Two months before the fight with Vyacheslav Datsik, the condition of Alexander Emelianenko is still a matter of concern.
At the end of May, he appeared in one of the interviews in an extremely deplorable form, after which many fans questioned the athlete’s ability to enter the ring at all.
Over the past month and a half, he managed to undergo treatment at a rehabilitation center and agree on a confrontation with ex-UFC champion Antonio Silva.
The 40-year-old athlete also regularly posts videos of his workouts on social networks, but they make the hardest impression.
At the same time, Alexander himself assures that he feels much better.
“Recovery and preparation are going great.
At first it was very difficult, everything did not obey - neither the arms nor the legs.
Now my muscle memory is slowly starting to come back.
I constantly spar in the gym with professional boxers.
Every day, and with different ones, from light weight to heavy weight, ”said the athlete in one of the videos.
In order to understand what condition the athlete is in and whether he is ready to continue his career, RT talked with a psychiatrist and narcologist Sergei Nurislamov.
In his opinion, a banal attempt to get in shape could turn into a tragedy for Emelianenko Jr., not to mention a meeting with a professional.
- How much does Alexander Emelianenko risk his health by starting training in his current state?
- If we are talking about hard drinking, then sports should not be practiced categorically.
I don't think there is any serious work on his part.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure that even a high-class fighter will help him endure heavy physical exertion, even if they meet Datsik according to the rules of boxing, and not MMA.
If the level of the latter is not lower than that of Emelianenko, there is no chance of winning.
We need proper preparation.
What are the dangers of drinking alcohol while exercising?
- If toxic substances that harm the liver enter the human body, we increase its capsule.
To understand how a drunken alcoholic feels in this state, tie a four-kilogram weight to his right side and try to jump with it.
Anything can happen, from biliary colic to rupture of the bile duct or gallbladder.
After all, under high loads, the body is in tension.
- And this is the most obvious. And what is fraught with such activities for Alexander as a whole?
- Intoxication affects not only muscles or blood.
Alcohol primarily affects the liver, as well as brain cells and cardiomyocytes, that is, the muscle cells of the heart.
Against the background of training, there is a risk of developing cardiomyopathy or myocardial dystrophy.
With such a heart, you can only box with your own shadow, and then not for long.
All this threatens to quickly lead to a heart attack, organ stop or rupture.
Unfortunately, some of my patients in a similar situation died.
People in a state of binge, as it seemed to them, having drunk a little, began to play sports and said goodbye to life.
In intensive care, they tried to start the heart muscle that had turned into a rag, but this was not always possible.
- It turns out that first Emelianenko needs to be taken out of the binge if he really still abuses alcohol?
- How long this process will take depends only on how long the person has been drinking alcohol: from two to three hours to a week.
The severity of associated somatic problems is of great importance.
Sometimes these are complications of the underlying disease, for example, cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatosis of the liver.
That is the consequences of alcoholism.
Therefore, if Alexander has a lot of multiple organ pathology, his health will have to be dealt with for a long time before being released into the ring.
Right now I'm trying to prepare one of my patients for sports.
It is difficult to do this when a person has serious liver damage.
You can't just go to the gym with so many sores.
First you need to deal with them.
- Many fear that the duel with Datsik carries a mortal danger for Emelianenko. In your opinion, is there a possibility of a tragedy in the ring?
- Firstly, no one canceled the blows to the diseased liver.
Secondly, the brain suffers from regular drinking.
You have already created intoxication for him, and then the opponent delivers powerful shots.
Plus, you need to understand that alcohol seriously impairs coordination.
This just explains the heavy gait of Alexander during the May interview.
There is not just encephalopathy (damage to brain cells), but cerebellar ataxia.
If you ask a person on the background of binge to turn several times in different directions, and then try to hit in front of him, he will miss.
- That is, doctors cannot issue a permit to a fighter for a duel?
“I, being a doctor of sports medicine, would not grant such a patient clearance.
How can you let him fight an opponent who is much stronger?
Then it will not be a battle, but a massacre, legalized murder.
Moreover, Datsik weighs over 100 kg and is a knockout.
Any blow from Vyacheslav could be his last.
Therefore, I am inclined to even think that we will see a fixed meeting with a small friendly knockout.
- Emelianenko's life in recent years goes through one cycle: a hard binge - a return to sports - a hard binge. How can you help him overcome addiction forever and avoid relapses?
“Sustained remission is real.
There are several rehabilitation paradigms.
The first is psychological rehabilitation, when a person changes his psychological mechanisms and attitude to life.
The second option, the most applicable just for Russia, is the appointment by a psychiatrist of maintenance therapy, special drugs that help normalize well-being, and the withdrawal of the patient by psychotherapy.
And, finally, the third - I call it existential-spiritual - when the patient acquires some other meanings, goes into faith.
- Which of the following suits Alexander the most?
I would use all three methods.
This is what specialists do not only in Russia, but also in Western countries.
Encoding?
I rarely use this technique, unless the patient himself asks.
Most of the time I work with awareness.
Understand that in order to say goodbye to alcohol forever, Emelianenko must sincerely want this.
We are trying to create this awareness.
Otherwise, the person simply does not want to quit.
- And how quickly can you achieve remission?
Sometimes literally at the snap of a finger.
Illumination occurs.
Others have to fight for a long time.
But you can achieve disgust, so that when looking at alcohol there is a feeling of nausea.
- How common is the problem of addiction in sports? In theory, powerful athletes like Emelianenko are physically capable of drinking more than ordinary people.
“Therein lies the root of the problem.
The ability to consume more is at the heart of all alcoholism.
People like Emelianenko often start drinking.
The issue of inheritance is also important, although it is believed that this disease is not transmitted.
Actually it is not.
For example, according to experiments on laboratory mice, if male and female individuals were abused, and their dependence was formed before the birth of mice, they would also be at risk.
- But at the same time, Fedor Emelianenko built a great career in sports and is the exact opposite of his younger brother.
“I wouldn't say that.
Fedor has slightly different goals.
And only he himself can tell how, for example, he came to faith.
Unfortunately, they have different life experiences.
For example, I recently worked with guys who were in prison and used drugs.
One was lucky, and he coped with everything, and the other is not able to get out.
Of course, being in prison did not benefit Alexander either.
But nerd boys don't get there either.
- What would you advise Emelianenko in his current state?
- Start changing.
I would invite him to talk to several of my athlete friends who can talk about personal experiences of getting rid of addiction.
I have worked with athletes who have gone through fire and water, but have become different.
Many then returned to training.
I believe that even at the age of 40 he is able to fully recover.
The main thing to understand is that it is never too late to stop drinking.