicks claimed him next and then sent him to the D-league in January 2012. 

He was recalled by the Knicks and became essentially the last man on the bench of a struggling team with almost no probability of staying much longer on their roster. On Feb. 4, only as a last resort for a desperate team, he was placed into a game against the New Jersey Nets in which he seized the opportunity and began scoring enough points in that game and the following four games to break new NBA records.  

Obviously, I'm a huge fan of Lin.  Is he invincible?  Is he the next Jordan?  Is he going to score 20+ points every game?  Not at all.  Ultimately, he's human, like all of us.  

What is good is that he has a good head on his shoulders.  He believes in teamwork and sharing the spotlight and he has a strong family to keep him grounded. From a health perspective, what concerns me most about Lin’s long- term future is his body’s ability to hold up to the physical nature of his sport.  Knicks coach D’Antoni says, “sometimes you have to ride him”, referring to his strategy of keeping Lin on the court.  This translates into long periods of uninterrupted playing time and fatigue for the player who gets few breaks to rest.  

When a person is tired they tend to be more susceptible to things like turnovers, something Lin struggled with in the past two games.  What also can happen with fatigue is loss of muscle control when landing, pivoting, jumping, which can lead to ankle sprains and other such injuries.   

Having a shortened NBA season also packs the games closer together, which gives players less time to recover.  Thankfully, many NBA players are in their early twenties, but those who are getting older will have to contend with the fact that their tendons, muscles and joints won’t recover as fast as they used to.   

The primary way to combat fatigue is strengthening and conditioning.  This is the principle behind physical therapy as well as athletic training.  Finding the asymmetries in your body, whether it’s in a static position, such as sitting posture, or a more dynamic activity such as cutting or landing from a jump is important in order to prevent future injury. 

During workouts some people might focus on the few key muscles groups that give their physique the most impressive outward appearance.  But the real issue is that muscles need to be balanced.  For example, muscles around the shoulder blade require more attention than most people give them.  The phrase I often use when describing this is “relative weakness”.   

In fact, our Optojump and Performance 3D technology has provided our clients with objective data to show areas needing improvement and feedback throughout their training.  Another key to conditioning is sport specific exercises.  In other words, preventing injury in sports requires improving stamina while performing the same movements as a person may encounter during a game. 

Does strengthening and conditioning apply to the person who feels overweight and suffers from arthritis and back pain as well?  Absolutely!  If you’re a person who feels deconditioned due to pain, don’t let another day go by without making a choice to get well again.  There is always something you can do. 

I am a firm believer that many medical conditions are better managed through proper diet and exercise than using medications alone.  Our team has treated many patients who have arthritis of their knees, hips, or herniated discs, and they are surprised to find out that therapy and other non-surgical treatments are effective for their conditions.  

As an aside, I knew this was a big story when I started receiving emails from my parents (who never watch sports) about this kid.  Even my wife's girl friends are talking about this.  If you’re a person who is following Jeremy Lin’s story, I hope you are as inspired as I am.  

There are so many aspects to feel good about.  A few thoughts to finish off for today:  It’s good to dream big.  Keep working hard. Understand that setbacks and discrimination happen to many people in different ways sometimes due to race, gender, disability, age, or religion.  But don’t make it an excuse to give up.  It’s okay to have self-doubt under intense pressure, but have faith and keep pressing onward because it’s never too late to begin a new chapter. 

 

 

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