Dubai: Rest, backed by physiotherapy and medication, are the suggested treatments for Indian captain Virat Kohli whose neck injury has resulted in him having to pull out of a county stint with Surrey before India’s oncoming tour to England.
Speaking to Gulf News, Vijayanand Radhamoni, orthopedician of the Axon Medica Polyclinic in Rashidiya, Dubai, who is also a Fifa accredited orthopedician, said: “Mild grades of injury will heal spontaneously with rest/physiotherapy and medications.”
Kohli had suffered the neck injury while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the just-concluded IPL.
Elaborating on neck injuries, Vijayanand said: “Neck soreness may be caused by injuries to the muscles, ligaments or the intervertebral discs in the neck area. It is caused by excessive stretching of the muscles or the ligament. The intervertebral discs are natural shock absorbers located between the cervical vertebrae. Excessive pressure on the discs can injure them.”
As the debate mounts on whether Kohli has been hit by excess of cricket, the Indian captain uploaded a video on his twitter to give an update on his injury to his fans with the remark: “Hey guys, lot of hard work going on and the rehab is on. Just doing what I can do best and whatever I’m allowed to do at the moment.”
Vijayanand stressed on the importance of immediate treatment saying: “The injured disc may impinge on the nearby nerve root or bulge on to the spinal cord and cause varying grades of symptoms from neck ache to severe shooting radicular pain to weakness of muscles and inability to walk.”
Vijayanand also revealed that higher levels of injuries can take time to recover.
“Higher grades of injury may warrant prolonged rest and immobilisation. In patients with nerve root compression then surgery may be warranted.”
Kohli also urged his fans to also keep working hard to achieve success. “A shout out to all you guys. Keep working hard and keep at it. Hard work is the only way, hard work always pays off. Have a great day, cheers,” Kohli said.
Indian team coach Ravi Shastri, commenting on Kohli’s injury said that the Indian captain is not a machine but a human being.
Kohli has been playing non-stop cricket and according to a study he has played 90 days of continuous cricket, which includes 29 One Day Internationals, nine Twenty20 matches, nine Test matches and 14 IPL matches.
Kohli will now undergo a fitness Test on June 15 as to ascertain whether he is fit for the Ireland and England tour in July. He will give the one-off Test against Afghanistan to be held in Bengaluru a miss. Before the England series, India is scheduled to play two matches against Ireland and it is not sure whether Kohli will take part in those matches.
Kohli is currently in Mumbai. He will fly to Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy for his fitness test. The Board of Control for Cricket in India release had said: Kohli will undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI Medical team. The BCCI Medical Team is confident that Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India’s upcoming tours to Ireland and England.”
