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Are Kotoko players medically fit?
By: Kojo Addae-Mensah
Posted: 7th June 2008
Today’s article is inspired by what I read in Wednesday’s edition on an article my colleague Jerome Otchere wrote concerning the fitness situation of six of the first team players.
In the article, Jerome described Omono as a sports medicine expert who seems to be fully in charge of the medical condition of our players and honestly speaking that is what tickled me and jolted me into my article writing seat right away to start putting this piece together.
In another world, I have had varying arguments about who an expert is and who an expert is not.
Just as in granting remission to Dan Abodakpi, the word “pardon” was used supposedly as an ordinary English word and not in the legal term since using pardon and remission in the same statement is contradictory in legal terms, I only hope and pray that Jerome did not use the word in medical terms, otherwise, with all due respect, I would have expected that my good friend Omono would be ordinarily referred to as Doctor and most likely would be close to specialising in orthopaedics or something close to that? As far as my basic knowledge of the English language is concerned, an expert is one who has wide knowledge and skill in a particular field. Anyway no offence. I only asked.
Normally sports people and footballers in particular suffer injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, concussions, cuts and bruises.
Normally an orthopaedic surgeon will be the one attending to such players on a constant basis with a GP backing him or her up. Hey do you know the best Hernia surgeon in Europe is a female German?
To quote directly from wikipedia, An "expert" is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public.
An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability in a particular area of study. Experts are called in for advice on their respective subject, but they do not always agree on the particulars of a field of study.
An expert can be, by virtue of training, education, profession, publication or experience, believed to have special knowledge of a subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon the individual's opinion.
Historically, an expert was referred to as a sage. The individual was usually a profound philosopher distinguished for wisdom and sound judgment.
Maybe I would have accepted if he had been referred to as an expert in Physiotherapy and not sports medicine in general.
Even then, check out the wikipidea definition of a physiotherapist. Physiotherapy (or physical therapy as known in the U.S.) is a healthcare profession concerned with prevention, treatment and management of movement disorders arising from conditions and diseases.
Physiotherapy is performed by either a physiotherapist (PT), or a physiotherapist assistant (PTA) acting under their direction. However, various other health professionals (e.g., chiropractors, Doctors of Osteopathy) use some physical therapeutic methods.
A program of physical therapy will typically involve caregivers.
PTs utilize an individual's history and physical examination in diagnosis and treatment, and if necessary, will incorporate the results of laboratory and imaging studies.
Electrodiagnostic testing (e.g., electromyograms, nerve conduction velocity testing) may also be of assistance.
PTs practice in many settings, such as outpatient clinics or offices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, extended care facilities, homes, education or research centers, schools, hospices, industrial workplaces or other occupational environments, fitness centers and sports training facilities.
Well enough of all this whether one is an expert or not. I know Omono has done some formal training in Europe and has many years of experience but as to whether he is an expert who will be consulted by world-class footballers, I have my doubts. Let’s use our words carefully.
Anyway what all this really brings to my thoughts and what I would like to share with you this rather sad Friday morning after our second loss is how fit our players are and who really passes them fit?
I know our football and our medical facilities have not developed to the required levels but sometimes I wish I was close enough to the team to really know how they are passed fit to play various matches.
Maybe this article will grant me an invitation to the medical facilities available to Asante Kotoko and I will shut up forever.
Guys, I dare say Arhin Duah’s career would have been over by now, had he not had that operation in South Africa.
If Charles Taylor had been given the proper medical attention, I strongly believe he would have been playing very actively now. I can sit here and sight umpteen examples of players whose careers would still be on, had they been given the right kind of medical attention.
Remember Ayitey Dormon? His injury was explained away by our foolish believe in juju.
Imagine if Michael Owen or Alan Smith were to be playing in Ghana. With the kind of injuries they sustained? Boy oh boy their careers would have been long gone and nobody would have heard of them again.
Let me use myself as a simple example. Even me who plays soccer to keep fit, which does not take me anywhere.
Doctors recommend I need an arthroscopy to sort out my anterior knee ligament that keep bothering me. Corrective arthroscopy is not currently available in Ghana and it is a simple out patient procedure that keeps a player out for about 6 weeks but when he comes back, comes back fully fit as a new child. I have done it before on my left knee and so I know what I am talking about.
In Ghana, since it is not available, if the injury is not so serious to require an open full surgery, our players go along with depro medrol injections, and some strong pain killers like dicoflenac or naprozene a day before the game and then they run on the field okay for 90 minutes.
Thereafter, they need ice packs on the affected area for hours, would do no physical activity for 24 hours before they go back to train. Since they do this for money, they last a couple of years and then fizzle out.
Would anybody challenge me if I say right now that Eric Bekoe is playing through injury?
I am quite positive that since he got those knocks from Coleman in the first round of the league, Bekoe has not been fully fit and is playing with injections and painkillers.
Would he pass a medical at Hertha Berlin or any other European club? He may but he would soon get exposed if he does not fix that knee early on.
He has a long career ahead of him and missing a few matches here and there will not negatively impact him that much.
The worst I heard was on Richard Manu. I read that he was in POP for his injury (I have not forgiven him for the 2nd goal) and he proudly says he is using local herbs to heal himself?
I do not doubt the efficacy of some of our local herbs and I know many footballers have used herbs in the past BUT we are in the 21st century now, what prevents Richard from getting some 21st century medical advice first before he goes ahead with what he believes in psychologically.
So we are going to be without Bekoe and Afful for a while. Arhin Duah, Kwadwo Poku, Osei Kwame, Richard Manu, Soulamana are all in the sick bay.
In the past, when our defence performed poorly, the attacking machinery covered up for them by scoring. Now we are struggling to score and our defence is still as porous as the sea sand.
Various combinations are being tried and none of them is working well. I was at El-Wak last Saturday and I must admit that had it not been for the referee who was biased towards Kotoko, Liberty should have beaten us fair and square.
At Tamale, Razak adopted the same strategy that Jones did. Pack the midfield and defence, do not allow the midfield and flanks to work and hope that the Kotoko defence will make a mistake that you can capitalise on.
Actually it started from the Hearts game and I think the teams are noticing. Akwaffo was lucky to score that goal. It was the Liberty goalkeeper’s fault.
He need not have come out and that would have been it. So I am not really surprised we lost to RTU just that if we had come to the realisation that our defence is now that bad, maybe it’s time we stopped our full backs from overlapping too much and then play five men in defence, using Asare as a holding man.
Hey I am no technical man but at this point in time, we need to adopt a different game plan before we emplane for Libya. Did you see those guys?
They will run through the middle of our defence with cheeky ease. We better watch out.
By the time we emplane for Libya, we would have gone through more gruelling local matches. Would our players be fit? Some of them have played almost every game since pre season.
Is it not time Kotoko invested some good money into the medical condition of the players? It will be a good idea to have a permanent qualified, experienced orthopaedic surgeon attached to the team as well as a general physician and of course a psychologist!!!
If the facilities are not available in Ghana, let’s go across to Lagos or Abuja and do those scans that reveal the reality.
Ordinary x-rays don’t show much in sports injuries. Recall John Paintsil was flown to Lagos for the brain scan? It was worth it.
The MRI scan machine at Korle-bu is working now but it is not reliable but hey at least if we have a doctor who works there, we can gain access to it while it works. Otherwise, is it not worth flying our players out for the appropriate medical attention?
I have names I can recommend but if I dare mention them now lest, I am accused of fronting and doing PR for some people so let me end here without names. All I am concerned about is the medical condition of our players. Are we ready to invest in it?
I remain your true red fabulous aficionado. Kotoko Beku Me.
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