Football turns to Eastern medicine

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Bruno N'Gotty is among the players to benefit



By Thrasy Petropoulos



Having their tongue assessed for colour and shape and pulse taken to
gauge the health of their internal organs is perhaps not what Bolton
Wanderers' footballers imagined would happen to them when they
visited the physio's room.

Waiting for them, however, was John Brazier, the founder of the
Northern Academy of Oriental Medicine, who did precisely that.

And if the idea of taking eastern medicine to premiership football
seems unlikely, consider that before long a queue of footballers
greeted Brazier's twice-weekly visits to the Reebok stadium.

Not only that, but some of the club's physiotherapists and masseuses
are now looking to train in the ancient art and one player, Mike
Whitlow, is even taking lessons at Brazier's Lytham St Anne's-based
academy.

East meets west

It is, after all, a medicine based on 5,000 years of diagnostic
knowledge



John Brazier

When Mark Taylor, Bolton's head physiotherapist, contacted Dr
Brazier - the title can be used if it is made clear that it is
related to eastern medicine - it was with a view of complementing his
traditional western methods.

Yet even Taylor would not have imagined that Brazier, a former
national karate champion, would prove so successful in helping to
cure long-standing problems that would not respond to treatment.

One player, Ryan Baldacchino, was booked in for a third operation on
his groin when he was referred to Brazier, who confidently predicted
that he would cure the problem within three weeks.

"In my enthusiasm it took six," recalls Brazier. "But by then he was
able to train and play and he did not need an operation.

"Ninety-five per cent of the time, players are amazed that I am able
to accurately diagnose what they are suffering from by studying their
tongue and pulse and asking them a few questions.

"But it is, after all, a medicine based on 5,000 years of diagnostic
knowledge."

Tongue clues

French defender Bruno N'Gotty was another to benefit from eastern
medicine where Taylor's western methods had proved unsuccessful.


Mike Whitlow is training in the discipline
"I examined the size and colour of his tongue, which tells us a lot
about the internal organs," Brazier explained. "A big, fat or
discoloured tongue, for instance, tells us that certain organs aren't
functioning properly.

"And where in western medicine the pulse is used to measure heart
beat, in oriental medicine there are certain points on the wrist
which show how strong your lung, digestive and kidney systems are.

"With Bruno, I diagnosed pulse weakness on the spleen, which is
symptomatic of a digestive imbalance, and oedema - or excessive water
under the skin.

"In Chinese medicine the spleen exists to extract nutrients from food
and distribute it to muscles and into the body generally.

"Another symptom of a weak spleen is loose bowels - and Bruno was
going to the toilet five times a day.

"Initially I treated him with acupuncture in the stomach and legs to
strengthen the spleen and kidney systems.

"Then I gave him an abdominal massage which stimulates the kidneys.

"And finally I did reciprocal muscle treatment on him to get his
muscles working more efficiently.

"After two weeks of being treated a couple of times a day he was back
to full fitness."

Celebrity choice

Chinese medicine is now the preferred choice of treatment for some
high-profile celebrities.

Barry Sheene, recently diagnosed with stomach and throat cancer, is
exploring eastern medicine as an alternative to chemotherapy, and
Richard Gere, a converted Buddhist, uses acupuncture in a quest to
appear more youthful.

"But the aim is prevention, not cure," said Brazier. "I did martial
arts for 20 years.

"And in traditional martial arts, which is self-defence, there is an
element of medicine.

"Your job is to keep people healthy as well as safe."