AFL agree to allow hypoxic treatment

After a week in May 2003 where the AFL and Brisbane were involved in a war of words regarding the use of a technique called hypoxic stimulation, the matter was resolved by the AFL reluctantly agreeing that the technique is legal. Read more at realfooty.com.au . This technique involves players spending time during the week breathing through a machine which reduces oxygen supply. There is data from endurance running which shows that in certain athletes this can improve endurance performance (Read a scientific explanation  at sportssci.org ). The reason behind why the AFL is uncomfortable with the technique is that the mechanism for the improvement is that the body produces more EPO (erythropoietin), which itself is a banned drug. A key distinction is that it is the player's own body producing EPO, not the player being injected with outside EPO, yet the result may still be the same. AFL medical commissioner Harry Unglik said last week "Why are they (the Lions) always looking for that little extra edge which just teeters on performance enhancing?", whereas the Lions chairman Graeme Downie ( read more at realfooty ) and outspoken player Jason Akermanis both launched attacks back at the AFL, Akermanis saying "It's just another thing the AFL are doing to piss people off up here". The Lions have been using altitude simulation for 4 years, and after the technique was mentioned on The Footy Show in 2001, other teams have followed suit, including Port Adelaide and Essendon. The current controversy has been sparked by an article in the July 2003 edition of Inside Sport . Read more about altitude training and hypoxic simulation at Peak Altitude , GO2Altitude and Altitudetraining.com . Read Patrick Smith's view at AFL.com . Sports Factor interview with Dr. Peter Fricker (AIS) on altitude simulation.

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