For over a year, doctors at the State government’s Sanjay Gandhi Institute for Trauma and Orthopaedics, Bengaluru, have been treating injuries to athletes from various disciplines at the institute.
For the first time, a four member team from the institute, led by Madan Ballal, the doctor for the Indian Davis Cup team, is at the National Senior Athletics Championship at the Mangala Stadium here.
“We are here to inform the public about the facilities at this government-run hospital that provides quality treatment for sports injury at affordable rates,” said Pavan Chebbi, an orthopaedic surgeon, who is one of the two doctors in the team that also has physiotherapist M. Palanivelu and staff nurse Sadananda.
Word of mouth
Dr. Chebbi said the institute has been treating injuries to athletes who have been referred by various sports bodies and organisations.
“It is through the word of mouth that athletes have been coming to us,” said Dr. Chebbi. The institute has been using orthopaedic towers and specialised physiotherapy units to treat acute and chronic sports injuries. “The treatment we provide is on par with what the corporate hospitals are providing,” he said. Their aim is to provide treatment in a way that enables athlete to return to the field quickly.
Now the institute is preparing to formally inaugurate the sports injury unit. “We are getting additional equipment. Renovation work is also on.
The formal inauguration will be held shortly,” said Dr. Ballal.
A few days ago, Health Minister U.T. Khader said the new facility at the Sanjay Gandhi Institute would open in the next three months.
He said this would be second government-run hospital in the country other than Safdarjang Hospital, to have a sports treatment centre.
In demand
The expertise of Institute’s doctors was available for athletes coming to the medical camp set up near the warm-up area.
Among those who consulted the institute’s doctors include a 26-year-old javelin thrower from Punjab, who had sprained a muscle in his right leg during warm-up.
The other was Venkatesh, a sprinter from Tamil Nadu, who also had a sprain. “Coaches should ensure athletes are hydrated to avoid injury in this humid condition,” Dr. Ballal said.
