Beijing 2008: Excellence in sports, organization, medicine

Take the most attractive, energetic, physically fit people from every corner of the world and house them for three weeks in a competitive yet familial environment and you have the makings of a spectacular event: Beijing 2008. I joined Team Philippines as the sports chiropractor for the Philippine delegation, together with Dr. Alex Pineda, medical specialist, and Dr Sonny Odulio, orthopedic surgeon. China was catapulted to the 21st century with the Bird’s Nest sports stadium and the Water Cube swimming complex, but I stood in awe at what decisiveness could achieve: The streets were cleared of beggars and solicitors, traffic and pollution were controlled by removing cars and relocating factories, and people were taught to speak English and show good manners.              

Our accommodations were double the area size of Serendra. The six-story buildings featured four-bedroom apartments per floor. There was a central laundry plus a game-room entertainment and Internet area.  The hub was an international zone with state-of-the-art techno-gym equipment, swimming pool, tennis courts, spa-locker rooms, an Olympic superstore, convenience store, photo shop, a bank, bookstore, and many more.  The 24-hour canteen served quality international meals to feed 10,000 people. McDonald’s and McCafé always had long queues. I took my breakfast seated next to Serbian tennis superstars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. I witnessed Michael Phelps make history and eight gold medals in swimming. To achieve this, Phelps had to swim competitively 24 times. The difference between Phelps’ gold and the silver medal was only .01 seconds (1/100 of a second).  If you believe in the power of intent, there is no greater example than this. In the 100-meter fly, he was clearly beaten to the touch pad by Milorad Cavic from Serbia. However, Cavic failed to put the 1.5 lbs. of pressure to activate the touch pad in the pool until 1/100 of a second after Phelps did. Watching this happen while seated next to USA basketball superstar Kobe Bryant made this more breathtaking Equally impressive were our Asian neighbors. China won 24 gold medals. Korea surprised the world with its stunning performance, garnering 13 gold medals, thereby ranking 7th overall, followed by Japan in 8th place.

At the Olympic Poly Clinic, there were two MRI units, a high-tech dental and optical area, several beds, a rehabilitation and physical therapy department filled with the most advanced technical equipment, a stress management area and acupuncture with traditional Chinese sport massage. There were more than 10,000 treatments and consultations during the entire games.  Special needs for contact sports such as mouth guards and rehabilitation and dental procedures were customized for the patients. Among the team doctors we met at the village who were servicing the games were Dr. Ted Forcum, USA; Dr. Plinio Barretto, Brazil; Dr. Phillip Claussen, Bahamas; Dr Camille Reagan, Columbia; and Dr. Todd Reiter, a rehabilitation medicine and chiropractic specialist who also served as the Philippine Olympic Committee’s sport medicine coordinator in the USA. A chance meeting with Dr. Camille Reagan in the village canteen proved beneficial to our athletes — Ryan Fabriga, our 10-meter platform diver, was suffering from acute abdominal strain. We were having difficulty stabilizing his condition for his competition the following day. Dr. Reagan mentioned a special taping technique which could be used in such conditions. I asked her to come over immediately to help Ryan. Twenty minutes later, he was taped and able to perform the movements needed for his competition. Although Dr. Reagan realized that Ryan was going up against her own athletes, she performed her duty first. Now, that was the Olympic spirit! Our San-Shou bronze medalist Benjie Rivera skillfully defeated his opponent during the quarter final match but sprained the ligaments of his inner knee in the process. He could barely bear weight on his leg, let alone compete the next day. We iced his knee heavily to control the inflammation and used specialized instruments to articulate and slide into the deep and superficial joints and muscles of his body. We even had to chase down the chef de mission of the British Virgin Islands to borrow his book on Kiniseo-taping. Forty-five minutes later, Benjie was in fighting form. Our other athletes like Miguel Molina, JB Walch, Daniel Coakley, Christel Simms, Henry Dagmil, and Maristela Torres would normally train in the morning, then rest and get treatments from our medical team before either competing or training again in the mid-afternoon or evening. Our top RP tankers who, without exception, had an excellent “feel” for their bodies (which I suspected came from the kinesthetic sense developed from being in the water too often) would come midday to have their shoulders, lower back, and neck massaged, stretched, and adjusted. Most of them were in excellent physical condition but needed to have the lactic acid and scar tissues — which resulted in muscle pains — released and elongated. The long jumpers, Dagmil and Torres, would come in suffering from the compression syndromes of the lower limbs caused by the ballistic take-offs and landings inherent to their sport. Knees, hips, ankles, and lower backs needed specialized tools called ISMART as well as a specialized form of stretching called active isolated stretch, which makes use of the naturally-occurring relaxation of muscles when you contract the opposite muscle group. Chiropractic adjustments were beneficial to the divers. The “torqueing” of their bodies took its toll and their spines needed a well-placed thrust to get them moving fully once again.

The Olympics experience has shown me that with extensive preparation and determination, anybody can win. Tunisia ’s Oussama Mellouli gave the Arabs their first Olympic gold against well-institutionalized medalist Grant Hackett of Australia in the 1500-meter freestyle. I also realized that life is a continuous learning process and every country and every individual have something to share.  The same passion I saw in athletics is crucial to achieving success in life.

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Contact the author at drmartin@intercare-centers.com.