Owens, though, made the best of the situation, focusing on his studies and training with the OSU track team under coach Larry Snyder. Snyder, who thought Owens' race starts were too slow, made the athlete repeatedly practice starts that had him crouching tightly at the starting line. He also altered Owens' long-jump style, teaching him to move his legs in mid-air.
In general, a low platelet count occurs because: 1  The body's bone marrow doesn't make enough platelets. 2  The bone marrow makes enough platelets, but the body destroys them or uses them up. 3  The spleen holds on to too many platelets.
A high platelet count (more than 450x109/L), âthrombocytosisâ, is due to overproduction of platelets by the bone marrow which can be caused by certain bone marrow disorders or might simply be a side-effect of another condition (reactive thrombocytosis). Autoimmune disorders â such as lupus, can cause increased destruction of platelets. 2  Gestational thrombocytopenia â up to 1 in 10 women experience a fall in platelet count to below the normal range during pregnancy.