Sport | Rugby
Catering to the injured during the Sevens
A total of 520 injuries were recorded during three days of action during last week's Dubai Sevens.
- By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:25 December 2, 2008
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Dubai: A total of 520 injuries were recorded during three days of action during last week's Dubai Sevens.
That's an average of nearly 174 players per day being attended to by the 120-specialists team from health providers, Welcare Hospital.
But Dr George P. John the sports medicine surgeon at Welcare Hospital, who heads the team at the annual rugby extravaganza, feels this figure is much lower compared to last year.
"We had close to 700 injuries last year, so we were less busy at the tournament this year," Dr John told Gulf News. However, the nature of some of the injuries was more serious this time. "We had a player who had a neck fracture. But, it could have been worse had he not received timely attention to prevent further damage. He is much better now and he has in fact gone back to England with a proper neck support," Dr John stated.
The Welcare Hospital team are regulars at some of the most important events held in the country, including the Dubai Tennis Championships. Besides the 20 doctors, there are 25 physiotherapists and the rest are nurses and paramedics.
"The key factor is to act fast. There has to be prompt action on the field to prevent further damage," he added.
Most of the injuries recorded during the three days were dislocations of the shoulders, ankles and elbows.
"I have at least 16 surgeries from the rugby lined up for me over the next few days," Dr John stated.
However, the highlight at this year's Dubai Sevens was the launch of the Sportfit Grucox Bike.
Sportfit, of which Dr John is the Founder, CEO and Director, is an integrated approach to all kinds of sports through proper dissemination of sport science. Some of the most famous names in the field of sports medicine had joined with engineers and surgeons in Cape Town, South Africa for the past four years in an attempt to create the best machine for wellness. South African specialist Dr Willem van der Merwe is one of the directors. The training bike, called the ECCENTRIC, is meant to cater to the complete well-being and growth of a person. So far, there are only six such bikes and two of these are right here in Dubai.
"We are confident this concept will catch up in due course of time as it focuses on sports and wellness of a person," Dr John said.
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