Real Madrid medical chief insists player health should take priority over football calendar: ‘We need to raise awareness’

Real Madrid medical chief insists player health should take priority over football calendar: ‘We need to raise awareness’ Real Madrid medical supervisor Dr Niko Mihic has called for player welfare to take priority over football’s increasingly demanding calendar , warning that professional players are being pushed into competing without sufficient recovery time.  Speaking to AS , Mihic highlighted the physical consequences of fixture congestion and argued that reducing the number of matches is essential to protecting footballers. It must be noted that Mihic oversees the health and wellbeing of Real Madrid’s first-team players while also helping influence the club’s approach to sports medicine.  Sports medicine advances are changing how clubs protect players Mihic explained that Real Madrid’s approach draws on medical practices developed in other sports, particularly American football, where doctors have extensive experience dealing with head injuries.  “That’s right. In fact, I apply everything I’ve learnt from working with sportspeople to my patients to help them all improve just a little bit. “We take on board the Americans’ methodology and pass it on to our own players, and they apply at their own level what they see us doing in Europe,” he began saying. He also highlighted the growing importance of sleep monitoring and recovery technology. “NFL doctors, for example, have far more experience with head injuries.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by @axolongevity “We’ve learnt a great deal that we can apply to football, which isn’t quite as prone to concussions, but they pay very close attention to sleep quality in relation to the effects of those concussions and recovery from injuries. “It’s essential to ensure the quality, duration and depth of sleep, and we use all the latest medical technology to achieve this.” The doctor also addressed concerns surrounding repeated heading in football, revealing that research into the potential consequences is already at an advanced stage. “ We are studying it, and the research is at a very advanced stage. Both UEFA and FIFA are conducting studies into what they call concussive events or sub-concussions, which occur regularly in football. “You could always say we should have started sooner, but better late than never. There is some fantastic technology available. “A whole new field is emerging for objective diagnosis using blood markers for head trauma and portable electroencephalograms following an incident.  “This will help us to diagnose and protect players more effectively.” Medical advances are extending footballers’ careers Mihic believes modern medicine is helping elite athletes compete at the highest level for longer.  He pointed to improvements in surgery and injury treatment as major reasons why players can recover from serious injuries and continue their careers. “It’s already happening. We see it with them, with Djokovic, Messi, Fernando Alonso and Tom Brady – all playing a decade beyond what was previously considered ‘too old’. “This is happening because players have the determination and discipline to carry on, but also because medical science supports their aim to extend their careers. Advances in surgery and the treatment of injuries. “In the past, a torn anterior cruciate ligament meant the end of a career and six months in a cast.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sports Doctors Network (@sportsdoctorsnetwork) “Nowadays, injuries are treated so expertly, quickly and precisely that players return sooner and extend their careers.” However, the increasing number of matches remains a major concern.  Mihic believes the demands placed on modern footballers are exposing them to greater injury risks, while research into the difference in ACL injury rates between men and women still needs to progress. “People have never played as much as they do now, and they are exposing themselves to greater risk. That’s just the way it is. “One area where we ought to be pushing ourselves harder is in finding out why this injury occurs far more frequently in women than in men.  “Women suffer up to eight times as many anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and, to our shame, we still don’t know why.” Mihic demands player health takes priority over competition Mihic’s strongest criticism was reserved for the football calendar.  He argued that clubs are increasingly struggling to provide players with adequate recovery time because matches continue to accumulate. “One of the biggest problems we clubs have to face is the lack of adequate rest, due to playing continuously. “I’ve said several times that if our footballers were racehorses, we’d be facing protests over animal cruelty for making them run all the time… “Here, nobody protests; it’s just one match after another, one on top of the other, without anyone asking how the player is doing… We need to raise awareness. “We must prioritise the player’s health over competition by reducing the number of matches and allowing more rest. We need to empower the footballer.  “Our sport is built on the player’s health, and we must put health before competition,” he concluded.