This sports doctor uses his bare hands to heal
Today it can be a small wound or a bruse, if not treated properly it could turn out to be a future nightmare
Negligence and overstrain, has become key causes for the high number of sports related injuries nowadays according to Dr. Sunil Kulasekara, who has an art dispensing of his own treatment. Dr. Kulasekara, still in his late thirties, has treated over 75,000 patients who have been afflicted with sports related injuries. Interestingly, the cause of almost half of these patients’ injuries is actually not sports or nothing even closer to it.But his homegrown, own method of a developed treatment line, after years of experience, exposure and experimental practicing in the field of sports injury treatment and management, Dr. Kulasekara has become a modern day guru. His treatment is an amalgamation of different methods in medical science, where pills, syrups, ointments and creams are not encouraged.
His bare hands has cured thousands of cricketers, ruggerites, sprinters, throwers, jumpers, shuttlers, cyclists and numerous athletes in various fields of sports as well as housewives, engineers, executive and labourers, who suffer the same types injuries but for different reasons. All in all, Dr. Kulasekara treats only sports related injuries using his two hands with other methods such as physical, massaging, acupuncture and of course with a bit of help from selected exercise equipments.
“Most of the patients I get to meet are from the mid twenties or late forties and their injuries, at many occasions, are decades old. Majority of them have suffered injuries during their younger days as athletes. Either they have neglected a small injury totally, or have not completed the treatment, or they have got the inappropriate treatments. I have handled thousands of such cases,” recollects Dr. Kulasekara, who runs his own treatment centre closer to Panadura, in the Old Galle Road.
According to Dr. Kulasekara’s expertise injuries differ depending on the nature of the sport and also the physical structure of the individual. For example, he says, a badminton player has the tendency to injure the shoulder, a sprinter or a runner could damage the muscles, ankle, knee, hamstring, or suffer a back strain injury. A rugby player’s whole body is open for injuries while a basketball player can suffer hip and knee injuries. Cricketers, netballers, throwers have the ability to develop shoulder injuries later in time. Cricketers also are open to back and knee injuries but swimming can cause very less or no injuries. In short, the cause of the injury depends on the part of the body that is extensively used actively while as an athlete.
For example, a badminton player has the tendency to injure the shoulder, a sprinter or a runner could damage the muscles, ankle, knee, hamstring, or suffer a back strain injury. A rugby player’s whole body is open for injuries while a basketball player can suffer hip and knee injuries. Cricketers, netballers, throwers have the ability to develop shoulder injuries later in time. Cricketers also are open to back and knee injuries but swimming can cause very less or no injuries. In short, the cause of the injury depends on the part of the body that is extensively used actively while as an athlete Dr. Sunil Kulasekara
“Individually, there are different reasons behind each of those injuries. Very rarely I have got similar cases. At many occasions there is an underline course behind the reason or condition to have developed an injury to its current status. The valid reason from a doctor’s point of view is that, because of various reasons the patient’s condition can develop to a severe stage, due to not receiving the correct treatment or simply negligence. But in any injury first aid comes handy. Neglecting this step can turn a simple injury into a severe and chronic one. The first 48 hours from the moment the injury occurred is critical and important. That is the duration to make use to stop spreading it from becoming a muscle scar later in life. This 48-hour period known among medics as the RICE Treatment Period, stands for the stages for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. If this is followed the injury, if it’s a mild one, can be stopped from growing into a tissue scar, which can cause a living hell later in life,” Dr. Kulasekara, who follows his own treatment method for the past eight years, explained.
The RICE Treatment as Dr. Kulasekara elaborated begins with Rest, which is a key component of repairing the body. Without rest, continual strain is placed on the affected area, leading to increased inflammation, pain, and possible further injury. Additionally, some soft tissue injuries will take longer to heal without rest. In general, the period of rest should be long enough that the patient is able to use the affected limb with the majority of function restored and pain essentially gone.
The second stage, Ice is known at reducing the inflammatory response and pain associated with heat generated by increased blood flow or blood loss. A good method is applied ice for 20 minutes of each hour or once in two hours for a 48-hour period. Simultaneously, the Compression phase takes place.
Compression aims to reduce the edematous swelling that results from the inflammatory process. Although some swelling is inevitable, too much swelling results in significant loss of function, excessive pain and eventual slowing of blood flow through vessel restriction. Compression stockings or sleeves are a viable option to manage swelling of extremities with graduated compression.
The last step, Elevation, aims to reduce swelling by increasing venous return of blood to the systemic circulation. This will result in less edema which reduces pain or swelling. Usually when the tissue is damaged there is a good chance of the area of injury to get swelled. This is prevented by this step.
“This is the only treatment to follow during this stage. If it’s not serious this stops here. Even if there is left it will be a minor affect, simple things like stretching can be used to get fully cured. If the pain or injury persists, it means the situation is a bit complicated. Injuries can be categorized as mild, moderate and severe. This is something can be even done alone and if it’s a mild injury it will completely get cured very easily.”
“This four-step first aid method, if followed correctly, could prevent a lot of damage in time to come. If an injury goes beyond this stage it is identified as a hemostasis stage. Then in the acute inflammation phase, again ice can be used to control swelling and pain. This phase can even bring the warmth of the area higher, redness and also loss of function. The next step is the remodeling phase, where a muscle scar is created causing chronic and constant pain. These are all preventable and recoverable, the only thing needed is the alertness of the individuals,” Dr. Kulasekara, who fears of the future of the present-day youngsters, who are sometimes extensively overworked by parents and school authorities in sports activities, went on to say.
In addition to physical causes, wrong positioning oneself in a situation, which is medically termed as high force lengthening of contraction, can cause damage of tissues. Usually, if a body follows the sub-maximal lengthening of contraction element, which is known to be the correct method in handling oneself and objects. Hypoxia, which is not caused by physical clash or injury, too can be another reason for tissue scars. Some other causes, such as poor posture, imbalance, repeated use or repeated movement, physical overstraining are long term ways of developing a tissue scars.
Over 75000 of those who failed in all these steps have visited Dr. Kulasekara for treatments and now are free from longtime physical suffocations. But the effort he takes to give remedial relief to the patients is gallant. After graduating from the University of Colombo in 2004, Sunil Kulasekara’s passion for sports medicine and his knack to experiment on sports related injuries grew day by day that today, after nearly 15 years, he has gathered immense wealth of knowledge on the subject. His passion, grown alongside the never-ending inspiration, has made Dr. Kulasekara a godly figure that he is today to many.
“I’m think I’m an allrounder. I diagnose the condition, recommend treatment and treat the patient personally by hand, which at most times is done by three different entities. To diagnose an injury or condition, sometimes I use x-rays, an ultra sound scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, which most of the time, help a doctor to for the correct treatment process. There may be others following the same as I do, but what differs is the treatment line. Some opt for pills and ointment; some recommend physical exercises, although the condition of injury or physical status can still be the same. In Western Medical method there is a standard way of treatment but in this line, it’s experimental and can vary according to the shape and condition of the sports injury. If the patient is fully cured and if there are no side effects even after years, it is the best thing a doctor can look forward to,” he pointed out while stating that individuals need to be more engaged in sports activities, not only sportspersons.
“Parents should not overstrain their kids on sports activities. They must decide where the kids are good at after letting them perform freely. If they are naturally talented, they will move on and take any challenge. Overstraining can not only damage the physical condition of the child but also has the openness to cause mental stress. There is at least one athlete from any team, be it junior or senior level, suffering with an injury of this type. But I must mention that youngsters, especially teenagers naturally possess the ability to recover quickly. But when an individual grow old with age the natural healing process slows down gradually. Sometimes when an injury is faced at 30 plus, the recovery period can be long. In addition nowadays those easily open to occupational hazards, too, are easily victims of this symptom. Sitting too long or standing too long can cause back injury as similar to those of athletes. The safest sport as I know is swimming. It’s a water sport, no chance of overstraining muscles. The movements are rhythmic and leave no space for wrong position, as the body is in contact with liquid. It’s better if everyone can routinely take a swim at least twice a week. It’s similar to going to a gym. Some kind of physical activity is essential to enjoy a painless life,” he concluded.