At Purus our therapists go through a detailed examination to help diagnose your condition which will help with the treatment and get you back healthy again. Despite being able to diagnose a number of musculoskeletal injuries,  we realise is that certain injuries pop up quite regularly. We recognise that common things are common.  

 

Here Gareth Degg talks about some of the injuries he sees in clinic on a regular basis. When he is not at Athlete Lab, Gareth is working closely with elite Track and Field athletes and recently was the team osteopath at the U20’s European Championships. He works Tuesdays and Thursdays at Athlete Lab in the city. To make a booking with Gareth click here: http://www.purusactivehealth.co.uk/

 

 

High Hamstring Tendinopathy

What is it? A term used for a group of pathologies that affect the hamstring tendon, which is situated at the top of the thigh just under the buttock.

Symptoms: Deep buttock pain, high posterior thigh pain and gets aggravated by repetitive activities.

Causes: Repetitive overload – e.g. Running or Cycling. Also linked to poorly healed hamstring injury can lead to eventual tendinopathy.

 

Plantar Fasciitis

What is it? The Plantar fascia is the tissue running under the foot that helps to form the arch. Pain in and around the heel as a result of dysfunction in this tissue is called Plantar Fasciitis

Symptoms: Sharp heel pain in ground contact, worse after long period of rest. There is often stiffness around the heel and there can be pain running along the sole of the foot.

Causes: Repetitive over-stretching of the plantar fascia is the ultimate cause but there are other factors that can contribute; poor footwear, over-pronation, previous injury and tight calves.

 

Achilles Tendinopathy

What is it? Achilles tendinopathy is injury to the thick, strong tendon that runs from the lower leg into your heel bone.

Symptoms: Commonly feel pain and stiffness at the back of the ankle, very tender to touch the tendon and can often see swelling.

Causes: Overuse of the Achilles tendon, inadequate time for adaption to load, micro tears that have not healed.

 

 

PatelloFemoral Pain Syndrome

What is it? It is a generic term used to describe pain at the front of the knee. It occurs when the kneecap (patella) rubs against the femur lying underneath.

Symptoms: Aching pain in the knee joint, particularly under the patella. Tenderness around the inside of the knee, may experience a audible crack when flexing knee and wasting of muscle around the inside knee.

Causes: Often thought that incorrect tracking of the patella causes rubbing on the femur and this results in irritation or damage to the cartilage under the patella.

 

 

ITB Syndrome

What is it? Iliotibial Band is a thick strip of connective tissue running down the outside of the thigh and connects just below the knee joint. This can become inflamed and can rub and irritate the knee joint.

Symptoms: Pain around the outside of the knee, focused on the bony point of the knee.

Causes: Increased running often highlights the issue, hence the name “Runner’s Knee” but other causes can be related to running technique, weakness/dysfunction around the hip or poor foot mechanics to name just a couple.

 

Stress Fracture

What is it? An incomplete fracture of a bone, also known as hairline fracture of fatigue fracture. Commonly seen in feet, shin, leg and low back.

Symptoms: Generalised area of pain, Tender on the bone, swelling, pain on weight bearing, improves with rest but returns soon into activity.

Causes: Overload into the affected bone, could be increased training, poor load management or faulty mechanics. Poor nutrition can also affect bone health.

 

 

Osteitis Pubis 

What is it? Also known as Pubic Bone Stress Injury, which results in groin pain as the result of problems with the pubic bone at the front of the pelvis.

Symptoms: Often include pain when running, performing sit-ups or doing squat movements. If the issue is severe then gait (walking) mechanics can be altered.

Causes: This is an overuse injury or repeated trauma in the area. This can be result of poor mechanics, unhealed previous injury or poor load management.

 

Rotator Cuff Tear

What is it? This is a tear into any of the four rotator cuff muscles that surround the shoulder complex. They are responsible for rotation of the shoulder and provide stability of the joint.

Symptoms: Can include a sudden pain at onset that can radiate down into the arm associated with a “tearing’ sensation. Chronic cases can include a loss a motion and strength, pain with overhead movements.

Causes: Often sudden overhead movements such as throwing can cause acute onset but more long-term chronic complaints can be the result of long term degeneration in the shoulder joint.