The chronic injury that Rafa Nadal suffers and that will prevent him from playing the US Open and competing for the remainder of the season is actually a degenerative disease that has plagued him since he was 18 years old: Müller-Weiss syndrome. It is a dysplasia of the tarsal scaphoid that occurs in childhood and manifests itself in adulthood, being one of the causes of chronic bilateral foot pain. It has no surgical solution. That is, it cannot be 100% resolved by an operation. It usually manifests itself over the age of 40, but in the case of elite athletes, such as the Balearic Islands, it can appear earlier due to the strong physical stress to which they are subjected from the beginning of their careers.
The problem is usually the difficulty of its detection and among the possible causes are “nutritional deficit, endocrine problems and that there is a significant lateral load when the big toe is shorter “, according to Maite García, from the College of Podiatrists of the Valencian Community.
The tarsal scaphoid is a bone in the arch of the foot, also called the navicular because it is shaped like a boat. On the back side it houses the head of the talus and in front it articulates with the cuneiform bones or wedges, which precede the metatarsals of the first three toes, starting with the fat one. It is a fundamental part of the movement of the foot.
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Müller-Weiss syndrome produces “significant and progressive pain accompanied by deformity of the bone that takes the form of a coma with dorsal or medial protrusion and collapse of the lateral portion”, as explained by Dr. David López Canapé, specialist in orthopedic surgery and sports traumatology, who explains that “in the event that conservative measures do not control pain, there is an intervention that in most cases should fix said joints (arthrodesis foot) “. Although it is not a definitive cure. At the same time, this disease ends up affecting the knees, as has happened in the case of the winner of 20 Grand Slams.
Nadal's magic templates
Since Nadal's left foot ailment was discovered, the Balearic player used special templates that diverted the point of support and shoes specifically designed for him that allowed him to continue competing. On the other hand, this forced change in the natural biomechanics of his body, punished other parts of Rafa's body, mainly the knees and on occasion, the ankles.