Thiruvananthapuram: Brazilian footballers battered on the field by Germany may take a few months or even years to heal their emotional wounds, but Kerala’s ayurveda practitioners feel they can help nurse at least one of them back to physical health: the redoubtable Neymar.
The Kerala Football Association has proposed that ayurvedic treatment be suggested to the Brazilian player who has suffered a spine fracture. The state government is also acting on the suggestion.
Ayurveda is a form of alternative medicine native to the Indian subcontinent.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has already held discussions with the health minister and medical experts, and a firm proposal to Brazilian authorities is likely to be made soon.
State Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar confirmed the development. He said ayurveda experts in the state already hinted that they would be able to treat the 22-year-old’s spinal injury.
State medical education director T. Sivadas has been asked to submit a report on the feasibility of treating Neymar, and the state cabinet is expected to review the matter.
Ayurveda experts in Kerala are in the process of gathering more information about the specific nature of the injury suffered by the superstar and putting together a treatment schedule for him.
However, there are also observations that ayurveda will not be of much use for the footballer since he has suffered a fracture.
If the soccer star does decide to go the ayurveda route, it will be a major boost for the brand equity of Kerala’s ayurveda sector in general and for already well-known ayurveda brands such as the Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala in the Malabar region.
Kerala’s tourism sector also stands to gain from the publicity earned by ayurveda’s popularity if the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) decides to opt for this tradition form of treatment in the state. The CBF has reportedly decided to have the footballer treated by its own doctors and no alternative treatment has been discussed so far.
Neymar was injured after being kneed by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga during Brazil’s quarterfinal match, which led to the Brazilian forward missing the semi-final, which turned out to be a 7-1 drubbing for his team by Germany.
