How Did Snapping Turtles Get Their Name

Turtle Blog 3...

Last week when I was at VINS, the grassy slopes were covered with dozens of newly hatched snapping turtles. About the size of a half dollar coin, they were hastily heading toward the Ottaquechee River which was invisible from the nest sites.

There are at least two snapping turtle nest sites on the lawns at Upper Valley Aquatic Center (UVAC). I watched the females lay the eggs back in June. Mid September is the time most snapping turtles hatch in these parts. But I haven’t seen any action here at UVAC yet.  If the eggs do not hatch, they stand little chance of surviving the winter. Most turtle nests are only six inches or so deep in the ground. The frost will penetrate deeper than that,  most likely ending the turtles’ life cycle.

Snapping turtles were around during the time of dinosaurs and have changed little in the ensuing 150 million years. They are among the few creatures which can live in significantly polluted environments, even sewer systems! *

How did snapping turtles get their name? Unlike other turtles they are unable to fully draw their legs and head into their shells. Evolution has given them strong  jaws to protect themselves if threatened; hence the name “ snapping” turtle.  Yet snapping turtles are considered docile creatures except during mating and egg laying season. Once the carapace reaches three inches in length, there are few natural predators: hence the docile nature.

If you see tiny turtles scrambling about, give them a lift to the nearest body of water. All snapping turtles will be hibernating by mid-October until next May when the cycle begins anew.

* Graham TE, Perkins RW 1976 Growth of the common snapping turtle, Chelydra s. serpentina, in a polluted marsh. Maryland Herp. Soc. Bull. 12:123-125

by Zooey Zullo, Upper Valley Aquatic Center Welcome Desk Manager and Resident Naturalist

Coping With An Injury

By John Grainger MS, CSCS

One of the things I have learned over the past few years is that almost everyone is going to get injured at some point in their training.  Whether you are a swimmer, cyclist, runner, tennis player, triathlete, or a gym rat, you will most likely strain, tear, or pull something—sometimes requiring taking a significant amount of time off and/or surgery.

I played collegiate baseball at Keene State College--graduated in 2007--and have been coaching at Colby-Sawyer since 2009.  At some point in 2008 I hurt my shoulder playing in a rec league in Utah while I was at graduate school.  It wasn’t that bad and I got over it.  Sometimes it hurt to throw, but it wasn’t all the time and I could still throw hard.

Fast forward a few years to April of 2012.  The four years in between the shoulder was getting progressively worse and after a long session of batting practice I finally threw in the towel (pun intended), had it checked out by our athletic trainer, and set up an appointment with a Sports Medicine Doctor. The diagnosis was a torn posterior labrum and significant arthritis on the socket.   After an MRI, 4 readings of it (all of them were different—same injury but very different in the severity), and over a year later, I made the decision to have surgery.  

During the surgery they found that I had a different injury than they originally thought.  I had a Type II SLAP lesion and had torn part of the articular cartilage (the cartilage that lines the bone in the shoulder joint) on the socket.   They didn’t find a torn posterior labrum or the severe arthritis that they expected.  

The likelihood that I will ever throw hard again is pretty low.  Recovery from this surgery can take 9-12 months for an overhead athlete to return to sport.  There have been no Major League pitchers who have returned to play at the same level with this injury.   But I should be able to return to light, pain free throwing and be able to do just about anything I want to.

Coping with the injury can be difficult—especially if the injury is season ending or career threatening.  When I say career threatening I don’t mean your Major League Baseball career, I mean that ACL tear may have severely impacted your ability to play rec league soccer on Thursday nights ever again.  This is a very difficult thing for most people to cope with.

The following is paraphrased from The Sport Psych Handbook by Shane Murphy.  I normally don’t like to blatantly take information and copy or paraphrase it, but this is written concise and more to the point than I could:

There is a whole segment of sport-psychology that deals with injuries.  There are two widely accepted coping strategies: problem-focused and emotional-focused coping strategies. 

Problem focused coping includes efforts that are directed at managing or altering the problem that causes the stress.  Some examples are gathering information on the injury, learning treatment options, setting SMART goals for recovery (specific, measurable, action-oriented, reasonable, and time-oriented), and adhering to a rehabilitation plan.

Emotion focused strategies are directed at managing the emotions that are experienced as a result of the injury.  These strategies are based on managing thoughts and emotions through self-talk (i.e. instead of saying “Oh my God I will never play again,” you would say, “I am going to get through this and be stronger than ever”) and relaxation techniques; using imagery of being physically and mentally prepared, and self-soothing techniques.  These strategies usually deal with the feelings associated with the injury; such as expressing emotions, seeking and using social support, being patient, and eventually accepting the injury.

Another way to cope with an injury is through distraction or avoidance techniques.  These are efforts to disengage and remove oneself, either mentally or physically, from the situation generating the stress.  Some of these are more for elite athletes such as moving away (i.e. leaving the training site and moving home) or going back to school.

How you deal with the injury depends on you.  Are you usually someone who gets emotional?  Are you someone who enjoys setting and reaching small goals?  Do you want to be in control?  Do you want to know everything about your injury and how to fix it?

I was different than a lot of injuries—it wasn’t a sudden, traumatic, season/career ending injury.   It was a long, drawn out process that culminated with me finding out as much information about the injury as possible.  Most of my coping mechanisms revolved around problem focused strategies.  I learned as much information as possible—treatment options, surgical procedures, treatment and surgical outcomes, likelihood of returning to activity, etc.  But I also used emotion focused strategies by reaching out to others who had the procedure, reaching out to physical therapists, and also making sure my family was going to support my decision.  

I think the most important thing with dealing with an injury is accepting the injury for what it is, being honest with yourself, and learning as much about the rehab process as you can.  Using the techniques listed above will help you get through the rehabilitation process and get you back participating in the sport(s) you love.

For more information you can check out the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Murphy, Shane. The Sport Psych Handbook. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2004. Print.

What's so great about DHA?

by Heather Szczepiorkowski

I have been thinking about an omega-3 fatty acid called DHA. 

When I was pregnant with my first child, like most parents, I read up on everything I could about pregnancy and parenting.  Then, DHA was best known for being in breast milk and was critical in building baby brains.  At the time, infant formulas were not supplemented with DHA, now many of them are.  Well after my son was born, things got busier of course, and I did not give DHA much more thought.

That changed this summer when I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about DHA and lifelong intelligence.  It got me thinking again about the importance of DHA in raising my kids.  Studies are finding that DHA is not only important in the development of children, but also throughout a person’s lifespan.  Here is some of what I have learned.

DHA or (docosahexaenoic acid), is a long strand omega-3 fatty acid. It is one of the good fats involved in building and keeping the brain and the whole nervous system working well.   DHA is the fatty acids in your neurons. DHA is most abundant in the brain and retina.  It is key to intelligence, reversing memory loss, improving eyesight, improving mood, just to name a few of the benefits.

We are only able to make limited amounts of DHA.  Because women’s bodies can nurture a fetus and nurse their young, they have a higher rate of conversion, but still need to get DHA from foods and supplements. Cold water fish and fish oil are one of the most common ways to take in DHA.  While most people believe that fish produce their own DHA, in fact, it’s the algae in their food chain that makes them a rich source of DHA. 

I also learned too that DHA is not just for kids or young, developing minds.  DHA is vital in all stages of life and has been found to improve memory functioning in middle-aged adults.  Since DHA is critical to the health of neurons, scientists are learning that DHA is important in the performance of neurotransmitters in the brain enabling them to communicate faster.

As a parent, I am now looking for more ways to increase our intake of DHA in the foods we eat – if your kids aren’t fond of algae, some other sources are salmon, tuna, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, flaxseed oil and walnuts. Some brands of milk and eggs contain DHA.  Some chickens have flaxseed in their grain.  So double check!

 Right now my kids and I are taking DHA supplements along with our daily vitamin.  I made that decision since the food choices of my middle-schooler, at least at lunch time, may not be the wisest.  One of our family favorites is maple seasoned salmon http://allrecipes.com/recipe/maple-salmon/  My kids aren’t too fond of salmon alone – but with the seasonings and sweetness of the maple syrup, the plates are clean.

So get that DHA into your system!!  Please email me at marketing@uppervalleyaquaticcenter.com if you come across any great recipes that your family loves.   So long and thanks for all the fish!!!