John:
I've had a look at your draft presentation plan and compared it with mine, Kath, and we seem to have the same basic structure.
John:
We've both included the same three main sections, that's the anatomy of the foot, the injuries and the treatment, and we've organised our presentations in the same way, but the types of sports we've chosen to illustrate the possible injuries aren't the same.
Kath:
I'll deal with the anatomy bit.
Kath:
I've got notes and a handout on that from Professor Gilligan's lecture.
John:
Oh, I was hoping to do that.
John:
I've downloaded some useful stuff.
John:
I do think we should limit this section though.
John:
We don't want to spend much time on anatomy when the main focus is on the treatment.
Kath:
That's true, but in the last section, maybe the two of us could show how some of these therapies actually work.
Kath:
I could be the patient and you could do the treatment.
John:
Good idea, because it's hard to find pictures as injuries are mostly internal.
John:
It would be good to hear some first-hand accounts from injured athletes too.
Kath:
Yeah, but we don't have time.
John:
Should we then discuss different types of heel injury?
John:
It's worth pointing out that these vary enormously in how bad they are.
John:
It might be just a pulled muscle or a bone injury which needs surgery.
John:
Sometimes only an expert can tell the difference.
Kath:
I'll do the slides on that.
Kath:
Leave that one to me.
John:
Now, what about causes of heel injuries?
Kath:
Well, it's easy enough to list them.
Kath:
Overuse, improper footwear.
John:
Yes, incorrect running style.
Kath:
They're all relevant, but for simplicity, let's just pick one cause.
Kath:
Say, stuff about changing your training habits suddenly.
John:
You mean like suddenly doing a lot of mountain training.
John:
Yes, that's a good idea.
John:
And there was research on that in the latest edition of PhysioJournal, wasn't there?
John:
Professor Gilligan recommended it to us.
Kath:
You can leave the bit on stretching techniques to me.
Kath:
I really like all that stuff.
John:
So, what's going to be your approach there?
Kath:
Well, I'll summarize all the various techniques with visual support and then I'll make the point that the stretching should be carefully managed.
Kath:
Obviously, you have to be careful not to overstretch and to stretch only when your muscles are warmed up.
Kath:
Otherwise, you could do yourself more harm than good.
Kath:
It's also important that on a supervised programme, stretching is later on combined with balance exercises, which stretch and also strengthen the muscles.
John:
It's always useful to have some information on case studies at the end, in case we're short of material.
John:
Did you manage to find anything?
Kath:
Yes, a female runner in her 30s talking about her treatment for a swollen heel.
Kath:
Initially, she rested the injury.
Kath:
This did help to reduce the swelling, although it was still a little bit uncomfortable.
Kath:
Then she applied an ice pack to the injury twice a day.
Kath:
Well, she persisted with this treatment for the first month, but decided it wasn't helping.
Kath:
After this period, she was shown how to use deep tissue massage techniques and was surprised at how much freedom of movement this created in her foot.
John:
Wasn't she having ultrasound treatment?
Kath:
Yes, she was having sessions at the hospital, but she remained unconvinced about its value.
Kath:
She felt the same about the balancing exercises she was prescribed.
John:
OK, that's interesting.
John:
I looked at the aftercare program of a male sprinter who was allowed to do some sports activity as part of his rehabilitation.
John:
After four months of treatment, he did some light running on grass, wearing shoes that gave plenty of support to his injured heel.
John:
Well, he found the heel was sore afterwards, and the same happened with some jumping exercises he was asked to try.
Kath:
Did he go to the gym and use weights?
John:
Yes, after a few weeks.
John:
And if he used light weights, he could train without pain.
John:
He also tried cycling and found this beneficial, as his foot was not making contact with the ground.
John:
He expected a similar result with swimming, but found the repetitive kicking motion was actually aggravating the injury.
Kath:
Well, both these case studies have...
