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What is compartment syndrome, the injury that haunts MotoGP riders and made Fabio Quartararo lose in Jerez
What is compartment syndrome, the injury that haunts MotoGP riders and made Fabio Quartararo lose in Jerez

Video: What is compartment syndrome, the injury that haunts MotoGP riders and made Fabio Quartararo lose in Jerez

Video: What is compartment syndrome, the injury that haunts MotoGP riders and made Fabio Quartararo lose in Jerez
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It was a shocking collapse. Fabio Quartararo had won the MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix. He led with ease in Jerez having started from pole position, and his pace was the best. But suddenly he lost a second on a lap with Jack Miller, and then he started to backtrack: he finished thirteenth.

At first everyone thought of a mechanical problem on the bike, but no, what affected Fabio Quartararo was an old MotoGP acquaintance: compartment syndrome. A common injury among pilots that has already forced four riders to undergo surgery after only four Grand Prix.

Quartararo is the second time that he has operated with only 22 years while Rossi has never had problems

Quartararo Jerez Motogp 2021 3
Quartararo Jerez Motogp 2021 3

When we exercise the acting muscles are enlarged. They expand their dimensions because of the effort, and in the case of motorcycle riders, the ones that work the most are the forearms. Not only when changing direction, but more so when lifting the bike and, above all, when braking. That is the critical point.

The problem is that in certain athletes, the muscle expands, but the fascia does not. The fascia is a kind of fabric that covers the muscle, and if it does not extend next to it, it causes a logical oppression, with consequent loss of strength. It occurs especially in young athletes who do repetitive exercise. The pilots are the robot portrait.

Quartararo Jerez Motogp 2021
Quartararo Jerez Motogp 2021

"I kept fighting for six more laps with the pain, to keep a second, but it was just impossible for me. I had no more strength. It was dangerous for me to run the second half of the race, but I didn't want to stop because I knew that maybe one or two points could be really important for the championship, "said Quartararo as he got off the bike in Jerez.

His tears of frustration at the end of the race are not surprising. He had victory in hand and had not received any warning of what could happen. The entire weekend in Jerez, and the three previous races, had been painless. But they appeared at the worst possible moment: in the middle of the Spanish race.

Quartararo Jerez Motogp 2021 2
Quartararo Jerez Motogp 2021 2

The disaster is twofold because At only 22 years old, Quartararo has already undergone surgery twice for compartment syndrome. The first was in 2019, his first season in MotoGP, and since then he had only had a few problems in Portimao, the last race of 2020. The randomness of the condition is striking.

While at 22 Quartararo has already had two operations, Riders like Valentino Rossi, with a mammoth career behind them, have never suffered problems of this type. In fact, Franco Morbidelli boasted in Jerez that the pilots of the VR46 Academy have never undergone surgery for compartment syndrome.

Rossi Rancho Vr46
Rossi Rancho Vr46

And he is right. So far this season Quartararo, Jack Miller and Iker Lecuona have already undergone surgery to solve this problem, while Aleix Espargaró has an appointment scheduled for after Le Mans. It was one of the few on the current grid that hadn't had any such problems yet.

His brother Pol Espargaró, Miguel Oliveira, Jorge Martín, Danilo Petrucci, Stefan Bradl, Álex Márquez, Takaaki Nakagami and Álex Rins are also operated on, Johann Zarco suffered the condition, but preferred not to undergo surgery. Some, like Dani Pedrosa or Cal Crutchlow, directly had to resort to removing the fascia.

Miller Qatar Motogp 2021
Miller Qatar Motogp 2021

Recently Claudio Scribano, Jorge Lorenzo's former physio (also intervened in 2008), was against the operations and said that " we have to work to prevent the problem, there are techniques to do it. Correcting posture, the body has to always be in harmony. We have to find innovative methods. "This is where the VR46 classes go.

Although it may seem like a minor problem, which does not require a long recovery period for the pilots, it can cause very serious damage. When it comes to extremes such as Quartararo, surgery is the only option, because if the fascia is not split, the damage it could cause tightness are capable of leading to muscle disabling and, in extreme cases, even to its amputation.

Espargaro Jerez Motogp 2021
Espargaro Jerez Motogp 2021

Another focus of the debate is on whether the new motorcycles, with Brutal top speeds and scary accelerations are causing more compartment syndrome problems. The more the motorcycle runs, the more effort must be made both to turn it and to lift it and brake. And the aerodynamics, which sinks the bike to the ground, only makes it heavier.

The debate on whether the speed of MotoGP bikes is becoming disproportionate is in the paddock. Not only for this reason, but also because is causing classic circuits like Jerez, with few loopholes, to become unsafe. Let's hope compartment syndrome doesn't continue to decide MotoGP races.

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