0 SPORTS The Michigan Daily Page 8 Sunday, April 12, 1981 The Michigan Doily SPORTS MEDICINE AIDS ATHLETES Train, By SARAH SHERBER Second of a two-part series Before John Wangler was wheeled in- to surgery, a doctor told his mother that he "will be lucky to walk without a limp." Exactly one year after the Michigan quarterback's knee was operated on for an injury incurred during the 1979 Gator Bowl, he guided the Wolverines to their first Rose Bowl victory in 16 years. And there was not the slightest trace of a limp. The circumstances surrounding Wangler's injury are not uncommon in the world of professional sports. The average career for an NFL player lasts only 4.7 years, and 20 percent of those who survive that long suffer from some form of knee damage. "PRECAUTION" has always been the keyword for judgments made by trainers and team physicians with ing keA regard to athletes. Frequent physical examinations, the use of joint guards or braces, and massive quantities of tape (150 miles of it, on the average, per season for an NFL team) are all methods by which athletes attempt to avoid injury. No one is injury-proof, however, and when these tactics are not enough to keep an athlete healthy, the task becomes one of repairing the in- jury. Wangler ended up on the operating table after a tackle behind the line of scrimmage resulted in a torn ligament and damage to the surrounding car- tilage. After the Gator Bowl, Wangler retur- ned to Ann Arbor with the rest of the team and was admitted into St. Joseph's Mercy hospital, where Dr. Gerald O'Connor, a team physician for the Michigan athletic department and y to Wa head of the Sports Medicine Clinic at University Hospital, performed the operation. After surgery, the prognosis was bet- ter for Wangler's recovery, but it was ,still uncertain whether he would ever be able to.play again. "IT WAS AFTER he (O'Connor) looked inside, Wangler said about the change in the original prognosis. "I thought I would play again. He said you can't really tell with this type of in- jury-sometimes they really don't heal," the fifth-year senior recalled. He attributed his comeback to the fact that he refused to "slack off during training." According. to Russ Miller, the head Michigan athletic trainer and the man who oversaw Wangler's rehabilitation, the quarterback then "was put on a knee rehab' program," which consist- ted of "specific exercises to strengthen the muscle around the injury and to get normal motion back to the knee." The Royal Oak native progressed quickly enough to be jogging by June and sprinting in July. And though he admitted that his knee was "kind of sore" at the start of last season, Wangler added that he "was 100 per- cent by midseason." MILLER, however, is somewhat skeptical , saying that he "didn't know any person who is ever back to 1Q0 per- cent after surgery." He did note that, in genereal, trainers work with an athlete to "get their strength back-sometimes ngler 8 stronger than it was before (the operation)." While his injury might be harmful to Wangler's future (as a high selection in the professional draft is very unlikely), the fact that he has made a remarkable recovery is quite an achievement in it- self. After several years of trouble with his knees, former New York Jet signal- caller Joe Namath is now about to un- dergo surgery to have his entire kneecap replaced with an artificial device. WHILE MANY injuries are caused by some kind of an accident, other spor- ts-related debilitations directly result from the strain of playing the sport. Tim McCormick, center for the Michigan basketball team, has been suffering from tendinitis (inflam- mation of the tendons) in his knees for the last three years. Unlike Wangler's injury, however, the freshman's condition cannot be cured simply by an operation. "All the doctors I've talked to say that surgery would be unethical because there is nothing to repair," said McCormick. THE CLARKSTON native's knees have caused "quite a bit" of problems' for him on the court, he said. "When something causes pain, it affects your momentum and slows you down." McCormick's therapy is not unlike that of Wangler. Working with the trainers, he lifts weights and stretches his knees with the hope of overcoming return his injury. As an added measure, McCormick is considering the possibility of going to San Diego this summer to have a team of specialists examine him. THE 6-10 CENTER'S problem is common among basketball players. Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76'ers has a similar condition, and, like Mc- Cormick, he places heat on his knees before each game and ices them after it is over. While both McCormick and Wangler have undergone therapy which any person not affiliated with a sports program might go through, there are some treatments in sports medicine which normally are only used for athletes. Two of these programs, hormone in- jections and certain forms of blood transfusions, have not been seen as favorable by the sporting world. DURING THE 1976 summer Olym- pics in Montreal, accusations surfaced that athletes were taking out blood from themselves only to ,replace it right before they competed in an event. The human body replenishes lost blood quickly and thus the extra injection would give an athlete added strength. In the same manner, the injection of additional hormones into the body in- creases an athlete's physical capabilities. By means of a urine test, it is possible to tell if such measures have been taken by an athelte. Through its Exercise and Fitness Wangler rehabilitation saves career SYSTEMS PROGRAMMERS AND ACADEMIC COMPUTING ANALYST NEEDED AT NORTH TEXAS UNIVERSITY Openings for two systems programmers and one academic computing onalyst provide an opportunity for growth under desirable working conditions with IBM VM OS Operating Systems. Current system includes NAS 5000/VM 370/OS-MVT/HASP/CICS/MUSIC. Systems Programmer quolifi- cations include: A DEGREE, TWO OR MORE YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH IBM OS systems programming. Academic Computing Analyst qualifications include: a degree (Masters preferred), two or more years experience in academic computing, knowledge of common statistical packages like SAS and SPSS, FOR- TRAN deisrable. Competitive salary. MAIL RESUME TO NTSU Personnel Office, NT Box 13764, Denton, TX 76203 Or call Tom Madron, 917-783-2324, 617-566-6474 or 617-7=3-2261. Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer Sunday Funnies Comedy Troupe April 16, 17, 18-8 p.m. Michigan Union.Ballroom $2.00 Admission Laboratory, Ohio State utilizes another procedure to aid its athletes, called a lactic acid test. The test measuresthe amount of lactic acid in a persons-,,' bloodstream to see whether he or she is , - functioning with an "oxygen debt" (in- sufficient oxygen for the muscles to r function). By frequent testing, a trainer.., k can determine what type of practices, the athlete should go through-whether , , they should be short, strenuous, long or easy workouts. Each year new techniques are developed to make the athlete less t vulnerable to injury. Many of these new, treatments have been as big an aid, W } the non-athlete. Yet as long as people.-,- engage in athletics, whether on the professional level or just going out form ,,. jog, the area of sports medicine will of,,,, necessity continue to expand. NETTERS EVEN THE SCORE: 5 ; Wolverines smash W isconsin, 7m' 2' By BARB BARKER The nationally 12th ranked Michigan men's tennis team settled what first singles player Michael Leach referred to as a "personal vendetta" against Wisconsin yesterday, downing the Bad- gers, 7-2. The match began on the var- sity tennis courts outside of the Track and Tennis Building but was finished at the Liberty Racquet Club after rain set in. Wisconsin, which upset the Michigan netters in 1978, was the last team to defeat the netters in a dual meet. "COMING OFF of yesterday's im- portant victory against Minnesota, I was worried that we wouldn't be that up to play well today," said head coach L4.,- ,. For more info. call 763- 1107 Brian Eisner. "I knew we'd beat them, but a good team has to be concerned not only with the team wins, but individual ones as well. I'm really pleased with how we did. Everyone was just psyched-up to win." Junior Leach also had a "vendetta" of his own to settle. His 'singles op- ponent, Dave Pelisek, had defeated him last December in ..the Big Ten tour- nament at Liberty Racquet Club. Leach evened the score yesterday with his 14th consecutive victory of the season, a 6=1, 6-2 pasting of Pelisek. "I wanted revenge," said Leach. "Pelisek beat me quite soundly in December, and I just had to return the favor." IN OTHER SINGLES competition, Matt Horwitch got by Andy Ringlien 6- 4, 6-1 at second singles; Ann Arborite Tom Haney delighted the hometown audience by beating Tom Annear, 6-7, 6- 1, 6-3, at fifth singles; and sixth singles player Ihor Debryn lost to John Wayne, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. In doubles action, the formidable first doubles combination of Leach and Horwitch managed to whip by Ringlien and VanWalleghem, 6-1, 64, before the rain began. With play resuing indoors, the second doubles pair of Haney and Laser were defeated by Pelisek and Browne, 4-6,,f-.- 1, 64; and at third doubles, Mees and w Dan McLaughlin blew past tfe " Badgers' duo, 6-1,6-2. Eisner was a*pecially pleased with Leach's play. "Mike's win. was very e important to him," the coach said. "When he lost to Pelisek in Big Tens, he was top-ranked but suffering from the flu. Today he was so strong that he never let Pelisek even get started." Leach, who is currently ranked 12th nationally, has a good chance of advan- cing to the tap ten when the next rankings come out, according to Eisner. This week the Wolverines meet Michigan State on Thursday in East Lansing. What happens to e P OP/0 who PONT oily the / i mss'' rJ / Eisner ... pleased with strong performance 737 N. Huron 485-0240 Mondaye, GREEK NIGHT . Pitcher Specials-9-1 I Rock Bottom Beer Specials with Greek 1. D. RESIDENT DIRECTOR/ TEACHING FELLOWSHIP POSITION AVAILABLE FOR 1981-82 in the PILOT PROGRAWALICE LLOYD HALL Responsibilities Include: -Coordinate the administration of the Pilot Academic Program. -Screen course proposals. -Share responsibility for teacher-training. -Actively encourage educational experimentation. Salaries: 1. Administrative Salary $1,754 per year for 30 hours per week. Apartment plus board. 2. Teaching Solaray .25 GSTA fraction-$1399 per semester for 10-12 hours or .40 GSTA fraction-$2261 per semester for 16-19 hours, if selected to teach a large section of English Horwitch wins at 2nd SCORES ol Baseball American League Detroit 6, Toronto 2 New York 5, Texas I Oakland 3, Minnesota 0 Milwaukee 5, Cleveland 3 National League Philadelphia 5, St. Louis 2 Chicago 3, New York I San Francisco 2, San Diego 0 Montreal at Pittsburgh, ppd. rain Cincinnati 3, Atlanta 2 College Michigan 7, Ohio State 2 Michigan State 24, Detroit 1-2 Tennis Men's Michigan 7, Wisconsin 2 Women Michigan Michigan State 4 NHI, Playoffs Quebec 2, Philadelphia 0 (Philadelphia leads series, 2-1) Amity .k d