César Canales Hortelano was born in Cuenca in 1974. He has a degree in medicine and surgery from Zaragoza University. César is a specialist in family and community medicine, a master of manual medicine, as well as being qualified in osteopathy and emergency medicine in the mountains and inhospitable environments.
He works in the Virgen de la Luz Hospital in Cuenca (emergency department). Working in the musculoskeletal medicine unit in the pain unit is one of his responsibilities.
He specializes in injuries due to overuse in sportsmen as well as women and in all the biomechanical aspects of the injury.
He was invited to Andorra for the Font Blanca competitions to speak about hypothermia, first aid in the mountains and healthy lifestyles in a conference (it was organized with the participation of the Andorran sports brand, Viladomat). After that he went on to share some more of his experiences with all-andorra.com:
“I have been actively doing sport since 1984. I began to compete in cycling and after that, I practiced all kinds of outdoor sports such as mountain racing, SKIMO, climbing, diving etc.
I competed in cycling and I was studying medicine at the same time. I remember I was the only participant in the cycling race who had professional knowledge about doing sport. And I loved to make people know about doing sport safely.
It’s not a secret that if you know your limits you can fight them. The secret is how to overcome them. Only knowledge can give you a solution. I’ll give you the answer. It’s simple: never run to get fit, but be fit to run. Firstly – enjoy what you are doing. And only secondly – be capable to do what you enjoy and work hard to achieve that. And try to do sport regularly. That is true for all kinds of sports.
I can prove this theory by my personal example. Regular practice is not just important to get fit but it’s also important for your health. It
helps to prevent many illnesses including cancer. Being a doctor I know what I am talking about. So I would strongly recommend doing sport a minimum of 3 times per week for 50-60 minutes.
If you practice outdoor sports you should remember: one of the main problems of outdoor sportsman is the hypothermia that we often define as an invisible enemy. So you should be aware of two main things: what are the climate conditions and how you generate and lose heat. This knowledge will help you choose the right clothes.
Talking about active lifestyles, it is also important to mention diets. There are many diets to follow, but the only one I am strongly against is one containing lots of sugar and any type of synthetic food.
But even if you have the most balanced and healthy diet, but you don’t practice sport regularly – you will not be successful.
I can safely say that movement is even more important than pills.
So my advice would be this: love doing sport regularly. Make it your habit. And try to be always in a good mood”.
Irina Rybalchenko
