Flamengo's Silver Medals: Medicine as Prevention, Treatment and Recovery
Doctors and physiotherapists work primarily to prevent injuries
By Communication - Official Club Website - in
When it comes to sports medicine, athletes are immediately concerned. But sports medicine is much more than just treating injuries and its goal isn't just rehabilitation. Through both theoretical and practical approaches, sports physicians work to investigate the influence of exercise on the body's physiology during soccer practice, with the goal of preventing and treating injuries.
Player development categories have their own characteristics. Many athletes from different Brazilian states, with different characteristics and levels of development, challenge the work of professionals in this field. In addition to providing medical guidance, Flamengo's Medical Department team works to educate the players.
Become a fan member and help develop more youth athletes..
Medical care involves daily assessments and monitoring to prevent injuries, which, when diagnosed, are referred for rehabilitation or pre-operative care. In addition to daily monitoring at the George Helal Training Center, doctors provide their emergency phone numbers and work shifts to monitor games in and around Rio de Janeiro.
"The Medical Department provides treatment, prevention, and performance support. We also have an educational role. We must treat these athletes with care and attention, as we have monitored most of the boys here for their entire lives. It's important to consider their development as a whole, not just as players, but also as human beings," says Dr. João Marcelo.
Team
Completing the team is the club's physiotherapy team, led by José Batista de Moraes, the group coordinator, and Eduardo Calçada, both with experience on the Brazilian national team, as well as André Luis Bezerra and Rafael Calabria Junior. Fernando Nascimento de Freitas, Rafael de Souza Vieira Graciano, and Gabriel Machado are the interns. A crucial area of the medical department, physiotherapy focuses on injury prevention and athlete recovery.
In injury prevention, physiotherapists use the proprioception method (the ability to recognize the spatial location of the body) and "Core Training", which is muscle strengthening performed through muscle contractions with various static and dynamic movements that work all the muscles of the body, together with Physical Preparation.
Process for recovery
Before arriving at physiotherapy, athletes are evaluated by doctors and, then, with a diagnosis established, physiotherapists begin work, developing the treatment protocol that will be followed until their prompt recovery.
When an athlete is diagnosed with a surgical indication, pre- and post-operative activities are performed. In the first, physiotherapists provide analgesia to relieve pain and reduce edema with cryotherapy (ice), electrotherapy, and therapeutic ultrasound. This is followed by strengthening for muscle hypertrophy with intensive weight training to prepare the athlete for surgery.
Postoperatively, athletes return with significant edema, bruising, and pain that require management. Therefore, work is resumed, this time without ultrasound. The player undergoes cryotherapy (ice) and electrotherapy, followed by mobilization, knee flexion-extension, and range of motion (ROM) and knee articulation exercises. The athlete is still clinically well but unable to play sports.
When there are sprains or minor injuries, physiotherapists provide analgesia and when the pain reduces, they strengthen the region and proprioception in the physiotherapy room with equipment and on the field with jogging, jumping, turning, circuits without a ball and with a ball.
"When an athlete is assigned to the Physical Therapy Department, they treat not just the injured limb, but the entire body. They work on all segments without interfering with the limb being treated. Physical therapy treats, strengthens, performs proprioceptive work, and initiates field work, such as jogging, circuits with changes of direction, acceleration, and deceleration with and without the ball, for possible physiologic release," explains Batista, the physical therapy coordinator.
When an athlete spends more than a week in Physiotherapy treatment, they are referred to Physiology, where they perform weight training, resistance training and monitored field work until moving on to physical preparation before training with the group.
The Flamengo Youth Medical Department works directly with Physiology during recovery, Nutrition during nutritional balance, Psychology if any deficiencies are detected, and Physical Preparation during the transition of athletes from the medical department to the field. All administrative tasks, such as performing exams, scheduling surgeries, and organizing reports, are handled by Sônia de Jesus.
Next week, we will present the Technical Commissions Department.
Read the previous articles in the series:
Flamengo's Silver: Get to Know the Football Intelligence and Market Center
Flamengo's Silvers: How citizenship is applied in the red-black base
Flamengo's Silver: Sports Psychology as Mental Training
Flamengo's Silver: Nutrition in favor of sport
Flamengo's Silver Medalists: Physiology as a Support in Physical Preparation
Flamengo's Silver Medals: Pedagogy in Off-Field Discipline
Homegrown Talent: Learn how Flamengo's youth teams work
Player development categories have their own characteristics. Many athletes from different Brazilian states, with different characteristics and levels of development, challenge the work of professionals in this field. In addition to providing medical guidance, Flamengo's Medical Department team works to educate the players.
Become a fan member and help develop more youth athletes..
Medical care involves daily assessments and monitoring to prevent injuries, which, when diagnosed, are referred for rehabilitation or pre-operative care. In addition to daily monitoring at the George Helal Training Center, doctors provide their emergency phone numbers and work shifts to monitor games in and around Rio de Janeiro.
"The Medical Department provides treatment, prevention, and performance support. We also have an educational role. We must treat these athletes with care and attention, as we have monitored most of the boys here for their entire lives. It's important to consider their development as a whole, not just as players, but also as human beings," says Dr. João Marcelo.
Team
Flamengo's medical team is comprised of six professionals. All of them, in addition to their specialization, also have sports medicine backgrounds. Dr. Serafim Borges—who was part of the 2002 World Cup-winning Brazil team—and Dr. Luiz Claudio Baldi—also a member of the Brazilian national team—are cardiologists and sports medicine physicians, working for the professional team and providing clinical research support. Orthopedist João Marcelo Amorim and radiologist Dr. Bruno Pinheiro also have dual specializations in sports medicine. The group also includes orthopedists César Esteves and Leandro Guimarães.
Completing the team is the club's physiotherapy team, led by José Batista de Moraes, the group coordinator, and Eduardo Calçada, both with experience on the Brazilian national team, as well as André Luis Bezerra and Rafael Calabria Junior. Fernando Nascimento de Freitas, Rafael de Souza Vieira Graciano, and Gabriel Machado are the interns. A crucial area of the medical department, physiotherapy focuses on injury prevention and athlete recovery.In injury prevention, physiotherapists use the proprioception method (the ability to recognize the spatial location of the body) and "Core Training", which is muscle strengthening performed through muscle contractions with various static and dynamic movements that work all the muscles of the body, together with Physical Preparation.
Process for recovery
Before arriving at physiotherapy, athletes are evaluated by doctors and, then, with a diagnosis established, physiotherapists begin work, developing the treatment protocol that will be followed until their prompt recovery.
When an athlete is diagnosed with a surgical indication, pre- and post-operative activities are performed. In the first, physiotherapists provide analgesia to relieve pain and reduce edema with cryotherapy (ice), electrotherapy, and therapeutic ultrasound. This is followed by strengthening for muscle hypertrophy with intensive weight training to prepare the athlete for surgery.
Postoperatively, athletes return with significant edema, bruising, and pain that require management. Therefore, work is resumed, this time without ultrasound. The player undergoes cryotherapy (ice) and electrotherapy, followed by mobilization, knee flexion-extension, and range of motion (ROM) and knee articulation exercises. The athlete is still clinically well but unable to play sports.
When there are sprains or minor injuries, physiotherapists provide analgesia and when the pain reduces, they strengthen the region and proprioception in the physiotherapy room with equipment and on the field with jogging, jumping, turning, circuits without a ball and with a ball.
"When an athlete is assigned to the Physical Therapy Department, they treat not just the injured limb, but the entire body. They work on all segments without interfering with the limb being treated. Physical therapy treats, strengthens, performs proprioceptive work, and initiates field work, such as jogging, circuits with changes of direction, acceleration, and deceleration with and without the ball, for possible physiologic release," explains Batista, the physical therapy coordinator.
When an athlete spends more than a week in Physiotherapy treatment, they are referred to Physiology, where they perform weight training, resistance training and monitored field work until moving on to physical preparation before training with the group.
The Flamengo Youth Medical Department works directly with Physiology during recovery, Nutrition during nutritional balance, Psychology if any deficiencies are detected, and Physical Preparation during the transition of athletes from the medical department to the field. All administrative tasks, such as performing exams, scheduling surgeries, and organizing reports, are handled by Sônia de Jesus.
Next week, we will present the Technical Commissions Department.
Read the previous articles in the series:
Flamengo's Silver: Get to Know the Football Intelligence and Market Center
Flamengo's Silvers: How citizenship is applied in the red-black base
Flamengo's Silver: Sports Psychology as Mental Training
Flamengo's Silver: Nutrition in favor of sport
Flamengo's Silver Medalists: Physiology as a Support in Physical Preparation
Flamengo's Silver Medals: Pedagogy in Off-Field Discipline
Homegrown Talent: Learn how Flamengo's youth teams work