“I’m sure he will skate”: a sports doctor appreciated Kostomarov’s training

The famous Russian figure skater Roman Kostomarov, who found himself in a difficult life situation due to a serious illness, continues to amaze Russians with his fortitude and desire to return to normal life as soon as possible. Today, June 29, a new video of Roman appeared with another training session on prostheses. “MK” asked the sports doctor to comment on the current physical form of the skater and his prospects in sports life.

Currently, the athlete is undergoing a rehabilitation course, learning to live with prostheses.

In today’s footage, you can see how the athlete performs leg swings with prostheses above his head, and then climbs the stairs. He does all this in the presence and under the supervision of doctors. “The fighter is above his head, this is not the end yet … he turned from a boy into a warrior,” the off-screen song sounds. On the last frame – a broadly smiling Kostomarov.

“MK” asked to comment on the physical form and prospects of the skater in the frames of his video of a doctor, sports methodologist, member of the International Association of Sports Sciences ISSA Leonid Ostapenko:

“Because he is an athlete of the highest class, he has very strong and stable motor skills, and they have not gone anywhere,” explains Leonid Ostapenko. – He just needs to transfer these skills to new neuromuscular connections. That is, his muscle control is now a little different. And these skills can be restored quite quickly, given his high sports qualifications.

As soon as he learns to use these prostheses confidently enough, I am more than convinced that, firstly, he will be able to skate – another thing is how he will be able to skate, it is not clear – yet, but, as a Paralympic athlete, he has perspectives. And, secondly, he is a very strong, persistent, very stubborn person – after all, as you know, Roman even refused a psychologist, which characterizes his tremendous willpower and ability to manage and cope with the situation. And therefore, if he wants, he can work as a coach.

At least, I see very positive movements in him compared to, say, other people behave after similar operations.

I think he will be fine. I see that even doctors do not interfere in the process of his training, as he does what I think he considers important for himself. That is, he restores those movements that he had in the past as warm-ups before going on the ice.

Of course, the video is very short, but seeing from these frames how he confidently stands on the second supporting leg when he lifts his unsupported leg, I can conclude that his recovery is going quite quickly. Restoration, first of all, motor skills.

But keep in mind another thing: since skates are also a rather unstable support, a parallel can be drawn between how he feels his leg on a prosthesis and how he feels his leg on a skate. And once our inventive craftsmen come up with boots for him to put on those prosthetics, I think he’ll be up and running pretty fast.

… Recall that in early January, a 46-year-old skater was hospitalized with complaints of chest pain. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, then developed sepsis and circulatory problems. In early February, the Olympic champion began to develop gangrene. As a result, the skater had his feet and hands amputated. Then he was diagnosed with brain damage, he suffered a stroke.

In April, it became known that specialists were engaged in restoring mobility in the figure skater’s limbs. There was information that he was being prepared for prosthetics. Doctors from Germany came to Moscow to advise the Olympic champion on the use of prostheses.