Alexander Rodionov, the chief physician of Dynamo Football Club, spoke about how they get into sports medicine, what are the main qualities a good sports doctor should have and what athletes need to do to have a long and healthy career.
– Is there a standard way into sports medicine? Which doctors usually get into football, in particular?
– Even the standard path to sports medicine is very difficult. In order to become a doctor of any specialty, you must first enroll and graduate from a higher medical school, and then you can go to the sports department, which trains sports doctors.
When I was still graduating from university, there was no such practice, and the guys who completed an internship or residency in traumatology or surgery could try to find work in sports teams in various sports. Now this path has been simplified a little by introducing postgraduate education in sports medicine. After graduation, you are given a certificate stating that you are a sports medicine doctor and can go to work in any sport.
– What are the main qualities a good sports doctor should have?
– It seems to me that no matter what kind of doctor you are – a sports doctor, a general practitioner, a cardiologist, a traumatologist or some other - first of all you must be a professional. You need to be responsive, answer all questions that arise and explain how to solve this or that problem. You should always be ready to help, love your profession and understand what you want to do in it. Everything else comes from here.
– During matches, sometimes you need to quickly reach a player who has been injured. How do you keep fit? How important is it for a doctor?
– An unprepared person can run. The main thing is not to get to the player as quickly as possible, but to quickly and competently assess his condition and make the right decision. Because time is running out, the team is waiting, the referee is waiting, and you must quickly understand if the player can continue the match by making the necessary manipulations for this. Here time goes by seconds.
And, of course, if you go there out of breath, on hypoxia, then you yourself will need time to recover, which will increase the decision-making time. Therefore, athletic form is important. Plus, in general, I want to look on a par with the athletes, because you are also a representative of the team. So, of course, I love sports and devote time to physical activity.
– If you have health problems yourself, how do you choose a doctor? Or are you self-medicating?
– It all depends on what kind of problem it is. In some simple moments I self-medicate, because a sports doctor is a multidisciplinary specialist. So if it's not something very serious, then I can handle it myself. Thank God, something serious has not happened in my 40 years.
– The partner of Dynamo is the online insurance company "Rays". In what cases did she help you?
– One such case occurred quite recently, and here I can give the highest rating to our partner – the online insurance company "Rays". During the away match, the midfielder of our team Arthur suffered a rupture of the Achilles. It was a weekend evening, but everything happened very quickly. We contacted the insurance company when we had already decided where we would operate on the player. I want to pay tribute to our partner that he did not interfere and ask additional questions, as it sometimes happens. They fully trusted our choice, asked for the contacts of the clinic we chose, and very quickly resolved all bureaucratic issues.
The footballer was quickly admitted to the clinic, had an additional examination and operated on. Now he is in the recovery stage. So I would like to thank our partner for such assistance and note that thanks to our joint efforts, we were the first in the history of Russian football to operate on a foreign player in Russia with our Russian specialist.
– What is the role of the insurer in the work of the club's medical department?
– This role is very significant. It is clear that the medical department is primarily responsible for the health of football players, because this is the main asset of any club. But we must not forget that the club has many other departments and employees who are also responsible for its vital activities. And their health is also very important to ensure that all the processes in the club take place on time.
So it is very good that we have an online insurance company "Rays", which meets all the requirements of the medical department and unloads it. We know that our employees can safely contact this company and make an appointment with a specialist who will properly conduct an examination and, if necessary, prescribe treatment.
– Is there a Messi or Ronaldo doctor in sports medicine, which, in particular, are you guided by?
– I adhere to the principle of "don't make yourself an idol." I have great respect for my colleagues who have connected their lives with sports medicine. I understand how difficult, specific, and sometimes thankless work this is, requiring 24-by-7 concentration.
I was lucky enough to know and work with the masters of Russian sports medicine, who began to develop it back in Soviet times. This is Savely Yevseyevich Myshalov, a legendary doctor who worked for a very long time in sports medicine, and whom many have looked up to and are still looking up to this day.
I call Alexander Eduardovich Yardoshvili my dad in sports medicine, with whom I was lucky enough to work in two different teams. He was a colossal man who did a lot for the development of domestic sports medicine.
– Is it hard to work with professional football players? Should a sports doctor be a part-time psychologist?
– It's hard to work not only with professional football players, but also with those who come to you, doing sports a couple of times a week. Sports injury is unique because you have to be not just a doctor, but also a psychologist. You should always understand and soberly assess the situation, giving clear answers to any questions raised so that the player does not doubt in any way what we are doing for his health. He must understand that by doing this or that exercise or procedure, he does not risk aggravating the injury. So, of course, the sports doctor is also a psychologist who motivates the player to return to the field to start training and gaming processes.
– You probably participate in the development of the menu for football players. What do you not recommend or categorically forbid Dynamo to use?
– Of course, we take part in the development of menus for players during the training process at our base, training camps and away matches. I always recommend football players not to eat any fast food, chips, crackers, soda, alcohol – it's all not for sports. If you are a professional athlete, you need to forget about it and deprive your body of all these toxic things.
We also recommend that children monitor their calorie intake and exclude foods with a high carbohydrate content, eat more protein and plant foods to maintain the normal functioning of the body.
– On the basis of Dynamo, a modern, in many respects unique Dynamo Lab medical unit with a large number of devices for a variety of procedures. Which of them do football players adore, and which ones do they dislike the most?
– I would like to thank the club's management, who understands what we want to create and spares no expense on the development of our Dynamo Lab. The guys loved all the restorative and preparatory procedures that we can offer them at the base. One example is cryosauna, which seems frightening because of the temperature of -110 degrees. However, players are happy to come there and restore their body. At the same time, there is a device that no one likes – this is the body measurement composition that they do every two weeks.
– What would you recommend to young football players in order to have a long and healthy career?
– I can advise them to monitor their body and prepare it for loads. To do this, they should always pay attention to the physical education of the body, prepare it for exercise every day, and not just lie on the couch and watch TV during the weekend. A professional athlete should devote time to physical activity every day so that all muscles are in good shape. Immediately before training, you need to devote at least 40 minutes to activating and toning muscles, ligaments and joints.
You also need to devote a lot of time to recovery both with the help of additional methods and the most banal ones, such as sleep. It should be long, without interruptions and last 8-10 hours so that the athlete has time to recover. I also advise you to avoid TVs, laptops and phones an hour and a half before bedtime, because all these types of radiation do not have the best effect on sleep. It is better to read a book and go to bed quietly.
It is very important for an athlete that the body does not experience dehydration, so I recommend everyone to monitor this. And I repeat: let it sound corny, but no alcohol.
– A question from the Online insurance company "Rays": what advice could you give to those who, like football players, often train and experience serious physical exertion? What is important to consider so that such loads benefit your health?
– First of all, a person who exposes his body to at least not constant, but high-intensity loads, should devote daily time to physical activities, exercises (charging, stretching, cardio, cycling, swimming pool) to maintain not only the muscles of his body, but also the cardiovascular and other body systems. So that during the period of serious loads it would not be a superstress for the body, and it would not be at risk of developing pathological conditions and getting injured from an exorbitant load.
In addition, it is very important:
– monitor sleep patterns (at least 8-9 hours a day of continuous restful sleep), ideally go to bed no later than 22:00 and 2 hours before bedtime stop using all electronic gadgets (it is better to read the literature you are interested in);
– monitor the regime of proper nutrition (before and after exercise) and hydration of the body (sufficient fluid intake) both on normal days and during training;
– refuse to drink alcohol (especially on the eve of a high load);
– always select training equipment according to the conditions of training or games, as well as weather conditions;
– undergo at least annually a full in-depth medical examination;
– monitor the use of additional sources of nutrition of the body (mineral and vitamin complexes, amino acid and energy isotonic complexes both before, during and after exercise).
Finally, it is very important to insure yourself your body and the body of your loved ones. This will avoid unnecessary stress for the body in those moments when you need medical help.
– This year, the day of the medical worker in Russia is celebrated on June 15. What would you like to wish for yourself, your colleagues and your patients?
– First of all, health. As I have already said, this is the most important asset of any person, not just an athlete. I would also like to wish to avoid injuries, follow the regimens prescribed by doctors and lead a healthy lifestyle. A person is not only the blacksmith of his happiness, but also of his health, so he needs to be taken care of constantly.