Dikul Krylatskoye Center - medical facility on Osenny Boulevard, 4

Contacts and general information

The Dikul Clinic in Krylatskoye is located at the address: 121609, Moscow, Osenny Boulevard, 4.

Contact phone numbers

Official website: https://www.dikul.net/centry/centr_krylatskoe/

Email

You can also use the application form on the institution’s website.

The Dikul technique has been clinically proven and has been successfully used for many years.

Clinic opening hours:

• Mon. — Fri: 9:00 — 21:00
• Sat. — Sun: 9:00 — 20:00

For reference! Chief physician of the Krylatskoye Children's Hospital: Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Mutin Igor Nikolaevich.

Main directions and specializations:

• neurology;
• traumatology and orthopedics;
• rheumatology;
• physiotherapy;
• reflexology;
• cardiology;
• manual therapy and osteopathy;
• exercise therapy;
• massotherapy;
• MRI;
• Ultrasound diagnostics;
• computer-optical diagnostics.

Valentin Dikul

Branches of the institution

The Dikul Center in Krylatskoye became the fourth branch of this clinic. Previously opened:

• MRC "Belyaevo" is the main branch established in 2000. Metro Belyaevo, st. Miklouho-Maklaya, 44A. Tel..
• LDC "Losiny Ostrov" - opened in 2006, located at: metro station VDNKh, Yaroslavskoe highway, 116 bldg. 1. Tel. +7(495) 432-54-20.
• LDC "Maryino" - appeared in 2015, located at: Novocherkassky Boulevard, 55, bldg. 2. Tel..

Dikul: exercises for the back with a hernia

The patient has the opportunity to practice independently at home or visit one of the Dikul medical centers. The training program is compiled individually for each patient. It is recommended to consult a doctor before starting training. Dikul’s exercises are aimed at solving several problems:

• strengthening the muscle tissue of the back;
• elimination of painful sensations due to muscle strain or compression of nerve roots;
• elimination of swelling, spasms;
• working out deep muscles, relieving tension;
• stimulation of blood circulation.

It will be possible to eliminate painful sensations by practicing according to the Dikul method within 1 - 2 months. Kinesitherapy consists of several stages:

• The initial one is aimed at eliminating painful sensations and relieving muscle tension. Exercises are performed with a small amplitude without additional load. Classes are held 3 times a week. Depending on the severity of the disease and the characteristics of the body, the first stage lasts from 2 to 4 months;
• The second stage in the treatment of a hernia involves increasing muscle strength and strengthening the muscular corset of the back. Strength exercises with additional weight are added. The number of classes per week increases to 4. The duration of this stage is 24 - 36 months;
• the final stage involves loads on strength and coordination. Exercise creates neurophysiological potential and increases the body's endurance.

Class Rules

Anyone suffering from a hernia can achieve a complete recovery, regardless of the size of the nucleus pulposus and the severity of the disease. To maintain the effectiveness of the technique, you must adhere to the following rules:

• You cannot skip training days; in case of a break, you need to start from the first stage. Muscles quickly adapt to the intensity of exercise;
• the duration of classes is about 45 minutes at the first stage and about 80 minutes at the third;
• during classes, you need to monitor the amplitude and smoothness of movements;
• You will be able to achieve the desired result if you believe in the possibility of recovery and follow the rules described above.

Contraindications

The Dikul technique is not suitable for all patients. There are temporary and permanent contraindications to exercise. It is recommended to consult a doctor before starting training. The restrictions affect people suffering from the following ailments:

• infectious diseases characterized by fever and symptoms of body poisoning;
• neoplasms of a malignant or benign nature in the spine;
• bleeding, such as menstruation;
• recent physical damage to the spinal cord;
• deviations in the development of the spine.

Historical reference

The opening of the Dikul center in Krylatskoye took place on December 8, 2018. The clinic is equipped with modern equipment. Doctors use the clinically proven unique V.I. technique. Dikul, who successfully helps in the rehabilitation of patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury.

Attention! Much attention is paid to the accurate diagnosis of diseases and injuries.

Doctors work with patients who have suffered severe spinal fractures with entrapment or compression of the spinal cord. Thanks to a combination of traditional and innovative methods of diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, many patients have regained the ability to walk.

The best specialists and techniques

Treatment method for Valentin Dikul

Remember the parable about two frogs who fell into a jar of milk? One croaked sadly: well, that’s all, they say, they’ve arrived – and obediently sank to the bottom. And the other one, stubborn, let’s flail with our hind legs in an attempt to get out. And churned butter from the milk. She pushed away from him and jumped out of the jug to freedom.

This is how the former disabled person of the first group, and later the most famous person, record holder, People's Artist of Russia Valentin Dikul, whose birthday we celebrate today, April 3, “churned” his life-saving oil.

From early childhood, Valya “fell ill” with the circus: “I’ll be an acrobat!” And since he was stubborn as a boy, he began his difficult path to his dream at the age of nine: at first he cleaned the arena, swept the floor, looked after the animals in the circus, then joined a circus club.

How did Dikul's injury occur? He began performing as an aerialist at an early age, not yet fifteen. And almost immediately - a tragedy: the equipment fails, the boy falls from a height of more than ten meters. The result is multiple local fractures, traumatic brain injury and, worst of all, a compression fracture of the spine.

A week in intensive care, then a hospital ward in the neurosurgery department. For eight long months. Upon discharge, the doctors did not lie: “You are now a lifelong disabled person, you will not be able to walk. Be glad you at least survived."

But they did not know the character of this little stubborn “frog”. While still in the hospital, the teenager begins to try to recover. The fractures have healed, he thinks, which means that the legs that have lost sensitivity and the ability to move can also be brought back to life. And he trains five to six hours a day, overcoming the pain in his spine, until he is completely exhausted.

It is clear that at that time the boy did not know human anatomy, was not familiar with the basics of biomechanics, biophysics and physical therapy. He invented the exercises himself and did them on a whim.

How is manual therapy beneficial? The chiropractor at the Clinic Expert Tula tells us

Toropov Dmitry Olegovich

First, he tied ropes to the numb legs and used his hands to force the lower limbs to move. Then his friends, based on his drawings, made him a simulator with a system of blocks.

Years passed. During regular training, my arms and shoulders became increasingly stronger, but my legs remained dead. This long time without results could have broken anyone, but not him, Dikul.

After five years of persistent, inhuman work, the unexpected happens (or, on the contrary, long-awaited?) First, Valentin’s temperature jumped sharply, his joints became very sore, he lost consciousness. Then it let go, and a week later I suddenly felt that the muscles of one thigh began to come to life. I poked my leg with a needle and felt pain!

This could only mean one thing: to the detriment of all the “final diagnoses” and medical logic, the spinal cord began to recover. After another two weeks, the guy got out of his wheelchair and began to walk, first on crutches, and then with two canes.

Another seven months of intense training passed before his paralyzed legs began to fully serve him again. But during this time the main thing happened: he believed in himself, believed that it was possible to get out of that damned “jug-trap” into which he fell by the will of evil fate. There would be desire and will.

Thus began the biography of another, new Valentin Dikul. This indomitable man again entered the circus arena - now in the role of a power juggler. What he did with metal “balls” weighing 45 kilograms, how high 80-kilogram weights soared from his hands!

He, a former wheelchair user, was more than once called the strongest man on the planet. He was applauded by the famous Soviet champion weightlifters Alekseev and Zhabotinsky.

The achievements and records of Valentin Dikul are amazing. In the presence of representatives of the Guinness Book of Records, he exceeded the world achievements in power lifting three times: squatting with a weight of 450 kilograms, deadlifting with a weight of 460 and bench press with a weight of 260 kilograms. In total, in triathlon – more than a ton. And this at the age of 62!

By the way, Dikul’s book “Broken Circle,” written by him in co-authorship with journalist Alexander Eliseikin, talks in detail about overcoming oneself.

Having returned to a full life himself, Dikul begins to actively help others with this. Disabled people from all over the country write to him. He tries to answer everyone and sends him a set of measures for medical rehabilitation that he has developed.

Ultimately, in 1988, under his leadership, first one and then several more centers were opened for the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries and the consequences of cerebral palsy.

Valentin Dikul’s main focus in working with patients is on treating the spine. In principle, the special system of physical exercises he developed - and tested on himself - may well benefit anyone, not necessarily just a sick person, since with its help the entire body as a whole is strengthened.

The main principle of the Dikul treatment method is regular, systematic work with the muscles, which makes it possible to strengthen or restore the normal function of the spine, cervical, shoulder, lumbar and thoracic regions. There are also exercises specially developed by Dikul for the back with a hernia.

Many people are interested in the question: is Doctor Dikul or not? Some sources claim that he has a university education behind him, and he even became a doctor of science. However, there is no evidence of this on the website of electronic dissertations of the Russian State Library.

The USSR Ministry of Health officially allowed the use of the methods developed by Dikul in practice after several years of careful research and testing on patients at the Burdenko Hospital.

Meanwhile, the services to society of this extraordinary person, who does not know the word “impossible,” are undeniable. Valentin Dikul is a laureate of the “Profession-Life” award in the field of medicine and healthcare (the “Great Healer” nomination). He was awarded the Order of Pirogov, established by the European Academy of Natural Sciences, and the medal for “Labor Valor of Russia”.

Text author: Igor Chichinov

How can modern medicine explain the fact of V. Dikul’s “miraculous” recovery after receiving such serious injuries? Is this even possible?

We addressed these questions to a neurosurgeon of the highest category at the Expert Voronezh Clinic, candidate of medical sciences, member of the Association of Neurosurgeons and the Association of Spine Surgeons of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Abramovich Tabachnikov.

Doctor's answer:

Traumatic injury to the spine and spinal cord can cause persistent dysfunction of many organ systems, which in turn leads to a decrease in quality of life, severe disability and even death. The results of treatment of spinal injury have changed significantly over the past decades, thanks to increased knowledge about the pathophysiology of this type of injury, new diagnostic capabilities and modern treatment techniques.

There is no doubt that the injury received in 1962 when young aerialist Valentin Dikul fell from a 13-meter height was severe. Judging by the symptoms described in his book “Broken Circle,” in addition to a compression fracture of one of the lumbar vertebrae, there was also a spinal cord injury.

Unfortunately, at that time, the diagnosis of spinal cord injury and ideas about traumatic disease of the spinal cord were still only at the very beginning. There were no modern methods of neuroimaging (CT and MRI) and neurophysiological studies.

However, it is obvious that there was no gross compression of the spinal cord or its interruption in this case. The symptoms that developed immediately after the injury were caused by spinal shock, the clinical picture of which is characterized by a syndrome of complete disruption of spinal cord conduction with the development of paralysis and severe sensitivity disorders below the level of injury. The mechanism of development of spinal shock is the inhibition of the reflex functions of the spinal cord due to overstimulation of conductors and nerve cells located in the spinal cord, with the development of extreme protective inhibition (or parabiotic state) in them.

The duration of spinal shock depends primarily on the strength of the irritation and can last from several days to many months. And the observations of some authors show that the phenomena of spinal shock can continue for years, which depends not only on the degree of damage to the pathways, but also on the presence of foci of additional irritation of the spinal cord, caused, for example, by adhesions. These foci of irritation, which usually arise at the site of injury, maintain a state of extreme inhibition, primarily below the site of the damaged area of ​​the spinal cord, which determines the duration of spinal shock.

Of course V.I. Dikul at that time did not know about the existence of spinal shock, and he had no idea about the extent of spinal cord damage in his own case. But intuitively (this, then still a child) came to the conclusion that only daily exercise, training until complete exhaustion and an unshakable belief that he will definitely get back on his feet and return not only to a full life, but also to his favorite job is the only correct one. path. And this is for life.

Despite his youth (he was only 14 years old at the time), he independently developed a set of physical exercises and the design of an original apparatus for working with paralyzed muscles and worked like a convict. I didn’t give myself a day’s rest. He did everything right. After all, rest for paralyzed muscles and immobile joints is death. Inactivity leads to muscle atrophy and contractures of the joints of the limbs. And if he had not worked, as they say, until he sweated, then by the time his spinal shock finally resolved, his legs would have been of no use anyway. Complete muscle atrophy and joint ankylosis would have confined him to bed for the rest of his life. In this case, he was perfectly prepared for the moment when his damaged spinal cord conduction was restored: both muscles and joints were ready for the impeccable execution of commands that again began to flow through the nerves.

In this story, in my opinion, there is still a happy accident, which very energetically advanced the final solution to the problem. I mean those few days described by Dikul in his book, when he was tossing around in a fever with a high temperature and seemed to be on the verge of life and death. But after that I realized that both sensitivity and active movements in his legs began to recover. It is difficult to say why Valentin Ivanovich had such a reaction for several days, accompanied by a high temperature (pyrogenic is the name of this term), but it played a clearly positive role in his life. Under its influence, apparently, the resorption of adhesions (or adhesions) occurred, which inhibited the final resolution of spinal shock. Previously, there was even a method of treating the consequences of spinal injury with injections of the drug “Pyrogenal” (in order to increase body temperature). At the same time, the resorption of adhesions occurred and a number of other positive processes were observed in the patient’s body.

As you can see, there is nothing mystical in the history of Valentin Ivanovich Dikul’s illness and in the history of his return to duty, to an active, full life. From the point of view of modern ideas about trauma to the spine and spinal cord, the dynamics of his disease are quite possible to explain.

I was lucky enough to meet Valentin Ivanovich in the now distant 1992, when both the Center for the Rehabilitation of Spinal Patients he created and our entire country were going through far from the best times. He made a very strong impression on me. He is a man of great courage, unbending will, amazing determination and love for people. It is with great pleasure that I congratulate him on his birthday and wish him good health, great personal happiness and new achievements on his anniversary!

Doctors of the diagnostic and treatment center and their schedule

The clinic employs professionals in their field.

Neurologists:

• Kabirski Sev Georgievich.
• Kuznetsova Lyudmila Vladimirovna.
• Denisova Yana Mecheslavovna.
• Konnova Elena Anatolyevna.

Traumatologists-orthopedists:

• Kovalenko Igor Vladimirovich.
• Boshmakov Boris Alekseevich.

Physiotherapists:

• Dmitrieva Galina Alekseevna.
• Rizaeva Elena Nikolaevna.

Acupuncturists:

• Vyshinskaya Alena Borisovna.
• Kolesnikova Lyudmila Anatolyevna.

Chiropractors:

• Goryaeva Galina Lidzhievna.
• Lozitsky Sergey Anatolievich.

Rheumatologist:

• Talibova Elnura Tofigovna.

Therapist-cardiologist:

• Mikhailenko Larisa Vitalievna.

Massage therapists:

• Makarieva Elena Alexandrovna.
• Nesterov Oleg Anatolyevich.
• Potlova Tatyana Dmitrievna.
• Privalov Viktor Gennadievich.

The latest equipment allows for accurate diagnostics.
Ultrasound doctors:

• Gulmuradova Liliya Bulatovna.
• Basharan Erol Akhmetovich.
• Bashirov Zakir Mazakhirovich.
• Velimedov Arsen Kamilievich.

Doctors of computer-optical diagnostics:

• Markhieva Marina Vakhaevna.

MRI doctors:

• Muravlev Alexey Pavlovich.
• Astafieva Ekaterina Viktorovna.
• Dikovitskaya Nadezhda Andreevna.

X-ray:

• Bogatikova E.G.
• Kozyrev E.V.
• Kondratyeva A.P.

Exercise therapy doctors:

• Kalinin Vyacheslav Sergeevich.
• Ryabov Vladislav Olegovich.

Exercise therapy methodologists:

• Prishlov Anatoly Yurievich.
• Uvarov Alexey Sergeevich.

Exercise therapy instructors:

• Altybaev Khydyr Kakaevich.
• Byzalov Artyom Sergeevich.
• Gorolyuk Victoria Ivanovna.
• Lebyazhyeva Elena Anatolyevna.
• Nazarov Mikhail Alexandrovich.
• Plesak Alena Ivanovna.
• Safonov Andrey Vyacheslavovich.
• Slavogorodskaya Larisa Vladimirovna.
• Stolbunova Elena Andreevna.

Nurses and laboratory technicians:

• Dmitrieva Nina Mikhailovna.
• Sozinova Olga Mikhailovna.

Two neurologists work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 to 21:00. The other two specialists work on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 21:00, and on Saturdays from 9:00 to 20:00. One of the neurologists is on duty every Sunday from 9:00 to 20:00.

You should follow the cardiologist’s work schedule on the clinic’s website.

All other doctors are on duty in shifts every day, including on weekends. A detailed work schedule for each specialist can be found on the website.

How to make an appointment with a doctor

You can make an appointment with a doctor by phone or through the online registration form located on the website. There you need to indicate the required direction, the branch of the clinic, the attending physician, and then select your free time.

Next to each doctor's name is his work schedule. The time for which registration is already closed is marked in red. Free hours are marked in green. You need to enter your full name and phone number, and then click the confirm button.

For reference! By calling the contact number, the reception staff will tell you in detail about the center and help you make an appointment with a doctor.

In addition, the site has a special feedback form where you need to indicate your full name, phone number and date. Specialists will contact patients at the specified number, clarify all the details and make an appointment with the required doctor.

Complex treatment and rehabilitation methods have helped many patients get back on their feet

How to get to the Dikul Children's Center on Osenny Boulevard, 4

The clinic is located near the metro. You can also get there by car:

• How to get there by metro: take the last car from the center and get to the Krylatskoye station. Walk to the end of the passage and turn left to exit No. 5. Exit onto Osenniy Boulevard and walk along it in the direction opposite to the flow of cars.

Driving directions

• If you don’t want to walk, you can use public transport. You can get to the center by buses No. 129, 229, 376, 554, 688, 732, 829, 832. It’s not far - get off at the “Osenniy Boulevard” stop.
• Several public transport stops are located a little further: “Rubezhny Proezd” (270 meters), “Western Hill” (270 meters), “Marshal Timoshenko Street” (420 meters).
• How to get there by car: drive along Rublevskoye Shosse, exit onto Osenniy Boulevard, and then follow the house numbers - turn into the courtyard of house No. 4.

Parking near the medical facility

There is parking near the end of the building. The time a car can spend in the parking lot is not limited. There is no parking fee.

kept many people healthy. Modern methods of diagnosis, rehabilitation and radical treatment help patients with the most serious ailments, including spinal injuries, pathologies of the central nervous system, consequences of cerebral palsy, diseases of the joints and bones, rheumatism, etc.

Health protection

It so happened that my first wife was a circus performer. That is why I know much more about the circus than the average journalist. In the corridors of “Glavka,” as the artists called the Soyuz State Circus on Pushechnaya Street among themselves, I had the opportunity to communicate with such celebrities as animal trainer Irina Bugrimova, acrobat Vladimir Doveyko, juggler Nikolai Olkhovikov and many others. And Yuri Nikulin, who then headed the circus of the entire Soviet Union, and the secretary of the party committee, Valery Kanishchev, shook my hand when they met.

I never encountered Valentin Dikul in Glavka. However, I saw him often at the circus on Vernadsky Avenue and, of course, admired the famous performance of the hero, when he juggled 80-kilogram weights and 40-kilogram balls, and at the end held a pyramid of people and metal weighing a total of a ton. There are a lot of miracles in the circus, so I stopped being amazed at how the circus people do it quite quickly. Something else surprised me - behind the scenes there were constantly people hanging around Dikul who clearly had nothing to do with the circus. Moreover, these were basically citizens with disabled children. And then I learned about the fate of this man, who, as a young man, broke his spine and was confined to a bed for several years, then to a wheelchair. He not only got back on his feet and regained the ability to walk, but also became a power juggler, which no circus in the world has ever seen. But that's not all. Dikul developed his own technique, thanks to which he was able to put those who could not walk on their feet, help children with cerebral palsy gain movement, as well as people who had lost motor functions as a result of injuries or accidents. Nowadays there are officially traditional healers, but then, in the USSR, it was illegal to practice medicine; I do not have a doctor’s diploma. However, it was impossible to find fault with what Dikul did, since he helped everyone absolutely free, and the treatment system consisted only of a set of exercises that was developed for each individual. Throughout the Soviet Union, circus buildings were built in cities - there are even two of them in Moscow. There were circuses in all the republics, for example, there was a wonderful circus in Donetsk, where I had the opportunity to live for almost a month in a circus hotel. I now remember with pain this beautiful mining town then, but destroyed today by a brutal fratricidal war, surrounded by waste heaps - mountains of coal dumps and... buried in rose bushes. This is such a contrast. Programs for circuses were formed at the headquarters, and the artists went on tour to their destination: Donetsk, Vladivostok, Alma-Ata, Dushanbe, Yerevan, Tbilisi - where the distribution would be. Tours usually lasted from several months to six months, with the exception of Moscow, where the artists worked for a year. In other words, artists were constantly moving from city to city. Valentin Dikul also moved. And after him went everyone whom he helped to find movement, or rather they were transported after him. Respect in Dikulya was so boundless that the directors of circus hotels, in violation of the rules, allowed his wards to stay in the rooms, and they lived together with the artists, and then went to the next city, where the already legendary power juggler and healer was assigned. This is how Valentin Dikul lived - during the day, rehearsals, preparing new elements of his program, in the evening - a performance, on weekends and holidays - two, and even three performances. And in the breaks between sleep and work at the circus, there is no less hard work to help the sick. Dikul never refused anyone. However, I’m lying. There were refusals when they tried to pay for his “medical” practice. And even now he still has approximately the same attitude towards money, although his Centers are already operating all over the world and every pharmacy has been selling Dikulya balms for many years, which generates considerable income. But believe it or not, Dikul is very reminiscent of Yuri Detochkin. He also keeps for himself only travel and business trips, and invests the rest of the funds in the State Federal Center, created back in the USSR by order of the Government, and which is still located in Ostankino Park and operates under a state program with state funding. Agree, this is surprising, because in our difficult times, when all medicine has actually been transferred to compulsory medical insurance. However, a transfer to compulsory medical insurance for this center will actually mean its death, since treatment there cannot possibly meet the amounts provided by the insurance. Sometimes it takes six months, a year, and sometimes more than one for a person to gain movement. And I am glad that both the authorities and the numerous commissions that check the work of the center also understand this and help Valentin Dikul maintain the previous funding scheme. However, we will return to the Dikul Center a little later. In the meantime, although not a single book has been written about this man, I will tell him, without exaggeration, his amazing story, which began in the distant past... however, Dikul does not like to talk about age. And does it matter how old a person is when, for example, the year before last, during a holiday on Poklonnaya Hill, he demonstrated squats with a barbell weighing almost a quarter of a ton?.. So, this was far away in the Soviet Union. Lithuania, where our hero was born, was the favorite vacation spot of all citizens of the USSR, and almost every Soviet person had access to bask in the Baltic sun and lie on the snow-white sand near the Baltic Sea. One of the most vivid impressions of my childhood was Palagna, where my parents, young engineers with a salary of 100 rubles, took me every year when I was little. Fun biographical fact: He didn’t become Valentin Dikul right away. There was confusion with the first and last name. In the birth certificate he was written down as Dykul, after his father’s last name, but this Ukrainian surname could not be pronounced in Lithuanian, since the Lithuanian language does not have the letter “s”. That’s why they called him Valentinas Dikulis, or Valius for short. As a result, Valentin Dikul was entered into the passport. It still is today. Valus began to fight for life right from birth, since he weighed just over a kilogram, and everyone doubted whether he would survive. But the inner strength inherent in this little man at that time surprised even the doctors. Valus not only survived, but very soon outstripped those who had a standard weight at birth. When I asked him from what moment he remembers himself, he, without hesitation, answered that he remembers his birth. And if it wasn’t Dikul, then I, of course, would not have believed him, but there was no doubt about it. Valius actually did not see his father, since he worked in the security agencies, led anti-terrorist operations and was constantly away. During one of these operations to liquidate Bendery, 30-year-old Ivan Grigoryevich Dykul died heroically. And two years later my mother died, who was only 27 years old. That night he woke up to see her near his crib in kindergarten, she stretched out her arms to him and called him to her. And in the morning, when grandmother came, he found out that trouble had happened. My grandmother had a large family, and there was such a shortage of money that if someone was sick and needed to buy medicine, they had to refuse food. There was only one way out: Valentinas Dikulis became a pupil of the Vilnius orphanage. When Valius was 7 years old, a traveling circus tent came to Vilnius. Traveling circuses worked on a par with stationary ones, only they had the same program, but they themselves traveled around the cities, as it had been since time immemorial. Of course, it was a hell of a job - setting up a huge tent, assembling an arena, accommodating artists and animals - in a word, getting settled. But the circus is not just another world, not just a profession, it is life, a disease, if you like, and it is contagious, for life, and there is no cure. Many of those who left the circus for various reasons then get a job there as anyone, just so as not to leave it. Watch the old, still black and white silent, but amazing film “The Circus” with Charlie Chaplin, and you will understand everything. Who knows what the fate of Dikul, who by nature was a desperate tomboy, would have turned out to be, if not for that shift. From the orphanage he was literally drawn to freedom. He regularly went AWOL, was found, brought back, scolded... But again and again he ran out of the gate. Only once, he climbed over the fence and saw the tent. The circus pulled him in like a magnet. Valius, of course, had no money, but he found a loophole and crawled into the tent. What he saw changed his life in an instant. The seven-year-old boy suddenly realized where he belonged. He was discovered and taken out, but the next day he came again and again ended up at the show. And so - every day. After a week or two, the circus people got used to the fact that the nimble boy ended up in the circus by hook or by crook. They stopped chasing him around and even started giving him instructions - to go to the store to buy something, to help with cleaning. He did everything with enthusiasm and willingly. In short, Valus became his own. In the circus, this is perhaps the most important thing. The circus is not a place of work, it is one big family, where there are no other people’s problems, where loyalty is valued, where team cohesion decides everything. One wrong support, a mistake in your partner’s insurance, and disaster will happen. There are no small things in the circus. That’s why the devoted boy quickly became a member of the team. Valus not only ran to the store for groceries. He watched the rehearsals and then tried to repeat what he saw. How he liked acrobatics! He tried, it didn’t work, they helped him with a smile, and in fact, soon something really started to work out. “Just don’t think, Valus, that you can find yourself in the circus without improving your studies,” his circus friends told him now. – You need to pull yourself up, we know that your grades are bad. The circus word became a law for Dikul. He already considered himself a member of the team, and could not let him down. In the orphanage, where they already knew about his circus passion and did not search with the police, they were simply amazed. Dikulis, a C-student who had a bunch of penalties for his behavior, turned into almost an excellent student. The teachers just shrugged their shoulders - why didn’t you study before?.. The answer to this question was simple - he didn’t understand why he needed it. Now that there was a big goal ahead - the circus, it was a completely different matter. “We’ll work for you,” the circus people promised him, seeing that the guy was serious. – The commission will come and we will show you. The commission, having looked at the boy, said that it was a little damp, but we would accept it. It turned out that they simply did not want to upset the young man. Perhaps they did the right thing without causing mental trauma. Only later, when neither a month nor two later the call came, Valus stopped waiting for him. Only he didn’t change his decision at all. Quite the contrary. He continued to train. The decision to become a circus performer was firm. He didn’t see himself in any other profession. And then one day, when the carriage arrived, Dikul was lucky. In one of the numbers where they “worked bamboo” (a circus genre where tricks are performed on an apparatus in the form of a 4-meter pole, suspended by a standard from the dome and dynamically describing circles - editor's note), an aerialist was needed. The circus people proposed the candidacy of Dikul, who knew him well. They reviewed it and liked it. He was captivated by his fearlessness - the director of the performance told him to climb onto the apparatus, and then jump down from a height of three or four meters into the safety net. Without hesitation, he jumped. The road to the circus was open! The decision was made quickly, and without delay the documents from the orphanage were drawn up - the circus became Dikul’s guardian. And immediately - a tour of Lithuania. There was no limit to happiness. But, alas, it did not last long... During the performance of one of the tricks, the fastening of the stem came off. A hard blow hit Dikul on the back, after which he fell from a 13-meter height onto the side of the arena. I didn’t remember how I flew - I lost consciousness in the air immediately after the impact, because the burst wire broke my spine. In general, it was not clear how the person remained alive after such an injury. But a miracle happened - not only was he taken alive to the hospital, but after the operation they realized that Dikul would live. True, it was difficult to argue with the fact of a fractured spine and guaranteed immobility of the lower half of the body, but the doctors told him as soon as he came to his senses that you would live! - And the circus? When can I return to the circus?! The doctor stroked his hand and said: “Valius, you will never have a circus again...” It took Dikul about two weeks to recover from the shock of what the doctor said. But during these two weeks he firmly decided to get back on his feet! Dikul started doing gymnastics. At first, he was categorically forbidden to exercise, since in combination with a compression fracture of the spine there was also a concussion, but then they gave up. The stubborn artist continued to practice anyway. And what’s interesting is that the patients who were lying next to him in the ward also began to study, looking at him. During the time spent in the hospital, Dikul became so strong that he could move on one hand, for example, from a bed to a chair or into a wheelchair. And when he was discharged from the hospital, literally on the third day he drove it to the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions in Kaunas. The director greeted him as if he had known him for a long time - all the newspapers in Kaunas wrote about Dikul, since the misfortune happened right here. So he was already a famous person. “I want to lead an amateur circus group,” said Valentin. – I don’t need a salary, just give me the opportunity to create a children’s circus group! I just need a room where I can work with the children. Two days later, Dikul received management’s consent to create a team. Children from all schools in Kaunas flocked to the House of Culture. Dikul selected 50 people with whom he began to study. And late in the evening, when everyone had left, he studied on his own until exhaustion. At first, when they found him lying motionless in the gym, they were scared, but then they got used to it. Dikul lived in this rhythm for two years. He set himself the task of getting back on his feet by any means necessary. He made himself special crutches, which were higher than usual, in order to hang his body on them. He used these crutches to throw his body from a sitting position on a chair and try to hold on. At first it was possible to do this very rarely, usually a fall followed, then another attempt... Dikul read literally everything about rehabilitation after spinal cord injuries, and he inexplicably obtained most of the information from foreign sources. And this was at a time when there was no concept of “Internet” even in theory, and there was an “Iron Curtain” between the USSR and the West. Where then, you ask?.. Literature was brought by circuses, who often went on tours abroad and for them this curtain was opened. Dikul translated medical books with a dictionary, chose interesting things, combined techniques - in short, he came up with something that did not yet exist. I once read a very precise definition of who makes a discovery. Imagine that everyone knows for sure that this is impossible to do. But one person doesn’t know this. So he makes a discovery. Dikul’s situation was similar: he knew that it was impossible to start walking normally with his legs after a compression fracture of the spine. But I didn’t believe it. This gave him the opportunity to make a discovery. He realized that he could use other muscle groups to move his legs, rather than trying to “revive” a paralyzed one. The basics of his technique were such that certain movements needed to be done using counterweights, not weights - this is how he moved “hung” on crutches, while developing an impulse command for the so-called deep muscles, which would begin and ultimately perform the function of moving that muscle , which will never work again. “Reprogramming the central nervous system to control the limbs due to compensatory preservation of muscle groups above the level of the block or rupture of the spinal cord on the intercellular innervation” is now the name of his method and doctoral dissertation. There was nothing similar either in our country or in the whole world. But then Dikul was far from becoming a doctor of science and academician. He just wanted to start walking, and then go out into the arena again. Two and a half years of hard work, and Dikul began to walk on crutches. He still couldn’t feel his legs, but he threw his legs out according to his own method and moved around. However, Valentin noticed that an incomprehensible burning sensation appeared in his legs. The attending physician said that this is very good, but that you need to be careful, and if a miracle happens, you need to be prepared for it so as not to go crazy with joy. This happened just during a trip to the Baltic resort town of Nida, where Dikul took his team. He felt bad, weakness came over him, severe pain pierced his legs, and he lost consciousness. When he woke up in the hospital, the first thing he felt was a heaviness in his legs, which he had not felt before for two years and seven months. But now these were his legs again, and not someone else’s, and he could teach them to walk using his own methods.

This is such an amazing story that made Valentin Dikul a legendary man, a legendary doctor and a legendary strength juggler. After he regained his legs, he learned to walk for another two years, and it took the same amount of time to prepare his power routine and enter the arena again in 1969 in a new role. As already mentioned, the circus is miracles. What Dikul did in the arena has never been done by anyone in the world. For example, the trick when he tossed a 40-kilogram ball one and a half meters and then caught it between his shoulder blades was generally fatal. An incorrect calculation and the ball could easily have split the base of the skull. But risk was always countered by precise calculation, and Dikul never made a mistake. The only time he was seriously injured was during a performance, but more on that later. And now let’s return to Valentin Dikul, as a healer, for whom, as already mentioned, dozens of people who needed help traveled to all cities. Dikul is perhaps the only person in the Soviet Union who was made a doctor not by a medical institute, but by himself, popular rumor and the will of the country's leadership. He was a living example that the impossible is possible. He proved this over and over again, putting completely hopeless patients on their feet, and this rumor spread throughout the world, since the circus knew no boundaries even in the USSR. They came from all countries to him in the hope that he would give them legs. He always helped to the fullest. Most likely, it was the flow of foreign citizens that forced the Ministry of Health to allocate Dikul room in the inpatient unit of city hospital No. 19. Perhaps the doctors who reported to the Ministry of Health about Dikul’s method also played a role. Now no one can say this for sure, only in Moscow hospital No. 19 a unique Dikul unit appeared, which existed there for more than six years. And in 1988, this is what happened. A government motorcade of several cars with flashing lights drove up to the hospital, alarming the entire management of the medical institution. None other than Boris Grigoryevich Pashkov, assistant to Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov, a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, arrived. Ryzhkov instructed his assistant to personally see who this Dikul was, about whom foreign guests of the Kremlin, whom he treated, asked him. A few days after this unexpected visit, Dikul was summoned to the Kremlin. People gathered in the hall who, as it turned out, were heads of such structures as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the State Committee for Labor - in a word, all the ministers from the necessary departments. “You know this man,” said Ryzhkov, although none of those present knew him. – This is Valentin Ivanovich Dikul. Write an order - this was already an appeal to the secretary - “Open a rehabilitation center for patients with spinal cord injury and the consequences of cerebral palsy. Appoint Valentin Ivanovich Dikul as director of the center. Within three months, provide a building for the opened center, provide the Ministry of Finance with funds for repairs and staffing units in accordance with the job descriptions developed by the State Labor Committee. Appoint Boris Grigorievich Pashkov as responsible.”

This is how things used to be done! It was impossible not to do anything - Boris Pashkov personally monitored the state of affairs twice a week. To this day, the Dikul Center in Ostankino is the only hope for many to get back on their feet and find movement. He lives here in the good old days, where seriously ill patients are treated completely free of charge, where there is the most modern equipment for rehabilitation: physiotherapy rooms, a full-size swimming pool, once built for training the Olympic reserve, but most importantly - halls with unique equipment made according to drawings maestro. And, of course, Valentin Dikul himself. He spends the whole day at work - visiting patients, working with methodologists, constantly improving gyms in an attempt to expand working areas, which have long been lacking. Dikul even has a project for a new building of 17 thousand square meters. meters, and there was an opportunity to build it, and there was money, but... more on that another time. “We help the most seriously ill patients, of which there are many,” he says. – However, there are very large-scale tasks, such as prevention of the entire population of Russia. Many people are now treating the spine, but if it were possible to organize prevention for the entire population, that would be wonderful! And we have developed such methods. After all, diseases of the spine also lead to diseases of the internal organs, and people sometimes suffer from disability not because of injuries, but because of an incorrect attitude towards their spine. Here come hernias, and destroyed discs, and as a result there is a real prospect of loss of movement. In most cases, this can be avoided; it is enough to practice according to our methods, and you can do it at home, on your own and completely free of charge. “Youth is not in years, but in strength!” - this is the motto that greets everyone who enters the center of Dikul. This has been proven throughout his life.

Is he a happy person? We can confidently say yes! He has a wonderful family: his wife Zhanna and little son Valya. He already has a grandson, also Valya, who was given to him by his eldest daughter Anya. His whole life's work is to give people joy. And it doesn’t matter where - in the circus or within the walls of your rehabilitation center. This has been happening for many years. Dikul demonstrated an amazing combination of physical strength, truly heroic, and spiritual strength more than once. It turns out that in 2002, during a performance, he received the second injury in his life, breaking the radius with his unreal weight. How did this happen? Well, here is another proof of how dangerous the circus is. It worked 100 times, but on the 101st, a small mistake and... an injury. But the trouble did not come with a broken arm. The doctors, who performed the operation over the course of several hours, gave him anesthesia that could only be safely administered for half an hour. As a result, the retina of the right eye was damaged and the eye stopped seeing. Medical error, as Sasha Myasnikov told me in an interview, is in first, second, and third place. However, Valentin Ivanovich is trying to restore his vision, and I would not be surprised if he succeeds. It's generally full of surprises. Dikul gave me a book about himself, but when I opened it, I didn’t see the dedicatory signature. I won’t lie, I was somewhat disappointed, but I understood the master’s idea as soon as I reached the middle, where the photographs were placed. On the first of them it was written: “To Sergei from Valentine.” And the signature is Dikul. When the topics seemed to be exhausted, suddenly Valentin Ivanovich took out and handed me a folder with constituent documents. "Theater of Power of Valentin Dikul." A new project, so interesting that it takes your breath away! After all, everything that Dikul does is essentially his theater, where physical strength, spiritual strength and mental strength always win. There must be such a theater. During the time spent at the center, I noticed the main thing - Dikul loves not just his work, he loves people, and they answer him in kind. Even his bass voice is filled with kindness and, of course, jokes. The long corridor on the second floor leading to his office is lined with tubs of strange plants, the names of which are known only to the woman who looks after them - I don’t remember them. But I remembered something else - they were all alive, not artificial, and they were all donated by people who had once been here: for treatment or simply came to visit. The workers who are constantly building and repairing something in the center call it “Ivanovich” in their own way. And in this purely Russian appeal to the mighty Lithuanian Valentinos Dikulius, there is probably the highest degree of trust, true people’s love and truth.

Sergey Kirichenko

Instead of an afterword

For decades now, Valentin Dikul has been spending almost all his time in the center every day. It’s rare on a Saturday or Sunday that you can’t find his car in the parking lot, which means he made it home after all. Even when he is not caring for patients, he is either working on the creation of new trainers and his magic compounds, or is involved in the constant remodeling of premises to improve the efficiency of work areas, which have long been sorely lacking. There is only one Dikul, but there are thousands of people who need his help. Even his birthday on April 3, he devotes himself entirely to work, turning it into an amazing theatrical performance for his patients. A huge hall of hundreds of square meters, where on ordinary days classes are held with patients, from where hundreds of kilogram exercise equipment are inexplicably taken out, will turn into a concert venue.

The main guests at this celebration are Dikul’s current and former patients. The doors of the center are open to everyone on this day. The concert lasts almost 6 hours, during which guests learn amazing stories. After all, many of the artists who come to see him on his birthday used to be his patients, but now they dance, sing, perform acrobatic acts and have forgotten that today they might not be able to use their legs at all.

As in any performance with elements of circus art, miracles are sure to happen on April 3rd. 2021 was no exception. A blind girl who did not move, did not speak and was tightly confined to a wheelchair gave a whole speech at the festival, and then stood on her own two feet. And even though little could be understood from what she said, even if she stood on her own for only a few seconds, but several months before, looking at her, it was impossible to believe that a miracle would happen, which hundreds of guests saw.

Among the guests of the holiday were representatives of the Russian State Circus, representatives of the Mediaflex-Ascona company, the Latvian cultural attaché with his charming wife and dozens of Valentin’s circus friends who never miss this holiday.

Dikul is also preparing a pleasant surprise for our readers. He not only comes up with unique designer training exercises, but also creates special training complexes for those who, for one reason or another, cannot attend classes in the gym, for example, for the elderly. We will soon begin publishing these complexes, with drawings and detailed descriptions of their implementation schemes, here and in our magazine. And for those enterprises that will be included in the industry program, Valentin Dikul will develop a separate system that will help workers keep their spine healthy until old age. These are our joint plans. Good health to you, dear Valentin!