【Revealing the Secret of Injuries】Part Two – Bao Chunlai - Common Injuries

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【Revealing the Secret of Injuries】Part Two – Bao Chunlai2014-06-19 13:23:49 From：Dr. Bob Chen's STaR Studio

From Channel 5 November issue, 2013, P114-121 Dictated by Bob Chen, Written by Lu Mingkui

They were the four major representatives for Chinese sports, but they all left the arena due to sports injuries. Bob Chen, the distinguished Chinese sports expert for the Olympics, will reveal the secret “Achilles Heel” of each.

This will be divided into four parts, and we will present them to you one by one starting from today. Please stay tuned!

Part Two – Bao Chunlai

Process of injures

Before the 2006 Thomas-Uber Cup, when Bao Chunlai went to Fuzhou for intensive training, he felt a sudden pain in his ankle. Since then, similar symptoms appeared nearly every month. If training intensity was relatively heavier the day before, the probability of his joint swelling was particularly high. And the symptoms were migratory: this time it was his ankle, next time could be the toes, and so the problem was unpredictable.

In 2007, Bao Chunlai went to the Beijing Union Medical College Hospital for tests, and the results showed that the index of Anti-streptolysin O (ASO) in his blood was several times higher than in normal people, indicating that there was serious inflammation in his body that required lifetime medication. However, whether he had rheumatism or arthrolithiasis, had not been determined through diagnosis, he could only take medication according to general indications. One thing was certain, however: overload training would increase the burden placed on the body, which would lead to a decrease in immunity, so the symptoms of illness would recur.

In 2008, the recurrence of his illness gradually increased, from once a month to once in two or three weeks, to once a week, and even twice a week.

During the 2011 U.S. Open, Bao Chunlai felt sick again, and was bedridden the night before the match. The American doctor said that according to general standards, his sickness was not that serious, and that the key was to get some rest. In September of the same year, Bao retired.

Injury Analysis

Bao had many injuries, mainly in the knees. He is a very easy going and caring person. I recall he told me that once, when he was playing against Lin Dan, Bao was leading in the final stage, but Lin Dan gave him a look of determination to win, which scared him, and in a sudden turn, he lost the game. I asked him why? He explained, “We are all teammates, why do we have to come to this?”

Bao’s rheumatism was very serious, especially in his ankle joints. Rheumatism does serious damage to joints, causing redness, swelling, hotness and pain when one’s immune system is weakened. I remember that before the last National Sports Meet, his patellar tendon underneath the patellar was one-third calcified, and would be pulled when doing flexion and extension movements, causing pain. The reason for calcification is that when a ligament is injured, it will cause inflammation, and the ligament hardens, which becomes the calcified spot. Liu Xiang also has calcified ligaments and tendons. After a patellar ligament is calcified, the ligament strength decreases, and it breaks easily.

Bao’s knees hurt too much to participate in matches in those days, so everyone thought it would be a good idea to have an operation, and suggested that he should go to Germany for surgery to remove the calcium build-up. At that time, on one hand, it was almost time for the National Sports Meet, and on the other hand, after the calcium was removed, the width of the ligament would became smaller, and the ability to withstand physical activity would decrease. So he went to Hong Kong to seek rehabilitation with me. After six weeks of work, the calcium spots became smaller, and he avoided surgery, so he was able to achieve his goals at the National Sports Meet. I used ultrasound to hit the calcium spots daily, and through physical training reversed the calcification process. Six weeks later, the calcium spots were reduced.

A badminton player’s foreleg is always lunged; therefore, his Achilles tendon and patellar tendon are easily strained repeatedly, which would cause patellar tendinitis for his patellar ligament. Over a long period of time, this would cause calcification and degeneration.

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