Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal will soon be ready to compete again after suffering a spectacular accident three months ago that could cost him his life. as detailed by his doctor, who left the decision in the hands of his team, Ineos.
The neurosurgeon Gustavo Uriza, from the La Sábana clinic, where the Ineos Granadiers cyclist underwent surgery and carried out his entire recovery, indicated, in a virtual press conference, that the fractures Bernal suffered are “healed”.
It may interest you: (Egan Bernal: Ineos official position on his return to racing)
“As of day 120 of the accident, I think Egan can go back to torque, stand on the pedals and can start racing in shape. Andtheir coaches in Europe will be the ones to give the go-ahead. For my part, he is consolidated, “added the specialist.
They disagree
As of Wednesday, 95 days have passed since the accident. The doctor explained that “the odontoid fracture is absolutely consolidated, it is cured. Of the dislocated fracture T-5 T-6, the CT shows consolidation (…) and the joints of the vertebrae above and below the fracture are preserved, functioning well, all the rib fractures are healed”.
Nevertheless, The doctor’s statements have caused alarm in the medical sectors, since it seems impossible that Bernal is already ready for the competition, after a short time of rehabilitation.
It may interest you: (Giro d’Italia 2022: the eight Colombians who are pre-registered)
Expert doctors contradict Uriza and warn that although the recovery is going well, there is still a long way to go before the runner returns to one hundred percent to the competition.
“We find Egan just beginning at this moment a process that is retraining at the level of bones, tendons, muscles, joints, after the healing process is finished. It is about making these tissues functional again for what they were designed and had been working for, which is pedaling and riding a bicycle, where all the systems are involved and then you must enter the third episode, which is the Adaptation of these systems to high competition and that It requires time and a prudential wait,” doctor Gustavo Castro told www.revistamundociclistico.com
On January 24, in the outskirts of Bogotá when he was training for the Tour de France, the runner collided at high speed with a bus on the highway that goes from Bogotá to Tunja, at the height of the municipality of Gachancipá, when the vehicle had stopped, an impact that caused fractures in the right femur and knee, in vertebrae and in eleven ribs, among other injuries.
clear concepts
“We cannot speak of a complete recovery in Egan since he is not yet fully recovered. of the loss of muscle mass and its deterioration, so it is necessary to recover the movements of flexion, extension, rotation, etc, both in the fractured leg and in the back, and that requires time,” said Jorge Patiño, Director of the Clinic. Selenia.
And I add: “It is important to establish the conditions reached and in which it arrives thanks to the treatment carried out in Bogotá. There, the plan to follow will surely be established after what has been done in terms of times, workloads, intensity, etc. He will surely continue riding a bicycle, but always according to the evolution of all the organs involved. In my opinion, various aspects related to a full recovery are just beginning and I hope that Egan does not take unnecessary pressure and continues with the mental strength and patience that he has shown us so far ”.
Bernal has already shown on several occasions his desire to compete again this year after his rapid recovery, but there is another key element: the mental part.
“There is still to be established what is related to the psychological rehabilitation that Egan will need, Well, as happens with any athlete or person who suffers a fall or fracture, when returning to normality or daily activities, one arrives with a natural fear of falling again and breaking again,” said the doctor, Juan Darío Uribe.
“In the case of high-performance athletes, a great deal of work is required in this aspect and much more in that of the cyclist who has to face high speeds on the flat or downhill, alone or in a group, with wet surfaces, etc. , etc. which initially generates a state of nervousness and anxiety against which he will have to fight to overcome it and this still needs to be done with Egan and will be necessary before he competes again, which I do not think will be on the date indicated by the one who operated on him at the level of the spine, because this is only one of the aspects of rehabilitation, but many more elements and factors are involved here that it is also necessary to listen to and analyze,” Uribe said.
It may interest you: (Egan Bernal and politics: the messages that have sparked controversy)
Sports
#Egan #Bernal #experts #contradict #cyclists #medical #discharge