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Wuhan Day Three

The day started with a buffet breakfast in the hotel lobby that had both Chinese and American choices and more coffee. After breakfast the faculty presented lectures in the areas of Motor Learning, Athletic Training, and Metabolic Disease. Dr. Liu’s presentation was entitled “Three levels of analysis of skill performance”. There was a lot of interest generated by his presentation with a number of questions. Dr. Liu attended Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, and still has a number of friends in the area. Dr. Guyer presented on “Incidence and causative factors of ACL injuries in female athletes”. She had and excellent anatomy overview followed by several mechanistic pictures and presented strategies to prevent injuries. The presentation was excellent and generated interest of the students and faculty. I presented on skeletal muscle dysfunction in insulin resistance. Both Dr. Guyer and I had an interpreter which was an interesting experience. I found that I had to be very concise and direct. We would speak about 2-3 sentences then wait for a translation before moving on.

Sue presentation After the lectures we had the special opportunity to tour a nearby hospital that specializes in treating sports injuries with Eastern medicine. We were able to tour several treatment rooms where there was massage, acupuncture, and incense. There were also people with cloths that had been soaked in medication draped over injury sites. A light was positioned above the treatment area to help the medication penetrate the injury site. Appointments are not necessary there, so it was very crowded. The treatment rooms were about 20 ft. by 20 ft. with about 2-3 patients being treated in each room. We were given the tour by the president of the hospital who prepared special treatments for acute injuries that will be used at the Beijing Olympic Games later this summer. There were several questions by our students and faculty about types of treatments used for different injuries. We were interested to find out that these treatments are all covered by medical insurance. The hospital also manufactures many of the herbal remedies used for the treatments. It was an impressive sight, but inappropriate to take pictures, so I hope the description has given you an image of the environment.

We then returned to the hotel for lunch with the some of the faculty from the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education. The teaching specialties included Sport Psychology and Exercise Physiology. Also in attendance was Julia, who studied at Springfield College two years ago. She was very happy to see some familiar faces from SC and spoke highly of her experience. After lunch there was a break to rest up for the afternoon activity – a friendly basketball game with some of the students from the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education. Although the game of basketball was invented at Springfield College, we only have one basketball player with us!

Basketball gameWe divided into four teams of five and rotated the lineup through the game. We played a full-court, full-length game. It was a lot of fun despite being beaten by the University students. We exchanged gifts with the students and took a group picture after the game.

group at gameAfter the basketball game we returned to our hotel rooms to prepare for the dinner. Dinner was with the Vice President of the University. Dinner was similar in content to others, and was again somewhat spicy. We learned more about the regional differences in dining etiquette. We also had a special visit from the Secretary of the Party, who is in power above the President here. We also took a special picture at the dinner. Mrs. Liu grew up in Wuhan, so her parents attended the dinner with us. It turns out that her parents were professors at the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education prior to retirement. They had a student, Mr. Wong, who happened to be Dr. Liu’s track coach and professor when he attended the University. Furthermore, the Vice President of the University was on of Dr. Liu’s students. As such, we had four generations of professors and students, which was worth the picture.

Dr. Liu with professors and studentsThis was a fun way to end our trip to the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education. Of note, Dr. Liu, a professor at SC, speaks both languages fluently, so we would be in serious trouble without him. In addition to attending to his own affairs and meeting with friends of SC, he has been our ears and voice for the entire trip. Thanks so much Dr. Liu! Off to rest for the early wake up call tomorrow.

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Page updated on: 05/28/2008 05/28/2008