Sanchez is the Spanish player since April 2010

The doctor who cured Nadal

By: Mariana Suárez Rueda / Barona Torres Olga Lucia

The world number one, who played in Colombia on 21 March, found the solution to your problem tendinitis.

Although the 2008 season, Rafael Nadal reached the pinnacle of world tennis dethroning the then invincible Roger Federer this year after amassing his fourth consecutive title at Roland Garros, his first Wimbledon and Olympic gold, as well as five other titles, Spanish paradoxically lived the worst moments of his career as a professional and personal.

Then explained Dr. Angel Ruiz-Cotorro Medical Spanish Tennis Federation, Nadal had an insertion tendinitis of both quadriceps tendons with mild bone edema in both upper poles of the patella, a condition which according to one expert consulted time by the viewer could have ended the career of the Spaniard, because it was an injury "degenerative, due to the high physical demands of the player, sooner or later it would end in complete rupture of the tendon, which would damage the extensor mechanism of the knee. "

 The tennis world was alerted to the bad news about health is number one and the same words of Nadal did presage an uncertain future: "I have several months playing with sore knees and I can not continue. Pain limits me physically certain movements, which makes me not feel well mentally. "

Due to this injury, Nadal always wore on his knee protectors made on tape that fit in the bottom to make pressure on tendons and reduce complaints, and was subjected also to an intensive treatment based on oral anti-inflammatory, mesotherapy more local progressive muscle strengthening physiotherapy in both quadriceps.

However, after almost two years of intense pain, in April 2010, Nadal's life changed from heaven to earth, after meeting one of the most renowned orthopedists and orthopedic surgeons in the world, Dr. Mikel Sánchez. For the office of the Spanish, filled with images of athletes it has cured and notes of gratitude from their patients, have been known figures such as King Juan Carlos. Like Rafa, more than 800 people attending every year is visited in the hope of recovering from the injury that afflicts. Miraculously most achieve fast and permanent results, as happened to tennis player of 24 years.

The secret is a method developed by Sanchez, but today is already practiced in clinics in Europe, which is to infiltrate in the damaged areas rich plasma obtained from the patient's blood. The results are amazing, so much so that before a major tournament and when you feel your knees are not responding adequately, the world number one goes to the clinic USP La Esperanza, in the city of Vitoria, Spain, where its orthopedic care provider will Plasma infiltrates in each of his knees for his tendinitis.

Despite his busy schedule, Dr. Sanchez, who just won the Development Award in Trauma Mapfre by the method developed to treat degenerative tendon like Nadal, spoke to The Spectator for details of the treatment have brought back to the tennis courts and its impact on the athlete's performance.


What exactly is the treatment that saved Nadal's tennis career?
Dr Sánchez: When there is an injury, bleeding occurs, and starting from the clot formed we carry out the repair of the tissue, which is generated by a cellular stimulus. How? What we do is concentrate the proteins found in the blood plaques and blood plasma, and stimulate these cells so they produce different phenomena like cell multiplication, the appearance of new cells at the injury point, basically these are stem cells, and the synthesis of extracellular matrix.

What does this offer to athletes with the fighting spirit of Nadal?
Repair of the injury in a shorter time than its natural evolution would produce and, what's more important in the world of sport, we try to prevent the injuries reappearing. These relapses tend to be frequent in some types of injuries, like muscular ones, and it is vitally important to avoid new tears reoccuring in the same place.

Can anyone undergo this type of treatment?
Not just top class athletes can have it, anybody who has a ruptured or torn tendon, or an injury to the locomotive apparatus, is open to having this treatment. The end is the same: to shorten the time taken to heal.

When did the Spanish tennis player arrive at your surgery?
Rafael Nadal underwent treatment with plasma rich in growth factors after last year's Rome tournament. He came to my surgery looking to turn around the poor evolution of his tendinopathies.

What has his recovery been like?
Spectacular, and in a shorter time than we anticipated. This could be because the physical condition of an athlete of this category and his capacity for work to obtain his functional recovery are also extraordinary.

What type of activities has Nadal had to curtail since he began this treatment?
From the physical point of few, there are no restrictions prescribed, in fact, it is essential to progressively exercise during the treatment because the tissue doesn't just have to be stimulated from the biological point of view but also by means of physical exercises, with the aim of aligning the fibres in the scar tissue.

Is it a very expensive procedure?
The cost varies according to the patient's symptoms and it also depends on the centre where it is carried out.

Are you the only ones offering this treatment?
We were the pioneers, but there are now many places that do it. Various systems for concentrating blood plaques have recently come on the market, not all of the same quality or with the same final result. That means that at present the treatment is spreading to many countries, in Europe, in North and South America, and there are doctors who apply it. But patients should be cautious and get to know the method very well, because the procedure that must be followed in its application is very important when it comes to obtaining the optimum result.

Credit to Danie

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