Mathieu Faivre is a promising French alpine skier. He has won the French championship title twice (Slalom in 2010 and Super Combined in 2011). He also won a World Cup giant slalom in Val d'Isère.
After injuring himself, the elite athlete was able to resort to a Allyane session in order to optimize and accelerate the recovery of the movement that he was no longer able to perform.
He reflects on his patient journey and how Allyane was able to be an added value in his rehabilitation care.
Can you tell us about the injury you suffered?
I was suffering from L4 nerve root neurapraxia with paresthesia in my tibia. This resulted in a loss of function in some quadriceps muscles, particularly the vastus lateralis and rectus femoris.
This injury resulted from a sudden, awkward movement during weightlifting, specifically a squat. This impacted the nerve, causing neurapraxia and paresthesia.
How did you meet Allyane?
He is the person in charge of the French Ski Federation with the two other coaches who had already done this work with Jean-Baptiste Grange and Tessa WorleyThey had given quite good feedback on this knee careGiven my condition and what we were trying to recreate – that is, the brain sending the right information to the right muscle at the right time – it seemed quite interesting.
And you, personally, what did you think of it?
It was a rather unique moment in my career and my recovery. But it's true that when we're presented with this kind of technology, we think that it won't make things worse for this type of condition. The first thing to do is to go for it, to give it your all. And it's true that you have to really feel your body to see the various improvements.
I had researched these kinds of practices. I had already tried some methods like these and felt the benefits. I knew they worked. So, for me, they could definitely help and be a plus for my recovery.
Why did you think this method could help you?
There's no risk in trying it. Nor in believing in it completely. It's something that doesn't pose any negative risks for this type of condition.
What were the results?
During the session, we perform a movement, follow the protocol, and then repeat the movement. And there were definitely differences. Some were noticeable, others less so. But there was a clear improvement after the protocol. Looking at the long term, I think it's really a multitude of factors that led to such a satisfactory recovery. And all this in a fairly short time. It's certain that between the initial attempts and after completing the protocol, there's an improvement in certain movements.