Team doctor at Bahlinger SC as well as EHC Freiburg

Our knee specialist Dr. med. Tarek Schlehuber in the Doppelpass interview

 

Interview. Südbadens Doppelpass, Issue 3 / November 2022

SDP: Tarek, you work with two colleagues in your practice Orthozentrum Freiburg at Heinrich von Stephan Straße 8. What is the focus of your work?

SDP: Hello Thomas. Together with my colleagues we offer a wide range of conservative and operative orthopedics. I myself welcome many athletes in my consultation hours. From the professional to the ambitious hobby athlete, from the tweak in the groin to the complex knee injury, I try my best to make the beloved sport possible again. Operatively, I have fully dedicated myself to the coming knee joint. Meniscus, cruciate ligament and cartilage surgery are the main focus of my work.

SDP: Since 2019, you have also been the team doctor for Bahlinger SC and, since 2021, for EHC Freiburg. In Bahlin gen, you are the successor to Dr. Volker Fass.

T.S.: (laughs): Volker's traces are everywhere. There are few clubs and soccer players who have not been linked with the Orthozentrum in the past. The Orthozentrum and Volker Fass stand for sports and soccer medicine. I am very happy to continue this old tradition with the same fire and love for sports. The sport of soccer has always shaped my life. I am grateful that I can still experience the cabin fever through my work in Bahlingen.

SDP: You played soccer yourself when you were young, for example at SV Munzingen. These experiences will certainly benefit you now?

T.S.: Sure. It's important to know training and game forms. Nowadays, the focus is even more on load control and regeneration. At the same time, one or two injuries were certainly one of the reasons why I chose the path to orthopedics and sports medicine. During the first years of my studies, I still commuted to Hesse to play soccer on the weekends. However, the time in Munzingen was then formative for my work. Many of the players I played with back then are now coaches here in the region. The contact has never been broken.

SDP: The BSC, not a club like any other, a big family?

T.S.: It may sound trite, but that's exactly how it is. For me, it only took a few weeks for a deep connection to begin. The entire association works in a highly professional manner, and at the same time much is based on trust and clear, honest communication. This creates a feel-good atmosphere for me, both professionally and privately, that I wouldn't want to miss. In the meantime, close friendships have developed that go beyond the day-to-day business of soccer. Together with our athletic trainer and our physiotherapists, we have optimized the infrastructure from season to season. We don't have to hide behind any of the "big names" in the regional league.

SDP: Are you on site for home games?

T.S.: My wife would say: yes, very regularly. Dennis Bührer would say: far too seldom. In fact, I try to be there as often as possible. Not just to give medical advice, but simply to enjoy the sun on the quayside chair, to take a deep breath, and almost always to follow some appealing soccer. It's rarely boring on the Ponderosa. SDP: What is the medical department at the BSC like?

T.S.: The core is formed by an excellent team of physiotherapists from Bahlingen and Freiburg as well as our athletic trainer Uli Hanser. Since this season, Walter Adam has taken on an important task in the communication and coordination between the individual pillars and supports us insanely.

SDP: How is the team working with the players, there should be a WhatsApp group?

T.S.: Whatsapp is of course a quick way to get in touch. As a rule, the guys contact me directly. Then I have the information about the course and severity of the injury. But a short message every day is also helpful, for example, to keep track of muscle injuries. In addition, everyone now knows my times in the practice and often shows up on my doorstep. This makes the consulting hours varied and conditionally plannable. Every kicker also has a girlfriend, a mom or a buddy....

SDP: You simply enjoy soccer. That was evident a few days ago when you were the guest of honor at the sports gala in Endin gen? What was your impression of the event?

T.S.: We were with you in 2009 as team of the year with Munzingen. It was very nice to meet some old companions from that time. But above all, I was amazed at how many patients were among the guests. To see the guys and gals in such a relaxed atmosphere and outside the practice was great. I sincerely hope that you will be able to continue hosting the gala in the coming years without any problems or restrictions. I like to be a regular guest.

SDP: Besides soccer, are the two activities at EHC comparable?

T.S.: Yes and no. The guys are all obsessed with the sport, hard-working and highly professional. The air in the dressing room is different, though (laughs). The stress and injury patterns are also different. Whereas in soccer, in addition to acute muscle injuries, there are mainly ankle and knee injuries, in ice hockey there are massive traumas to the upper extremities, face, ribs, pelvis. Chronic overloads from skating on the ice also play a role here. Even though the temperature at the EHC is much colder, I've grown to love ice hockey just as much. I still dream of a joint preparation game during the summer break: one half on the ice, one half on the field. Wouldn't that be something for Doppelpass?