Epstein Barr and Motocross

LBiggie
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LBiggie
Edited Date/Time 9/4/2021 6:21am
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of this virus in motocross. I’ve never seen or heard of it in football, golf, marathoners, basketball, hockey, etc. Many sports have far more disclosure on injuries than moto as well. Thank you.
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GrapeApe
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GrapeApe 9/3/2021 6:08am
9/3/2021 6:08am
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls.

It is my understanding most of us get the virus as a kid and it remains latent in our system. Over stressing your immune system allows the virus to re-activate. I would guess most if not all cases in moto are related to over training, with insufficient recovery and fueling.
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Stevo683
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Stevo683 9/3/2021 6:11am
9/3/2021 6:11am
LBiggie wrote:
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of...
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of this virus in motocross. I’ve never seen or heard of it in football, golf, marathoners, basketball, hockey, etc. Many sports have far more disclosure on injuries than moto as well. Thank you.
Basically there is no other gnarlier sport than MX! The travel, the year round training, the racing at high heart rates will do it. Dudes are taxing their bodies for 90% of the calendar year. Not to mention the toll injuries place on the body to heal and recover..
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flarider
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flarider 9/3/2021 6:31am
9/3/2021 6:31am
GrapeApe wrote:
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls. It is my understanding most of...
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls.

It is my understanding most of us get the virus as a kid and it remains latent in our system. Over stressing your immune system allows the virus to re-activate. I would guess most if not all cases in moto are related to over training, with insufficient recovery and fueling.
Basically, that's it.

It's Mono. The same mono you joked about and spread in high school, it's just a more formal name so it doesn't sound like a childhood kissing disease

Kids get mono
Adults get EBV
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early
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early 9/3/2021 6:46am
9/3/2021 6:46am
Any correlation between more guys training in Florida in the summer and increase in EBV?
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JBlain619
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JBlain619 9/3/2021 6:53am
9/3/2021 6:53am
GrapeApe wrote:
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls. It is my understanding most of...
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls.

It is my understanding most of us get the virus as a kid and it remains latent in our system. Over stressing your immune system allows the virus to re-activate. I would guess most if not all cases in moto are related to over training, with insufficient recovery and fueling.
EBV morphs into Mono, which can lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if ignored. That's when it becomes career threatening in MX. Your explanation of what it does is spot on! Learned more about this within the last 2 years than I cared to unfortunately.
UpTiTe 9/3/2021 7:30am
9/3/2021 7:30am
I got mono, which is what it really is, when I was 17, the doctor told me it was from over training and working my body to hard and not resting. It legit took 6 months to get completely over it.

So when you look at their training and traveling schedule, and only using one day to recover, it makes sense that motocross guys get it.
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UpTiTe 9/3/2021 7:33am
9/3/2021 7:33am
GrapeApe wrote:
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls. It is my understanding most of...
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls.

It is my understanding most of us get the virus as a kid and it remains latent in our system. Over stressing your immune system allows the virus to re-activate. I would guess most if not all cases in moto are related to over training, with insufficient recovery and fueling.
JBlain619 wrote:
EBV morphs into Mono, which can lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if ignored. That's when it becomes career threatening in MX. Your explanation of what it...
EBV morphs into Mono, which can lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if ignored. That's when it becomes career threatening in MX. Your explanation of what it does is spot on! Learned more about this within the last 2 years than I cared to unfortunately.
O’mara let it get away from him and it turned into chronic fatigue syndrome. It cost him two years of his career.
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ti473
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ti473 9/3/2021 7:57am
9/3/2021 7:57am
LBiggie wrote:
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of...
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of this virus in motocross. I’ve never seen or heard of it in football, golf, marathoners, basketball, hockey, etc. Many sports have far more disclosure on injuries than moto as well. Thank you.
Stevo683 wrote:
Basically there is no other gnarlier sport than MX! The travel, the year round training, the racing at high heart rates will do it. Dudes are...
Basically there is no other gnarlier sport than MX! The travel, the year round training, the racing at high heart rates will do it. Dudes are taxing their bodies for 90% of the calendar year. Not to mention the toll injuries place on the body to heal and recover..
With all due respect, MX is very gnarly in its own way, but the notion that it is the "hardest" sport of all it's kind of BS in my opinion. Hardest under which criteria? It is certainly require a good mix of skills, fitness, and well "balls". But I wouldn't say it's the hardest in terms of fitness.
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LBiggie
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LBiggie 9/3/2021 8:31am
9/3/2021 8:31am
LBiggie wrote:
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of...
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of this virus in motocross. I’ve never seen or heard of it in football, golf, marathoners, basketball, hockey, etc. Many sports have far more disclosure on injuries than moto as well. Thank you.
Stevo683 wrote:
Basically there is no other gnarlier sport than MX! The travel, the year round training, the racing at high heart rates will do it. Dudes are...
Basically there is no other gnarlier sport than MX! The travel, the year round training, the racing at high heart rates will do it. Dudes are taxing their bodies for 90% of the calendar year. Not to mention the toll injuries place on the body to heal and recover..
I do agree that moto is difficult and gnarly but is it more difficult and taxing than an 80+ game season of professional hockey? Than a pro boxer with 3 fights (plus training) in a year? My point is you don’t here about the top level pro athletes in those sports missing seasons, fights, etc due to Epstein Barr. Its extremely odd to me that moto is so overly impacted comparatively.
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emohteeoh
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emohteeoh 9/3/2021 8:37am
9/3/2021 8:37am
LBiggie wrote:
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of...
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of this virus in motocross. I’ve never seen or heard of it in football, golf, marathoners, basketball, hockey, etc. Many sports have far more disclosure on injuries than moto as well. Thank you.
Stevo683 wrote:
Basically there is no other gnarlier sport than MX! The travel, the year round training, the racing at high heart rates will do it. Dudes are...
Basically there is no other gnarlier sport than MX! The travel, the year round training, the racing at high heart rates will do it. Dudes are taxing their bodies for 90% of the calendar year. Not to mention the toll injuries place on the body to heal and recover..
ti473 wrote:
With all due respect, MX is very gnarly in its own way, but the notion that it is the "hardest" sport of all it's kind of...
With all due respect, MX is very gnarly in its own way, but the notion that it is the "hardest" sport of all it's kind of BS in my opinion. Hardest under which criteria? It is certainly require a good mix of skills, fitness, and well "balls". But I wouldn't say it's the hardest in terms of fitness.
Agreed. Motocross is a tough sport, without a doubt - but in terms of raw fitness, there’s a handful of sports that require more. It’s difficult to think of a sport that has as much risk for injury though. We also have an attitude in motocross of “toughing it out” and riding through injuries, coming back from intense surgical operations as fast as possible, etc. When you add that onto a chronic training load + travel, systems start to break down.
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motokiwi 9/3/2021 8:45am
9/3/2021 8:45am
The Moto variant usually only comes up in a contract year.. & its never title contenders who get it...

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JBlain619
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JBlain619 9/3/2021 9:17am
9/3/2021 9:17am
GrapeApe wrote:
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls. It is my understanding most of...
I got it as a kid, but back then they called it mononucleosis and my parents blamed me kissing girls.

It is my understanding most of us get the virus as a kid and it remains latent in our system. Over stressing your immune system allows the virus to re-activate. I would guess most if not all cases in moto are related to over training, with insufficient recovery and fueling.
JBlain619 wrote:
EBV morphs into Mono, which can lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if ignored. That's when it becomes career threatening in MX. Your explanation of what it...
EBV morphs into Mono, which can lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if ignored. That's when it becomes career threatening in MX. Your explanation of what it does is spot on! Learned more about this within the last 2 years than I cared to unfortunately.
UpTiTe wrote:
O’mara let it get away from him and it turned into chronic fatigue syndrome. It cost him two years of his career.
One of the people I learned a lot about it from. Johnny O is the man! I was a huge fan of his during his career, a bigger fan now. Such a nice dude!
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soggy
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soggy 9/3/2021 10:43am
9/3/2021 10:43am
emohteeoh wrote:
Agreed. Motocross is a tough sport, without a doubt - but in terms of raw fitness, there’s a handful of sports that require more. It’s difficult...
Agreed. Motocross is a tough sport, without a doubt - but in terms of raw fitness, there’s a handful of sports that require more. It’s difficult to think of a sport that has as much risk for injury though. We also have an attitude in motocross of “toughing it out” and riding through injuries, coming back from intense surgical operations as fast as possible, etc. When you add that onto a chronic training load + travel, systems start to break down.
What sports require more raw fitness? Whatever ‘raw’ fitness means.? Many trainers would tell you moto athletes at the top pro level are the fittest next to cyclists
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emohteeoh
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emohteeoh 9/3/2021 11:13am
9/3/2021 11:13am
emohteeoh wrote:
Agreed. Motocross is a tough sport, without a doubt - but in terms of raw fitness, there’s a handful of sports that require more. It’s difficult...
Agreed. Motocross is a tough sport, without a doubt - but in terms of raw fitness, there’s a handful of sports that require more. It’s difficult to think of a sport that has as much risk for injury though. We also have an attitude in motocross of “toughing it out” and riding through injuries, coming back from intense surgical operations as fast as possible, etc. When you add that onto a chronic training load + travel, systems start to break down.
soggy wrote:
What sports require more raw fitness? Whatever ‘raw’ fitness means.? Many trainers would tell you moto athletes at the top pro level are the fittest next...
What sports require more raw fitness? Whatever ‘raw’ fitness means.? Many trainers would tell you moto athletes at the top pro level are the fittest next to cyclists
Raw fitness meaning aerobic fitness. You already mentioned cycling. Middle to long distance running, sky running, ski mountaineering, swimming. This isn’t to take anything away from moto, but to say they are the fittest athletes out there is a bit hyperbolic.
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Falcon
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Falcon 9/3/2021 11:26am
9/3/2021 11:26am
At the top level, I'd put MX athletes ahead of most or all other sports. How can you ever test it? Well, I bet if you put a champion boxer, an olympic cyclist, a swimmer, a hockey player, etc. along with a motocross racer and asked them all to play each other's sports, MX riders would come out on top as an average. The boxer would beat everyone to a pulp, though, so maybe we hold off on that sport. Woohoo Grinning Grinning
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Highflier
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Highflier 9/3/2021 9:44pm
9/3/2021 9:44pm
The big challenge for pro Moto guys is their training is a lot of riding on the track.
Unlike other sports their practice time is almost as stressing as a race.
Johnny Depp
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Johnny Depp 9/3/2021 9:53pm
9/3/2021 9:53pm
If I had it, I'd tell my Dr. I had a parasite problem and get some Ivermectin. Not kidding.
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Dirtbikeracer 9/3/2021 9:58pm
9/3/2021 9:58pm
I've wondered this To about epstien barr and Though they say it's from being over worked and over fatigued, Wich could be true, I've wondered if it could be something more?
Like maybe the amount of Dirt we Injest, It's not uncommon to See mud and dirt all over Racers faces, and definitely some gets in their mouth.
Just something I've wondered, I have no scientific data.

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C.Worthy
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C.Worthy 9/3/2021 9:59pm
9/3/2021 9:59pm
These guys keep getting mono (EBV) from kissing these rut sluts hanging out in the pits looking for their next oil change. Tongue Pinch
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Rotaholic
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Rotaholic 9/3/2021 10:02pm
9/3/2021 10:02pm
Casey Stoner retired from being a world champion super bike rider because of his battle with CFS/ME. All most everybody carries the ebv virus but it lays dormant, once activated you really need to rest. High archivers and elite athletes can and will just push through it, which normally means they go backwards. Listen to your body....
Bacon_n_Egg'r 9/3/2021 11:17pm
9/3/2021 11:17pm
FWIW, I would argue an Olympic-level nordic skier is the most physically fit athlete. An Olympic-level rower is not far off. Those guys test out a little better than a Tour de France cyclist for aerobic capacity plus they tend to carry a bit more muscle.

Moto guys are unique, they have incredible skill, reflexes and hand-eye that plays out when they are being taxed aerobically. None of the above sports compare to that.
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FIREfish148
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FIREfish148 9/4/2021 12:24am
9/4/2021 12:24am
I’ve been going down the rabbit hole of the effects of poor thyroid function after being diagnosed with hashimotos and EBV is a common one. There are a lot of health issues that come from having an imbalanced diet and not keeping up on your health (obviously) but I’ve also been wondering more and more how many top level riders suffer from this in particular.
limepandanz 9/4/2021 1:00am
9/4/2021 1:00am
Bacon_n_Egg'r wrote:
FWIW, I would argue an Olympic-level nordic skier is the most physically fit athlete. An Olympic-level rower is not far off. Those guys test out a...
FWIW, I would argue an Olympic-level nordic skier is the most physically fit athlete. An Olympic-level rower is not far off. Those guys test out a little better than a Tour de France cyclist for aerobic capacity plus they tend to carry a bit more muscle.

Moto guys are unique, they have incredible skill, reflexes and hand-eye that plays out when they are being taxed aerobically. None of the above sports compare to that.
I would agree with that assessment. Nordic Ski, and Cycling boast the fittest guys around, Moto is right up there with them. They are high output endurance endeavours. Other sports are either lower output with longer endurance or explosive output for short time periods.

From what I understand those other 2 disciplines also have a much higher EBV incidence rate than the general population. Moto is also relentless in that it is full time for most of the year, very little recovery time compared to most sports.

Whoever suggested above that boxing is on the same level is a muppet. They have a decent base but only do full-on training for a few months per year. They aren't in boot camp / fighting for 10-11 months...
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STLSharky
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STLSharky 9/4/2021 4:03am
9/4/2021 4:03am
LBiggie wrote:
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of...
I’ve played and followed many sports besides moto my entire life and I’m curious if there a well regarded explanation for the extraordinary high instance of this virus in motocross. I’ve never seen or heard of it in football, golf, marathoners, basketball, hockey, etc. Many sports have far more disclosure on injuries than moto as well. Thank you.
It’s the riders that are blood doping
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ATKpilot99
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ATKpilot99 9/4/2021 5:45am
9/4/2021 5:45am

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UpTiTe 9/4/2021 6:21am
9/4/2021 6:21am
JBlain619 wrote:
EBV morphs into Mono, which can lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if ignored. That's when it becomes career threatening in MX. Your explanation of what it...
EBV morphs into Mono, which can lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome if ignored. That's when it becomes career threatening in MX. Your explanation of what it does is spot on! Learned more about this within the last 2 years than I cared to unfortunately.
UpTiTe wrote:
O’mara let it get away from him and it turned into chronic fatigue syndrome. It cost him two years of his career.
JBlain619 wrote:
One of the people I learned a lot about it from. Johnny O is the man! I was a huge fan of his during his career...
One of the people I learned a lot about it from. Johnny O is the man! I was a huge fan of his during his career, a bigger fan now. Such a nice dude!
He is definitely one of the good guys in our sport.

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