NUH Sports Centre for sports and exercise-related injuries officially opens

The NUH Sports Centre officially opened today. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Dr Wang Mingchang treating full-time national serviceman Mr Cheong Hong Wei, 20, who has an ankle problem at the new NUH Sports Centre. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

SINGAPORE - A new clinic at the National University Hospital (NUH) that provides integrated care for sports and exercise-related injuries was officially opened on Friday (Jan 22).

The NUH Sports Centre, which has been operational since July last year, is expected to serve more than 10,000 patients a year living in the western part of Singapore.

It will house a variety of medical services for sports and exercise-related conditions - including diagnostic tests, injury prevention management, sports participation screening and performance enhancement.

Dr Lingaraj Krishna, director of NUH Sports Centre, said: "The Sports Centre is a concept and a team that has come together. I don't think you will see this degree of integration or coordination elsewhere. We have sports physicians, working with sports surgeons, physiotherapists, radiologists and cardiologists."

"In the past, we saw patients with sports and exercise-related injuries, but the care was very fragmented. They were at different places. What we did is to put all these different services together."

Three other hospitals here - Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Changi General Hospital - have sports medicine facilities.

Mr Cheong Hong Wei, 20, is a patient at the NUH Sports Centre. He suffered a fracture to his ankle about three years ago when he was a rugby player at his junior college, but only consulted a doctor at NUH in October last year when the pain got worse.

"I was surprised there was a sports clinic here. I chose NUH because it is near to my house in Bukit Batok and I have a direct bus here. It is a specialised department for injuries related to sports. I had a follow-up within three weeks and the efficiency is good," the full-time national serviceman (NSF) said.

The NUH Sports Centre also plans to contribute towards research in sports medicine. For instance, it is working on a trial that enhances muscle growth and strength through pulsed electromagnetic fields.

Speaking to the media after the opening ceremony, Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, who was guest-of-honour said: "(For) people who are practising sports generally, or exercising, this centre allows the facilities and resources to be brought together. Someone suffering an injury can get treated with the right equipment, resources and facilities close by. When you have an injury, you do not want to move to multiple locations or to come back several times over this."

xueqiang@sph.com.sg

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