Sports Injury

Because of the competitive nature of sport and the constant need to improve on your personal best, sports men and women are particularly prone to injury.  These injuries could appear trivial to the "man in the street", but to the highly trained athlete, for whom the loss of one tenth of a second in speed makes the difference between gold and silver, these injuries are critical.

At the London Spine Clinic a combined approach to treating these cases is adopted, drawing on several differing disciplines and backgrounds.  The aim always is to get the sportsman or woman back to peak fitness in the shortest possible time and using the least invasive techniques.

The injured athlete may present with a soft tissue muscle or ligamentous injury, requiring the skills of a dedicated osteopath or physical therapist.  Disorders of the spine may require a combination of specific physical therapy, pain-relieving injections or, rarely surgery followed in most cases by a spinal rehabilitation program.  Problems affecting the lower limbs and feet will require specialist podiatric advice, possibly utilising modern splinting techniques to allow normal function to return.

When there are more serious injuries, a combined team approach is used to facilitate a rapid recovery. Surgery, when combined with appropriate prehabilitation and subsequent rehabilitation, can provide the necessary cure, with the minimum disruption to training and competition.

Customised orthoses are provided, when required, to protect the injured part and allow the return of normal movement in a controlled and safe manner.

Are you a runner?

Serious runners, especially distance/marathon runners, should see a podiatrist BEFORE the big event. Prevention being better than cure, it is vital, under the incredible stresses of a distance race, that the feet, the area of the body taking the greatest strain, are appropriately looked after. Any small problem present before a race, can lead to serious difficulties after. For more information visit podiatry at the London Spine Clinic.