Forty students with different specializations underwent a training session in sports medicine, which was held by the Sports Office in al-Bab Local Council, north of Aleppo, in cooperation with the Academy of Health Sciences.

The session included a detailed explanation of sports injuries, their types, physical therapy methods for some injuries, fixing fractures, dealing with severe injuries, some common injuries, tendon and muscle rupture injuries, and ways to deal with and rehabilitate the athlete, as explained by the former Syrian athletics champion, Mohamed al-Saleh, to Enab Baladi.

The themes of the training session, which was held on December 7 and 8, were delivered in stages, which enabled the trainee to deal with any problem that might occur with him or with others.

In addition, information of experienced referees, athletes, coaches and therapists was revised and refined, and new information and experiences were added to new trainees, according to al-Saleh, who won the Republic’s Championship for three consecutive years in the 1500-meter race.

The trainee Othman al-Ghawi has not had previous experience in the specialty, and the training session added to his knowledge, concerning for instance such as the names of muscles and nerves, the reasons for their injuries and methods of treatment, through a theoretical and practical training, he said to Enab Baladi.

The importance of sports medicine

“Physical sports medicine occupies a central place in the local and international sports system, and therefore we must not be isolated from the world,” says al-Saleh.

He added: “We are in the foundation stage, which is a sensitive stage. We must therefore keep pace with the rapid development, even with the simplest potentials, because the sports field lacks many medical matters.”

In an interview with Enab Baladi, the head of the Department of Physical Therapy at the Academy of Health Sciences, Aqaba al-Aswad, pointed out that the importance of physical and sports medicine lies in relieving pain and speeding up the healing process.

This medicine also contributes to the rehabilitation of the patient toward carrying out daily activities, and improving muscle resilience, which helps reduce the period of treatment, in addition to the quick dealing with direct injuries to prevent complications of the injury, the ease of recovery and prompt return of the player to the field, and the banishment of the illusion of serious sports injuries.

Sports injuries are simple and quick to recover provided that the intervention is rapid and they are physiologically different from military injuries by the type of injury. Military injuries destroy the cells or directly or indirectly damage them, while sports injuries result from frictional damage, collision or fracture.

Later stages for the development of sports medicine

The director of the Youth and Sports Office in al-Bab city, Mr. Waseem al-Rajeh, stressed that the primary goal of the physical sports medicine training program is to raise the competence of applicants and prepare them within an advanced scientific curriculum, in addition to graduating young people who are familiar with the methods of emergency and treatment of sports injuries before, during and after sports activity.

The current training session will be followed by a second-level training session for trainees who have passed the first level, and a third more specialized session for those who pass the second level, according to the training sessions’ strategy.

The first session generally educational, focusing on sports injuries and some direct injuries in the stadiums, such as the method of direct emergency for all types of common injuries (bruises, tears, tension, shrinking, bruising, twisting) and dealing with them, whether from the player himself, his fellow players, or the coaching referee.

The second-level session includes treatment of sports injuries after surgeries, due to the prominent players’ fear that undergoing surgeries will not allow them to return to the stadium. This is a misconception, as after the right surgeries, physical therapy and rehabilitation, the player can return to the stadium, according to the coach.

Al-Saleh considered that the rehabilitation of athletes is a first stage followed by other more effort-demanding and costly stages, such as equipping sports medicine centers (special sports treatment rooms) and supporting them with the necessary means.

This is in addition to providing medical staff specialized in this field in all regions of northern Syria, holding special seminars to educate athletes about the principles and rules of preventing sports injuries, and obliging all clubs to conduct periodic medical examination for athletes at least once a year.