Fit to heal: Sports surgeon Alan Cheung's take

GROWING up in Cambridge, England, sport was always a part of my life. My first experience with injury was playing for Cambridge Rugby Club as a teenager, when I managed to dislocate both shoulders.

The experience of getting hurt and recovering was a painful but important one. I understand what injured athletes go through when returning to sports, and this drew me towards the field of orthopaedic surgery.

Today I am a consultant orthopaedic surgeon specialising in sports injuries and robotic joint replacement. I commonly treat sports injuries of the knee, shoulder, hip and ankle, and replace worn out hip and knee joints.

The two sports that I enjoy the most are martial arts and cycling. These tie in nicely with my roles as events team doctor for the Singapore Cycling Federation, and team doctor for the Wrestling Federation of Singapore.

As well as training in Muay Thai and MMA (mixed martial arts), I am a blue belt in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) at Evolve MMA, and have competed in Singapore and Japan. Physically, martial arts has made me a lot stronger and improved my anaerobic fitness. Mentally, it has helped my discipline and concentration, both of which are vital when performing surgery.

I would recommend BJJ to everybody - it's a sport for all ages that has been likened to human chess, and the mental and physical workout is intense. The sheer number of techniques means that you are always learning something new.

Love of martial arts also helped me in my former role as local medical lead for the One Championship and One Warrior Series MMA events. My team and I evaluated combat athletes after their bouts and evacuated injured athletes from the ring/cage - not easy with the ring being 1.5m high, and in front of thousands of spectators.

Having a ringside seat and treating the top martial artists in the world has been an immense privilege. Supporting the Wrestling Federation of Singapore in their last SEA Games in the Philippines was also an amazing experience.

I am also the official events team doctor of the Singapore Cycling Federation. My role at cycling events such as the National Championships (road bike) and off-road races (mountain bike) involves assessing and treating injured cyclists as well as transferring them to hospital. This is a different challenge to ringside work, with a wider area, variable terrain and weather conditions to complicate rescue.

Most recently, my cycling training was given a huge boost when I took part in the filming of Active SG Circle's reality series Zero To Hero hosted by Natalie Dau, released in August 2021. Under the tutelage of Ironman and Triathlon coach Arthur Tong, I spent six gruelling weeks cycling and learning about FTP, endurance training zones and eventually racing against national cyclist Calvin Sim.

Meanwhile, I had hung up my rugby boots after numerous injuries playing rugby union at school and university. Coming to Singapore seven years ago, I was pleased to return to the rugby pitch as a pitch-side medic for the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU).

These skills certainly helped me in my role as Matchday doctor for events such as the HSBC Sevens and SuperRugby, and I was also invited to the Japan Rugby World Cup as a representative of the SRU medical team.

My workout week

I cycle for an hour, four times a week (two Zone 2 and two Zone 3 rides) in the early morning before work. I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training two to three times a week and fit in two strength training sessions as time permits. I feel extremely grateful to be able to participate in different sporting disciplines and look after athletes of all ages, levels and abilities.

My philosophy is that to understand and treat athletes properly, I need to understand their struggles and their sport. I am also extremely fortunate to have a supportive wife and family who inspire me to do better every day.

• Dr Alan Cheung is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the International Orthopaedic Clinic, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.