The journey to revive the form of Vietnamese sports heroes

(Dan Tri) - Injury can take away a professional athlete's dream, but a strong will combined with modern medicine tells a different story.

At Vinmec, Dr. Vu Tu Nam and his team have helped hundreds of athletes, from soccer stars to ultra-marathon athletes, regain their form and confidence to continue conquering the peak.

The silent battles

In the AFF Cup final in early 2025, key striker Nguyen Xuan Son collapsed on the field with a broken leg. For a normal person, it is a serious injury. But for a top athlete, it could mean the end of his career.

In the moment when fans across the country held their breath, Dr. Vu Tu Nam - Head of the Department of Arthroscopic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital (Hanoi) - and his team entered the silent battle, determined to revive the player's career.

Nguyen Xuan Son with Dr. Vu Tu Nam after surgery (Photo: Vinmec).

The first days after the injury were a series of stressful hours: assessing the injury, developing a surgical plan, and coordinating with multiple disciplines from anesthesia - pain relief, rehabilitation, nutrition to cardiology - respiratory. Each step was associated with a question: can Xuan Son return to the field?

Eight months later, the answer came. The player was able to return to training with a ball. “The pressure was huge, but the happiness of seeing the patient recover and continue to give his all on the field is truly indescribable,” Dr. Nam shared.

If the surgery for Xuan Son was a race against time and the pressure of national achievement, then an ultra-marathon athlete left Dr. Nam with a different impression: resilience that surpasses human limits.

He used to be a familiar face in 200km and 300km races. But after his knee injury, every run beyond 10-15km was torture. “Every step felt like a knife cutting into my knee joint, forcing me to give up my dream,” the athlete shared.

Nguyen Xuan Son's radiant smile with Vinmec doctors during his rehabilitation days (Photo: Vinmec).

For a normal person, 15km is already an achievement. But for someone who has lived his entire youth on the track, that number means… losing himself.

Understanding that, Dr. Nam developed a treatment plan for joint injections combined with personalized rehabilitation and nutrition instructions. After only 3 weeks, the athlete was able to return to conquer long distances, completing a race of more than 160km.

“Honestly, at first I didn’t think he could return to the ultra-marathon so quickly. But with willpower and the right therapy, he overcame his limits. Seeing patients conquer their passion is a great source of motivation for me and the team,” Dr. Nam shared with a proud smile.

Comprehensive treatment model, according to international standards right in Vietnam

Over the past four years, Dr. Nam has directly performed nearly 1,000 arthroscopic surgeries and thousands of treatment procedures. The difference is not only the technique, but also the comprehensive, personalized treatment model according to international standards that he and his colleagues have built at Vinmec.

His experience in Japan, the US, and Singapore has shown him that sports medicine does not stop at surgery, but is a comprehensive care system - from prevention, treatment to recovery. At Vinmec, patients are given individualized treatment and recovery plans, and many specialties work together to optimize results and shorten recovery time.

Doctor Vu Tu Nam - The man behind the journey of reviving Vietnamese sports heroes (Photo: Vinmec).

Thanks to that, many players such as Nguyen Van Toan, Ho Van Y, Le Van Xuan, Thai Thi Thao, Chuong Thi Kieu, Nguyen Thi Van, Nguyen Kim Nhat, Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Xuan Son… have returned to the field with their best form. Many other sports enthusiasts have also found their passion again.

Along with the comprehensive treatment model, Dr. Nam also pioneered the development of the “anatomical mapping” technique in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. With this technique, 3D MRI of the healthy knee is used to create an “anatomical map” for each patient, becoming the standard for reconstructing the damaged side.

“The body is never completely symmetrical, but using the parameters of the healthy side as a standard helps us to restore the damaged side as close to its original state as possible,” Dr. Nam explained. Thanks to that, the surgery is more precise, the patient recovers faster and reduces the risk of re-injury – a vital factor for elite athletes.

The decision to join Vinmec for Dr. Nam was a turning point and also a launching pad in his career. Here, he found an international standard environment to practice surgery, research, teach and access new technology.

“We have full equipment and infection control procedures according to international standards. After nearly 1,000 arthroscopy cases, there has not been a single case of infection,” he affirmed.

From Xuan Son, an ultra-marathon athlete, to thousands of other sports patients, Vinmec not only continues the passion for those who thought their dreams had ended, but also contributes to integrating Vietnamese medicine into the world .

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/hanh-trinh-hoi-sinh-phong-do-cho-nhung-nguoi-hung-the-thao-viet-nam-20250926105125370.htm