French medical centre supports athletes

The Centre Medical de L'Ambassade de France (CMAF) will provide medical treatment and support for athletes during the SEA Games, the centre's doctor said yesterday.

Trainees treat injured athletes at the National Sport Training Centre.

The centre said physiotherapy had a key role in sports and can make a huge impact on athletic performance. Participants are all somehow involved with the treatment of sport injuries.

Dr Max Chevalier said the centre had been seeing many athletes in the months leading up to the SEA Games. They have regular free clinics for runners, boxers, wrestlers and football organisations.

Recently, the centre held a workshop on sport injuries in cooperation with the staff at Mahosot Hospital .

The workshop included 25 physiotherapists from various hospitals in Vientiane and teachers at the Centre of Health Technology (CHT). All participants are involved in working with athletes during the SEA Games.

On the eve of the upcoming games, the initiative was a contribution by the CMAF to help the physiotherapists in developing specific skills to treat sport injuries.

“We have been working with the staff of the physiotherapy department at Mahosot Hospital in developing clinical training skills for some time,” Dr Chevalier said.

“Lately there have been many athletes with sport injuries, which puts a lot of demand on the physiotherapy staff, who are eager to be prepared with proper skills in this field.”

“Good opportunities and keen learners is the exact combination we like to support,” he said.

The Head of the physiotherapy department at Mahosot Hospital , Ms Inkhien Phetphilanou, said most conditions were the result of intensive training for the SEA Games and proper diagnostics and treatment would speed their recovery.

Dr Chevalier said understanding the problem and knowing how to respond would result in quicker recovery times for athletes.

“Understanding treatment principles such as how to apply Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (RICE) is extremely important but so is the know-how of how to apply it,” Dr Chevalier said.

“In that light we practised specifics in sport medicine, which are easily applicable during the games.”

During the training course, trainees also treated athletes at the National Sports Training Centre in Sikeud village.

During the fieldwork at Sikeud, trainees had the opportunity to demonstrate all the skills practised in the workshop, including testing and diagnosing injuries.

With that basic knowledge and understanding in mind the trainees grasped quickly how to respond to injuries by doing shared examinations.

Dr Chevalier said since the workshop began, they have had clinics for injured athletes on a regular basis, usually following afternoon training sessions.

“We provide them with necessary advice and treatment and support aid such as braces and taping for hand injuries or ankle sprains,” he said.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
(Latest Update Novembe 26, 2009)