Over time, infiltrations have become a reality and a habit in world tennis. Radio-Canada Sport spoke with international sports doping expert Jean-Pierre De Mondenard, who criticizes this practice, which he equates to doping.
The first rule of the Hippocratic oath is “Main not nocere “which means do no harm, but the basic rule of medicine is regularly ignored, especially in tennis.answers the sports doctor, who contacted his home in France.
In tennis, we openly talk about infiltrations. It has two types of treatment carried out. The injection of anesthetic to numb the pain and the injection of cortisone to reduce inflammation. In some cases, the injections are done by mixing the two, which has nothing to do with ethics. Because the rule we usually have to follow is to treat and heal. In the case of infiltrations, the damage is exacerbated. Which is nonsense!
Jean-Pierre De Mondenard revolted in this situation as a sports doctor, but as an advocate and defender of sports ethics. He did not hesitate to denounce these infiltrations, which he describes as sports doping.
Tennis infiltrations emerged in the 70s, he says. We can take the example of Björn Borg. During the Wimbledon tournament, he suffered an abdominal injury while in service. Well, throughout the contest, which he was supposed to win, he was given daily injections. It had dramatic effects afterwards.
For Stan Wawrinka, who has been undergoing infiltrations for two years. We had to operate on him once, but the operation failed because the injured part of his body had undergone too much anesthesia in the past. His trial still lasted three long years. We must not forget Rafael Nadal, who had to quit his career on several occasions due to injuries and, most of all, how he put them to sleep and he was not treated.
” Epicondylitis, o tennis elbow, which are common tennis elbow swellings, are usually treated with corticosteroids, but repeated injections expose you to infections. and especially in rupture of tendons. The drug has a good back when it comes to justifying these infiltrations, but it’s sports doping! “
The body screams and we say “shut up”
There are several responsible for this extensive practice in tennis, according to the international sports doping expert, first of all the International Tennis Federation and the World Anti-Doping Agency. The first allows the use of infiltrations and the AMA has removed anesthetics from the list of prohibited products since 2005he said.
We should not forget the entourage of the player, he added. All these people are paid according to the result. So what matters is if the body needs to be exposed to a little more damage.
The French doctor thinks that tennis, as well as other sports in which we continue to practice injections such as soccer, basketball or rugby, should follow the example of the International Cycling Union, which has ruled on infiltrations since June 2011.
The UCI regulates any injection of glucocorticoids. Administration of corticosteroids by the general route, in the form of injection, is prohibited, he says. To respect medical ethics, it imposes on the runner a mandatory rest period of 48 hours. So when there are stage races, he has to retire to finally recover. The Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) imposes an eight -day suspension on its riders.
Jean-Pierre De Mondenard is worried about the future of young people entering the professional circuit.
” Calendars are getting mad and mad. Bodies can no longer comply. We put evil to sleep, but the wound is always there. The body screams and we say “shut up!” “
It’s still unbelievable that we allow athletes to inject themselves just to get back into the game. This is unethical! The young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz should know that the anesthetic puts the sensors to sleep, but by continuing to play, it is also the other members that he will hurt and aggravate, until they can no longer be restored.
He never hid to have suffered infiltrations during the tournament in Madrid. This is also the reason why he probably skipped Rome. But not by repeated injection will he heal his body.
I remember these epic duels between French cyclist Cyrille Guimard and Belgian Eddy Merckx, Jean-Pierre De Mondenard added. To support the hellish rhythm imposed by the Belgian, Cyrille received daily infiltration. Two days from the end, he was barely standing on his feet, he needed help clinging to his bike! He said at the end of his career it was the worst thing he had ever done, because he had pawned parts of his body his whole life. The young Alcaraz must have two minds.
Jean-Pierre de Mondenard appeals to common sense and, above all, respect for ethics.
When we use infiltrations, we expose the body to further damage. That’s not medicine! I repeat, we violate the Hippocratic oath, but in the name of what, victory? What win? he concludes.
Source: Radio-Canada
