Paris 2024: probable kidney stone for Gianmarco Tamberi, what it is and how to treat it
“A stabbing pain in one side. Emergency room, CT scan, ultrasound, blood tests” and the diagnosis: “Probable kidney stone”. This is how Gianmarco ‘Gimbo’ Tamberi described, last night via Instagram, the unexpected event that forced him to postpone his departure for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Paris 2024, Tamberi and kidney stones, therapies to cure them
“A violent pain in the side” is the alarm bell that announces renal colic, “the most typical symptom” of kidney stones, a common problem that can affect up to one in 10 people. But what is a kidney stone? What does it depend on? And how is it treated? Experts at the Niguarda hospital in Milan explain in an in-depth article published on the website of the Asst Grande Ospedale Metropolitano. “A kidney stone (or nephrolithiasis),” they describe, is created “when the concentration of lithogenic salts (calcium, uric acid, oxalate) in the urine increases, forming the first crystals that then, aggregating together, form the actual stone. This is a problem that affects 5 to 10% of the population, with a growing trend in recent decades, attributable to the greater consumption of animal proteins in our diet”.
To avoid kidney stones, it is necessary to “keep the urine in a condition of undersaturation, that is, well diluted, ensuring constant and fractionated hydration to produce diuresis greater than 2 liters”. When they form, however, “stones are not all the same. There are different types: there are the most common ones formed by calcium salts, there are those of uric acid and those of struvite, resulting from a particular urinary infection. Then there may be those of cystine, caused by a rare hereditary pathology”, Niguarda specifies. “To diagnose the type of calculus, it is essential to analyze the composition of the stone once expelled, through a chemical or crystallographic test”. But how does a kidney stone manifest itself? “The most typical symptom”, in fact, “is renal colic, that is, a violent pain in the side accompanied by vomiting and restlessness, due to the movement of the stone along the urinary tract. Sometimes there may only be a dull lumbago, like back pain. Another possibility is the occurrence of macro or microhematuria even without symptoms, that is, the presence of blood in the urine. In case of ongoing renal colic”, it is recommended to “not underestimate the phenomenon that could recur over time. It is also recommended to carry out blood and urine tests to identify the so-called metabolic risk factors. It is also important to carry out radiological checks, such as an ultrasound of the urinary tract and/or a CT scan of the abdomen without contrast”.
Treatment? Should kidney stones always be removed or can they go away on their own? “A stone of around 6 millimetres has a high chance of spontaneous expulsion – the specialists at Niguarda answer – while the percentage decreases as the size increases. When they reach larger dimensions, therapeutic intervention is necessary. Until a few years ago, the only hope was surgery, which through different techniques resolved the situation by removing or fragmenting the stones. Now, however, lithotripsy has become widespread, which allows treatment without cuts. The lithotripter is a machine capable of producing shock waves that are sent precisely, with the help of X-rays or ultrasound, so as to be concentrated on the stones themselves. These waves pass through the soft tissues of the body and discharge their energy on the stones so as to fragment them. Ultrasound is able to highlight the number and size of the stones, location and possible presence of dilation of the excretory ducts”.
Even nutrition can help. “The common therapy for all stones involves urinary dilution: drink lots of liquids, lots of water, even tap water is fine – the experts clarify – There are studies that confirm this: having a daily hydration equal to or greater than 2 liters limits relapses, which are frequent for this type of pathology”. Another piece of advice is “significantly reduce the consumption of salt and animal proteins, such as meat, fish and eggs”.
“Contrary to what was thought until a few years ago – they finally point out from Niguarda – the diet must be normo-calcic. That is, you shouldn’t ban foods like milk, cheese and yogurt.” Among other things, sometimes, “this could create major problems at a skeletal level, especially if the patient had high levels of calcium loss in the urine. In some cases, in fact, stones and osteoporosis can be correlated.”
Paris 2024: Athletics, Tamberi Postpones Flight Due to Possible Kidney Stone
“Unbelievable… It can’t be true. Yesterday, 2 hours after writing “I deserve it” on social media, I felt a stabbing pain in my side. Emergency room, CT scan, ultrasound, blood tests…. Probably a kidney stone. And now I find myself, 3 days after the race for which I sacrificed everything, lying in a bed, helpless, with a fever of 38.8…I was supposed to leave for Paris today and start my journey towards this great dream and instead I was advised to postpone the flight (it was supposed to arrive in Paris on Sunday, ed.) in the hope that, with a bit of rest, this nightmare will end”. These are the words of the Italian high jump champion Gimbo Tamberi via Instagram who announces the umpteenth physical misadventure of this period and the decision to postpone the flight to Paris due to a possible kidney stone.
“I just have to wait and pray… I don’t deserve all this, I did everything for these Olympics, everything. I really don’t deserve it. Only one thing is certain, I don’t know how I’ll get there, but I’ll be there on that platform and I’ll give my all until the last jump, whatever my condition. I swear to you but even before that I swear to myself!”, added Tamberi.
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