Give everything for sport: Sechenov University has developed the  unique complex medical and biological program for athletes

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Based on innovative biomedical technologies and methods of psychological support for athletes, a comprehensive program was developed by leading Russian medical scientists from Sechenov University as part of the Russian Academic Excellence Project (Project 5-100). The program that is currently used by Russian football team makes the rehabilitation period after musculoskeletal system injuries shorter and ensures that athletes, including football players, recover as quickly as possible and resume their training and participation in competitions.
According to university scientists, the biomedical program for athletes is a special recovery program taking into account all anti-doping requirements. ’For example, a special technique for treating injuries is used. A patient receives injections of his or her own plasma enriched with platelets into injured parts of the body, which allows accelerating regeneration of the injured muscle or ligament,’ says Head of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Chair at Sechenov University Prof. Eugeny Achkasov.
According to the scientist, one to three injections already ensure a significant improvement, and in several days an athlete is able to train and compete again. The program also includes individual nutrition plans based on the microelement status in an athlete, which is determined using a non-invasive method of chemical analysis of a hair sample.
Nutrition plans are based on individual energy requirements of a particular athlete and include selected products whose digestibility is already known. This allows improving metabolic processes in an athlete’s body and maximizing his or her athletic abilities in the run-up to the competition.
Besides, the developed program for athletes’ acclimatization with optimization of conditions during flights improves athletes’ adaptation in new climatic and time zones.
To determine the optimal time for resuming training and assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation, scientists of Sechenov University developed an original scale specific to each type of sport, including football, for assessing how severe the pain is. 

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Prof. Eugeny Achkasov notes that ordinary visual scales for assessing pain do not allow objective assessment of changes in the pain syndrome of an athlete caused by various types of injury. He adds that the same injury may cause little pain in everyday life, but the pain may become much more severe when athletes do specific physical exercises, such as hitting the ball, jumping or sprinting on the field. Together with the use of biomedical technologies, the development allowed making the rehabilitation period of an athlete even shorter and ensuring a quicker return to the main training team.
Apart from other methods, a psychological correction program for football players includes psychological relaxation techniques, color and music therapy, and autogenic training. This program allows increasing athletes’ resilience to stress in the run-up to, during and after a football match. 

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According to Prof. Eugeny Achkasov, there are two parts of the program: motivation and relaxation. The part related to motivation is used just before the football players start the game. It is aimed both at creating the team spirit and solving individual problems of athletes with psychological problems that could hinder them from playing their best. This program helps an athlete overcome a psychological barrier against a rival who is considered to be “extremely strong”. The relaxation part is used after the game to provide for better recovery after intense physical activity and emotional stress. It also helps prepare for the next training cycle. A series of developed methods are published in the leading international medical journals, scientific publications and study guides.
Many Sechenov University graduates work with Russian football players. Eduard Bezuglov, Head of the Department of Sports Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation of Sechenov University, Head doctor of the Russian men's national football team and head of the Russian Football Union's (RFU) Medical Committee, is currently one of the most famous Sechenov University graduates.

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Participants of the Russian Academic Excellence Project (Project 5-100) include 21 university selected based on the results of two competitions held in 2013 and 2015 for state support of the leading Russian universities. Project 5-100 priorities include increasing the academic and research potential of Russian universities, adopting international management practices, integrating education, entrepreneurship and innovation, promoting the national higher education system on the key markets, improving position and increasing authority in the international community, including occupying higher positions in global (institutional and domain-specific) university rankings.