As part of the monthly theme we asked for suggestions for themes for the month and the suggestion for June was lower limb/ankle (Thanks Mr Neil Harvey).

Ankles, Calf injuries, shin splints and plantar fasciitis are all conditions of the lower leg and are very common and if you add in ankle sprains you are probably covering most of the conditions that we treat in clinic. The one exception to that is back pain.

Ankle sprains are very common and can be seen in a lot of sporting arenas from football, netball, running and just slipping off a kerb.

Plantar Fasciitis – pain on the bottom of the foot/heel is common and can be seen with people who stand around and in a lot runners. Quite often it is caused by very tight calf muscles which then caused tight achilles and then creating inflammation in the plantar fascia.

We could go on to talk about the multiple conditions but I would end up writing reams and reams on each one.

So, What am i going to do? Over the next 2 weeks we’re going to concentrate on the following areas.

I will give you a little anatomy lesson and then look at causes e.g. netball – achilles and calf and ankle sprains and also look at what you can do to reduce the risk. If you are unlucky enough to get an injury in these areas I will look at what to do initially and what treatment is available.

At the end of the month/beginning of the month I will look at exercises with the help of a glamorous assistant and demonstrate.