Healthy in Guadalajara

In the Mexican state of Jalisco, divers are able to pursue their hobby again, thanks to LordoLoc, and gymnasts can confidently return to the beam and bars with gym chalk and MalleoTrain S open heel. Dr. Alonso Gómez, their physician from the capital city, Guadalajara, relies on quality and is adamant that it pays off.

Dr. Carlos Alonso Gómez López has been treating his patients in the Sports Traumatology Department at the University of Guadalajara for 20 years. Young, talented athletes from the region benefit from the physician’s work at the university hospital. Much demand is made on the orthopedist. On their way to be the best in the country, the budding athletes would prefer not to sit out because of injury. In order to strengthen medical care from an official side, too, Dr. Alonso Gómez was invited to join the Council for Sports Development for the state of Jalisco in 2009. This board is a decentralized, public body set up by the Minister of Education, who governs and coordinates all sports-related support activities in the state. The project is successful: young athletes emerging from “Team Jalisco” are often members of Mexican national teams, which regularly take part in Pan-American, Olympic and Paralympic Games. And this success seems to be contagious: compared with other parts of the country, the population of Jalisco is said to be more active and healthier.

85 to 90 percent of patients receive conservative treatment

Sporting success at a high level requires equal medical effort. Dr. Alonso Gómez emphasizes one point in particular: “All statistics gathered over the years show that only about 10 to 15 percent of our patients need surgery. We were able to effectively treat all others conservatively.” The knee, shoulder, ankle and lumbar spine are usually the most commonly affected areas in athletes. “For a lot of these patients, physiotherapy and physical therapy programs can accelerate recovery,” Dr. Alonso Gómez says. The use of supports also helps. “When they accompany treatment , they can improve healing, which is dictated by the body’s biological processes,” the physician is convinced. A concept that also works out given the comprehensive product range.

Stability starts inside your head

“In our practical experience, a lot of Bauerfeind products have proven very helpful ,” Dr. Alonso Gómez reports. “We’ve been using them for about ten years. There isn’t really anything comparable in Mexico. The supports sold in the country are usually only available in the sizes ‘Small’, ‘Medium’, and ‘Large’, while Bauerfeind offers a more comprehensive standard size system for patients with different body sizes and proportions.” He was won over by the resulting anatomical fit the compression knit provides. “We also carried out a cost-benefit analysis. That also encourages us to use the products for our purposes.” Such as in the case of a young gymnast. During an unsuccessful landing from the uneven bars, she hyperextended her knee and ended up with pulled ligaments and bone bruising. Thanks to GenuTrain, this dainty gymnast , who is one of the best in the country, was able to regain her courage to land confidently after somersaults and dismounts from the uneven bars. “For us physicians, it was interesting to see how much confidence she had with her support to carry out her difficult exercises,” Dr. Alonso Gómez is pleased to report.

Better traction

Another pressure point that has to cushion the enormous impact during gymnastics is the ankle. Loose capsular ligaments are almost the norm. According to Dr. Alonso Gómez, the medial and lateral ligaments must be protected using an appropriate support throughout physiotherapy. In addition to strength and stability, the idea is to regain improved response times in the joint. “There is a wide variety of medical products for the ankle. We usually choose MalleoTrain S open heel , because this support , when worn barefoot , allows direct contact with the ground, thanks to the unobstructed heel.” Instead of black or titan, however, the support is only ever seen in the color ‘nature’ on the athletes’ feet , because only the skin-colored version is permitted in public competitions. MalleoTrain S open heel creates its stabilizing effect using a system of straps with different degrees of elasticity. It is wrapped around the ankle in a figure of eight , thus acting like a functional tape bandage.

Images: Miguel Rico Soltero