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photo: Gennady Cherkasov

They say that the Russian athletes is very flexible.

Before the collapse of the USSR happened in 1991, our country was famous for its powerful science and Moscow Institute of physical culture and sports (VNIIFK) was the Mecca of sports medicine. It is separately funded by the state, which understood that sports medicine is a special branch, who, it was said the former head of the Department of sports medicine at the Moscow state Academy of physical culture Nina Graevskaya, and shares borders with biology, and physiology, and pedagogy.

Today, alas, experts say that this INSTITUTE is not the same, more like a colossus with feet of clay, inside of which is empty. I have seen this personally, by calling, was surprised to learn from the representative that the University doesn’t have professionals on pharmacological support for athletes. «Can’t be…» — I had to argue, because personally did in his time with them interviews. In the end, I sent to… the Minister of sport Mutko, without permission which scientists now generally forbidden to communicate with journalists.

Although, maybe I’m not right. Indeed, the topic of fredderick even in the old days was ambiguous, scientific papers on how to support professionals in the sport, went on institutions classified as «secret».

What exactly were we supposed to hide? Bromantan, Phenotropil, inert gases, Preductal? This line of products, which, like the acclaimed Meldonium, was appointed our sports doctors, askorbinka, vitamins to support not only athletes, but also military and special operations participants. They were all allowed, but only until a certain time.

In the late 90-ies, when there was Wade, a purpose and his actions were logical and accepted by all literally with a Bang. Still, it had to protect athletes from the harmful effect of doping, leading sometimes competitors to death, as well as to equalize the athletes at the start.

Now that Frank steroids, like French, erythropoietin seems to be defeated, the work of the VAD is more like pure business. Periodically it gets to the «vitamins» that allegedly give competitors advantages over others, because to justify their existence somehow. The result is that his activity has already started to bring more damage to the athletes than good. How will now restore the heart of Sharapova, ten years taking Meldonium?

WADA has unlimited powers that he wants, and denies, — complains to me one sports doctor that once worked in our team. — Banned almost everyone except for yet of glucose, pure water and creatine. The latter tried to outlaw for the fact that the creatine-phosphate is able to influence the instantaneous power muscle, for example, in weightlifting. But they didn’t work out. And all because creatine is produced in our body, comes from animal meat. To prove his malicious reception is not yet possible. Moreover, creatine is not an anabolic steroid. Can not be compared with steroids and Meldonium — support heart tool. But how do we convince Wade?

This question we forwarded a sports cardiologist and head of the Department of functional diagnostics and sport medicine of the Moscow research and practical center for restorative and sports medicine of Moscow healthcare Department, doctor of medical Sciences Vladimir PAVLOV.

Sports doctors physiotherapists replaced

— I am not an expert in matters of doping, and you now in our country, perhaps, no longer find. Many fell into disgrace in connection with scandals in athletics Federation — somebody in the shadows, someone went abroad. But I don’t think the subject of doping our main problem. It is only the more serious consequence — the gradual collapse of the entire sports medicine in the country.

Let’s see now who treats the stars of the level of Maria Sharapova? As a rule, in the past, this conventional doctors, not having sports specialization: internists, proctologists, gastroenterologists, gynecologists. Until 90‑ies was a separate specialty is sports medicine. After it merged with the other, and the name was changed: specialist in sports medicine, therapeutic physical training, physiotherapy. Then changed the word order and became a specialist exercise therapy, balneology and sports medicine. That is, the relevance has decreased even more. Tell me, doctor physical therapy anything need to know about doping? But that’s not all. In 2008 this team specialty were generally excluded from the category of major — she was given the additional status to the major: medicine, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, etc. If earlier specialist sports medicine has prepared a full five years, now this term uget to four months. And who teaches? Those same doctors of physical therapy and balneology. Someone upstairs naively believed that such standardization will help to save money. Here and «save» now the whole group of our athletes-retirees.

— Why athletes do not protest against this state of Affairs? Are they unaware of it?

Yeah they have no time to realize they have five workouts per day. They rely on existing doctors… And they seemed to have recognized that the knowledge they have is not enough. In 2008, officials have combined our doctors all sports teams under the roof of a respected institution that never athletes sighting was not engaged. Yes, the facilities are very good, Yes, young professionals… And start from scratch. And after all trainings were remained and archives, and the achievements of a giant, worked great, but no one needed: we will once again reinvent the wheel, step on the old rake, and in twenty years we will find a reputable sports medicine.

— Reallocation of cash flows?

Alas… I see the level of these «new people» with their superlattice. They have no deep knowledge of physiology and the desire to use the experience of the pioneers. But abroad, where I was recently, I saw many things that were met in our old books on sports medicine. They brought to life. I don’t know, came up with their Western counterparts or have used our ideas…

You know what kills sports medicine in Moscow? The fact that no athlete can get to us without… the direction of the local clinic. Now the question is: would the doctor give such a referral? Of course not, otherwise the clinic will lose money. What regular doctor knows about the athlete?

What is the weight of heart of an athlete

— By the way, what?

— Yes anything. He just sees it as another person — with the same heart, the same feet-hands. But the physiology of professional athletes differs from the functioning of the body an ordinary citizen. For example, they normally bradycardia, 40 beats per minute, and sometimes below, at a rate of 60 and above. Commonplace are different for sports changes in the ECG, sometimes resembling a heart attack, have a huge heart. What a conventional doctor has never seen. As a result, some cardiologists of clinics diagnose in athletes anything, up to myocardial infarction, where there is none.

photo: Gennady Cherkasov
The best runner of the world Usain Bolt.

— How deep is athletic heart?

By some it sometimes rises up to 60-65 mm — diameter cavity of the left ventricle of the heart, it is one and a half times more than usual. It also weighs more. Scientists are still arguing about where the boundary between the large heart of athletes and impermissible. The same Nina Graevskaya believed that the limit is polukilogrammovye heart, someone argues with her, claiming that we must stop the border at 400 grams, allowing a maximum of 500 g.

— And how sports doctor proves that the bradycardia of the athlete is not a pathology?

I recently saw a high-class individual whose heart was beating at a frequency of 36 beats per minute — sometimes below. And the way to prove that this is his norm, the so-called compensatory heart, only one test at maximum load test.

And what is the limit of the compensatory of the heart?

— In addition to the incredible endurance in training and competition people with such heart can, say, move the heart, to stay alive, feel great and still briskly to catch up and do push-UPS.

— Does it happen that some hearts do not stand up right on a hockey or football field…

— Sometimes, unfortunately. And this, I believe, is usually the fault of the triad of reasons. First, some genetic predisposition, and secondly, the latently present without clinical manifestations of acute pathology of often inflammation of the heart muscle — myocarditis. The athlete often reduced immunity due to stress and weakened organism penetrate viruses and bacteria. Third, adverse conditions of sports activity: heat, cold, lack of recovery of the athlete. It must track the team’s doctor, and these niceties doesn’t know the classic doctor from the clinic.

You know, there’s a tournament on mini-football named after Konstantin Eremenko. It was the best player in the world. He put the ball in the pocket, a billiard addict. And so it happened that one day in our Institute revealed a gross change of heart, which, however, does not affect his health. The doctor, who watched it, told me that Eremenko almost reached lawsuits — believed that we mistakenly want to remove him from sports. And just because he died on the football field (though it was already after the end of his career — Approx. ed.), proved that we were right. I’d rather have him with us sued…

— The blood changes in athletes?

— They, as a rule, a good level of hemoglobin. Before he achieved some hormone erythropoietin. There are even anti-doping Commission habit, he noticed that the athlete’s hemoglobin level exceeds the limit above a certain point, start to check it out.

Is correct, but the case of Meldonium… If we had sports medicine at a high level, as would come out of the situation Maria Sharapova?

If the medicine we was at a good level, the specialists who usually know in advance about the introduction of the drug into the list, immediately sounding the alarm: remove the athlete from all prohibited, attracts colleagues for consultation. About the impending ban of Meldonium was announced in September 2015. You have heard at least January 2016 shouts: Oh my God, forbidden Meldonium, it is necessary to take steps!

— No.

But the alarm was supposed to be.

Africans to train better at home?

— The reserves of the human species in the sport have been exhausted?

— You know a lot of people who lived to 120 years? Not a lot of. Their units. Here and athletes that can jump over the bar of human capabilities, is also one.

— Jumped, for example, in 1991, the American Michael Powell on 8 metres 95 centimetres in length, so still nobody can take that achievement to block. Did no one jump on 8,96 m?

— Probably, someone’s going to jump.

— Under the influence of pharmaceuticals?

— I don’t know. Maybe in the future, doctors will take pharmacology and learn how to genetically change the physiological state of a person so that he will be beat one record after another.

But I think that in high-speed sports even without genetics we will not wait for a single record. At least from the same native of Jamaica Usain Bolt who runs best in the world. He periodically improves their result.

— By the way, the athletes of the Negroid race. Their endurance is determined genetically. And the Europeans have advantages?

— Of course, there. For example, hardy in the women’s representatives of the black race not swim. Why do you think? They have a high bone density, they are heavy. They also more common pathology such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy characterized by thickening of the wall of the left ventricle.

But inside the white race differences exist? Because something happened due to the success of our gymnasts-«artists» and synchronized swimmers that show the wonders of flexibility and artistry?

— I think that in these cases plays a big role coaching the talent. Although there are hypotheses that say about the prevalence of connective tissue dysplasia in these athletes. This primatologia associated with extraordinary flexibility, but I wouldn’t feel about these versions too seriously.

— How do you feel about the acquisitions of athletes from Africa and South America?

— I say: guys, here there is a nuance to this athlete continued to run, he needs here, in Russia, Africa to make. Because heat builds stamina, and our low temperature from this.

In MNPS which emerged from the walls a few dozen highly skilled professionals, I hope that scandals like the current one, still sober in many of our sports industry. There is no other way.