Germany’s national football goalie Manuel Neuer is expected to play in the FIFA World Cup thanks to autohaemotherapy. Neuer responded so well to autohaemotherapy after suffering a metatarsal fracture three times in a row that he will be able to guard the goalposts at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, according to media reports.
The injury began with a stress fracture in his left metatarsal towards the end of March 2017. The subsequent operation involved implanting a small screw for rapid foot stabilisation. The goalie was back on the pitch after a very short break lasting three matches. However, his metatarsal bone fractured again, reportedly at exactly the same place, at the Champions League quarter-finals on 18 April 2017. The decision was made not to operate on him again.
Three fractures in six months
Neuer did not go back into action until the beginning of August 2017. Six weeks later, the bone fractured again for the third time in a row during training in mid-September. This time, Manuel Neuer had to undergo surgery again. Neuer did not return to the pitch in January 2018, contrary to initial expectations, and would need six months to heal, according to reports. This could have scuppered his chances at participating in the FIFA World Cup.
Wound healing activation and enhancement
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP, “autologous blood”) enhances healing on metatarsal bones in the midfoot. The aim of the treatment is to upregulate the body’s restoration of hard-wearing tissues throughout the foot. Autologous blood treatment involves preparing an autologous blood concentrate with a high percentage of clotting cells from the blood of the sportsman; the concentrate is then applied to the injured tissue. The autologous blood concentrate then activates and enhances the body’s own healing processes. The high cell density and the wound healing factors contained in the blood upregulates and improves the treatment outcome.
The benefits of autohaemotherapy, not to be confused with doping methods, are well-documented in tissue healing.