As an avid football fan and someone who has sustained their fair share of injuries, I have often been jealous of professional footballers who have unlimited access to the best medical treatment money can buy. Having just spent a number of months on the NHS waiting list for key hole surgery on my knee I am always a little jealous when a footballer who has been injured that day is able to go for a scan that evening and if necessary have a surgery the following day, and then be treated to the best possible after care and rehabilitation available to them. Yet despite access to world renowned surgeons, the best physiotherapists, and world class medical facilities it appears that this is not enough for some footballers, who feel that they can get better treatment elsewhere.
It has been reported that a number of players including players from Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, and a host of other clubs have been visiting a Serbian healer by the name of Mariana Kovacevic. Apparently her unique technique is to perform massage using a cream that has been infused with horse placenta, and a number of players are convinced that this is the secret to recovering quickly from injury. Footballers aren’t known as the clevereople in the world, but you’d think that having spent the majority of their careers around professional medical staff, and considering injury is part and parcel of playing the sport they play, they would have some understanding of treatment on sports related injuries. You wouldn’t think they could be taken in by a woman claiming special healing abilities, particularly when their doctors have told them it’s a load of rubbish. Most reports have said that the actual methods used are a closely guarded secret, but all seem to agree that there is a placenta involved. Most have said it’s a horse placenta, although The Sun went one further and claimed that a human placenta was being used. Liverpool football club in particular have been very impressed with the treatment, having sent 4 players to Serbia recently who all mysteriously got better after having the placenta treatment in addition to their usual treatment with club physios. Of course the only logical conclusion is that the horse placenta was the answer, nothing to do with the excellent medical care provided by club doctors. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is very complimentary towards this alternative treatment saying “Many top players have been going for seven years, it has been successful and I believe it is safe”. I suspect that the success he is describing is largely anecdotal, and the fact it is safe is frankly a relief as I’d be somewhat worried if someone administering a massage with some harmless fluid was unsafe.
Most reports haven’t tried to speculate as to how a treatment which involves rubbing placenta fluid on the skin can have a healing effect although the majority of newspapers have kindly pointed out facts about the placenta in the middle of their reports such as in the BBC “The placenta connects the foetus to the uterine wall in mammals. And fresh samples of the organ are rich in stem cells, which can develop into different types of tissue like muscle and bone.” That’s good to know but it doesn’t explain how rubbing it into the skin could help. Giles Smith of the Times writes “But what’s everybody’s problem with placenta anyway? It’s widely accepted that the placenta is a valuable source of stem cells and iron.” Absolutely, and babies in the womb benefit greatly from this, but that still doesn’t explain how applying it to the skin helps footballers with damaged ankle ligaments. The fact of the matter is that there is no evidence that this placenta method speeds up recovery time. It is amazing that people who have the best medicine available on offer are still prepared to put their faith in something that has not been proven. Hopefully this lack of evidence won’t mean politicians start advocating its use within the NHS anytime soon.
