Paris (AFP)
Müller-Weiss syndrome, which has plagued Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal for more than 15 years, is a rare condition that affects the bones of the foot and causes chronic pain.
The 22-time grand slam champion has lived with his pain, often trying to avoid it in front of reporters. But in the Italian capital in May 2022, he turned to his exhausting daily life away from tennis. Time, I live many days with pains.
He continued, “I love what I do, the competition gives me unforgettable moments, but also sad days.”
From the age of 18, the Mallorca native suffered from necrosis of the scaphoid bone, also known as Müller-Weiss syndrome. A degenerative disease that is “chronic and incurable,” he says.
This syndrome affects the navicular bone, which is located on the back of the foot, between the ankle and the cuneiform bones.
“This bone is under great pressure, and for reasons unknown to us, it loses its blood vessels and undergoes necrosis,” explains Deny Menard, President of the French Society of Podiatry and Head of the Department of Orthopedics at Nancy Hospital.
And in the most serious cases, “and in cases that put great pressure on their feet, the bone will disintegrate, flatten and may crumble, and eventually it can develop into arthritis with a shortened arch of the foot.”
Müller-Weiss syndrome can affect one foot, but most often it affects both feet. Nadal had trouble with his left. This disease usually affects women and people between the ages of 40 and 60.
Professor Menard did not see the file of the Spanish player. However, he raises the “intellectual hypothesis” that he may have been affected in his childhood by “Kohler-Moshe” disease, which is a rare disease of the growth of the scaphoid bone that affects children under the age of ten, especially athletic boys and can leave traces.
Müller-Weiss syndrome has five stages: the first is asymptomatic and the last is arthritic.
The causes of this disease are still unknown. “In the authors who first described it, Müller thought it was trauma-related, while Weiss thought it was more vascular. Nowadays, we consider it more vascular in origin,” notes Professor Menard.
Some factors can increase the risk of its appearance (excess weight, flat feet, stress fracture…).
This disease is often difficult to diagnose at first, because it develops silently in its early stages. Aches usually begin in the second stage.
In addition to comfort, orthotic insoles can reduce mechanical stress. To combat pain, analgesics and drainage complete the therapeutic scene.
Nadal explained in May 2022, “I live with a ton of painkillers every day to get the chance to train. I often can’t. If I don’t take them I go limp… It’s hard to train for days in a row. To be able to compete at the highest level, I have to “I move well, and I can’t work like that. Sometimes it’s hard to accept the situation.”
After winning the Roland Garros 2022 title, for the fourteenth time in his career, he began a new treatment to get rid of pain.
A spokesperson said he had undergone “radio-frequency therapy” at a clinic in Barcelona which numbs “the nerves in the area of his injury”.
The Spanish “Matador” revealed that he had to play the final against Norwegian Casper Rudd with a numb foot, but he is not ready to go through this painful experience again.
For patients who are unable to bear the pain to the point of preventing them from walking, surgery may be prescribed. The surgery immobilizes the two joints attached to the navicular bone. “In cases where the scaphoid bone has disintegrated, a bone graft is also needed to restore the length of the inner arch of the foot,” explains Professor Menard.
“It is difficult to exercise at a high level after this surgery,” he concludes.
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