Pain and Injury

Have you done yourself a bit of a mischief when at the gym or training, or having pain that is occurring for an unknown reason?

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I'm not sure what I need?

Sports injuries is one of a number of terms used to describe trauma caused by increased muscular loading or a repetitive action. Other terms that may be used are musculoskeletal, biomechanics, MSK or sports podiatry but they essentially mean the same thing. An injury that usually affects the soft tissue of muscles, tendons, fascia, nerves and ligaments may be the underlying cause. Weakness in a particular muscle group can also lead to compensation of another ... but why?

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Muscles generally work in pairs, one muscle pulls one way another pulls in the opposite direction. When bending your knee your hamstrings will pull, when straightening it again your quadriceps will pull, but it doesn't stop there. The quadriceps will 'fight' against your hamstrings to control the speed of the pull and vice versa. If one group is weak, it will not only affect one action but both, reducing stability and leading to increased strain and pain.

Foot pain and beyond

As podiatrists we are specialists in dealing with foot pain, but our biomechanical expertise stretches far further. Further up the body that is! We look at everything when analysing your walking gait - even your shoulders and arm swing can guide us. We check all your joints from the hips to your toes and test the strength and flexibility of any muscle that may be involved. A complete assessment is undertaken to find the root cause of pain/discomfort, whether it is a nerve impingement (like sciatica), a muscle strain, a ligament sprain or something else, and there are hundreds of conditions that could cause your problem. Did you know there are over 40 causes of heel pain alone....40, and we can help with them all!

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What can help?

The initial concern is for us to reduce the pain. Pain limits your ability to exercise and do the things you love, and without proper treatment the injury will get worse. Stopping doing the things you love isn't an option either, we want you to live your life and not with restriction. To do this an accurate diagnosis of the problem is the starting point. We would then discuss a number of options that would be available for you to get you back on your feet.

Sports injuries are best managed by protecting and rehabilitating. Reducing inflammation, offloading, strapping, instigating healing and building strength and flexibility are key to this process, and sometimes it can take longer than you hoped. We have found in our experience a multi-dimensional approach is the most effective in managing these types of injuries. We therefore offer acupuncture, laser, customised orthotics, taping/strapping, gait analysis, strengthening exercises as well as general advice to help speed up your recovery in a thoroughly thought out plan specific to you.

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Related treatments

Laser

Low level lasers can help with many of conditions that we see in clinic but pain and inflammation caused musculo-skeletal conditions particularly benefit from this treatment.

Laser Laser

Orthotics

We can offer a range of orthotics that will fit in your shoes, whether it is off the shelf or customised specific to you. The purposes of the device may be directed by the podiatrist to reduce load on particular parts of the foot or to help reduce strain on muscles, tendons or ligaments.

Orthotics Orthotics

Strapping or taping

Strapping can be used to support a foot to relieve stress on a particular muscle, tendon or ligament that may be painful. Tape is applied to the foot or leg along the line of the sore soft tissue to reinforce it.

FAQs

Do you need me to bring anything?

Shoes and shorts. We will generally look at the footwear that you would normally be active in to understand if there is a problem that can be rectified from general footwear advice. Shorts or tight leggings are recommended, we will usually watch you run or walk to gauge whether there is an issue. Tight fitting clothing can help us see the movement of the different joints.

How long will an appointment take?

With sports injuries we not only look at the site of pain but we try to understand the cause too. Generally speaking it is more than one factor that can result in pain as the body tries to compensate in different ways. We therefore spend an hour or more with you to diagnose the cause and come up with a comprehensive bespoke treatment plan specifically for you.

Will I be able to get back to activity quickly?

We will always aim to get you back doing the things you love as quickly as possible, that being said some sports injuries take time to heal. We will create a management plan with a multi-faceted approach relying on protective elements like strapping and orthotics to ensure the problem doesn't get worse as well as treatments like laser therapy and acupuncture to help healing. We will always prescribe exercises for you to do at home to build strength and flexibility thereby reducing the risk of recurrence.