Doc tells athletes to drink lots of fluids in India; praises Jamaica's medical team to Commonwealth Games

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Head of Jamaica's medical team to the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, Dr Praimanand Singh, has advised Jamaica's representatives to take lots of fluids and pay special attention to their preparation ahead of the October 3-14 games, in what is expected to be humid conditions.

Singh, who has been travelling with national sporting teams since 1999 and has served at two Olympic Games (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008), previous Commonwealth Games, Central American and Caribbean Games, as well as the Pan American Games, says that he will be advising the 82 athletes who will be representing the country in 10 sports to be careful to drink as much fluids as they can over the period.

"The place is going to be humid so it's important that they take in a lot of fluids, and this is the advice that we will be giving them," said Singh during a recent interview with The Gleaner. "Competing is what they do for a living and so they have to ensure that even in their off-time they keep themselves well and train and keep in the gym."

The highly respected physician went on to give an idea of the types of injuries that he will be expecting to come across at the Games. He also underlined the importance of the physiotherapists in the group, as they will be crucial in the recovery process of injured athletes.

"Most of the injuries are either muscular or tendon injuries, hamstring problems are also common," Singh noted. "In netball, it's a little different, as here you will see more injuries relating to the ligaments.

"Our physiotherapists play a very important role because it's not only about diagnosing the injury but rehabilitating is just as important, so that we can get our athletes back at a competitive level as soon as possible," he added. "The whole aim of the team is, of course, to make sure that our athletes are in a good physical and mental condition and to take care of them in case there are any injuries."

Praise for medics

Singh was also full of praises for the high-level team of medical experts that will be travelling to the games and likened Jamaica's to that of any other country in the world.

"In the past, although we used to send medical personnel with teams to these games, we didn't have people who were trained in sports medicine. Now we do. Like the rest of the world, we are right up there with them in terms of physicians who are able to give our athletes optimum treatment at this level," said Singh.

Singh will lead the medical unit that also includes other doctors - Dr Winston Dawes, Dr Akshai Mansingh, Dr Paul Wright; physiotherapists Maureen Spence-Campbell, Marcia Swyer-Forbes, Sophia Brown, Gaynor Downer, and masseurs Dorasan Williams and Nathanael Davis.