Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has revealed she has been battling arthritis and associated knee degeneration.
The world of sports activities glorifies power, vitality and vigour, however years of being on the sports activities discipline can take a bodily toll on athletes. India’s star shuttler Saina Nehwal, who turned the primary badminton participant from the nation to clinch an Olympic medal in 2012, has revealed she is battling arthritis. She says the stress on her knees has impacted her coaching, and it could turn out to be the explanation she retires from the sport quickly.
Saina Nehwal started taking part in badminton on the tender of age of 9. She is presently 34, and has confronted her fair proportion of accidents throughout her superb profession, which additionally noticed her turning into a World No.1 participant.
My knee isn’t superb… I’ve arthritis: Saina Nehwal
The Haryana woman made the revelation about her well being in a podcast with capturing legend Gagan Narang. She mentioned, “The knee isn’t superb. I’ve arthritis. My cartilage has gone to a foul state. It is vitally troublesome to push for 8-9 hours. How will you problem the very best gamers on this planet in such a state? I believe I must settle for it someplace. As a result of 2 hours of coaching isn’t ok to play with the very best stage of gamers and get the specified outcomes.”
As a matter of reality, Saina Nehwal has not participated in aggressive badminton since taking part in on the Singapore Open in 2023. Whereas she didn’t instantly discuss her retirement plans, Saina took a second to mull over the “brief profession” of a sportsperson.
“I’m additionally fascinated about it (retirement). It is going to be unhappy as a result of it is sort of a job {that a} regular particular person does. Clearly, a sportsperson’s profession is all the time a brief one. I began on the age of 9. I will likely be 35 subsequent 12 months. So, I’ve additionally had an extended profession. And I’m very pleased with that. I’ve damaged my physique to an important extent. I’m proud of what I’ve completed and given all of it. Will assess how I really feel by the top of this 12 months,” she mentioned in the course of the podcast.
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Saina Nehwal’s unparalleled achievements in badminton additionally led her to be honoured by India’s civilian honour, the Padma Shree. She has beforehand gained two medals in Commonwealth Video games in 2010 and 2018, in addition to a bronze medal in Olympics 2012. Saina has competed in 3 Olympics, however given her well being situation, she has acknowledged that you just’ve obtained to surrender when your “physique is telling that you’re not doing effectively and you’ve got accidents”.
Are athletes extra susceptible to arthritis?
Athletes undergo loads of put on and tear throughout their coaching and taking part in years. Among the world’s prime sportspersons have been via career-threatening accidents. Some may struggle them and make a comeback, whereas others selected to place their profession on the backburner.
Notably these athletes concerned in high-impact sports activities are sometimes at an elevated danger of growing arthritis sooner than the overall inhabitants.
Dr Rajat Chauhan, a Sports activities-Train Drugs and Musculoskeletal Drugs Doctor, tells Well being Pictures, “When there’s extra load on a joint, individuals are going to be extra susceptible to the chance of osteoarthritis. However with correct muscle alignment courtesy stretching, power coaching and conditioning, in addition to rehab, extreme loading might be prevented. If there may be not sufficient relaxation and restoration, there can all the time be increased possibilities of osteoarthritis – whether or not it’s for somebody who’s working, taking part in a sport at a elite stage or perhaps a one who doesn’t transfer sufficient.”
Having mentioned that, all sportspersons would not have osteoarthritis, asserts the skilled. Quite a lot of it boils all the way down to their train and damage administration packages. Relating to athletes, “brief good points of profitable a match may very well be messing round with long-term losses”, says Dr Chauhan, including that sportspersons ought to spare a considered their high quality of life as soon as their profession ends.
Sports activities accidents are widespread in athletes
Accidents to shoulders, elbows, knees, legs and ankles are quite common amongst athletes throughout disciplines. These are sometimes known as the hidden prices of excessive efficiency on the sports activities discipline.
Exposing joints to repetitive stress, particularly in high-impact sports activities equivalent to soccer, basketball, and working, can speed up the wear and tear and tear of cartilage, the tissue that cushions the joints. Over time, this may result in osteoarthritis, the commonest type of arthritis, characterised by the breakdown of cartilage and the following rubbing of bones in opposition to one another.
In line with a research printed within the British Journal of Sports activities Drugs, one in 4 retired Olympians confronted physician-diagnosed osteoarthritis (OA). Damage was related to an elevated danger of osteoarthritis and ache on the knee, hip and ankle. Additionally, the probability of knee and hip osteoarthritis after damage, was discovered to be higher for Olympians in contrast with the overall inhabitants.
Ligament tears itself are typically accountable for the onset of osteoarthritis. Analysis from the American Journal of Sports activities Drugs that people with a historical past of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) accidents are at the next danger of growing knee osteoarthritis.
