Now the Football World Cup is here England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is eager for injured striker Wayne Rooney’s fractured metatarsal to heal quickly so he can get him off the bench and onto the pitch scoring goals.
However, of the 22 million people in the UK suffer from sports injuries per year, a quarter are forced to give up sport altogether.
A serious foot injury caused former tennis champion Martina Hingis to quit the game at 22 for 3 years and Paula Radcliffe missed the Common Wealth Games and The London Marathon this year because she was having an operation on her foot. On average 3 million people regularly participating in sport will need hospital treatment for their injuries, while 1.5 million take at least 6 days off work to recover.
As part of this year’s Feet for Life Month the Society of Chiropodists & Podiatrists are launching their ‘Healthy Feet for Sporty Soles’ campaign to give sportsmen and women some helpful foot care advice on how sports injuries can be avoided by looking after your feet properly.
Mike O’Neill of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, says a lot of sporting injuries can be easily avoided if sports people pay more attention to preparation and recovery techniques as well as making sure they wear the correct shoe for each sport and surface:
“Getting the right shoe is as important as any other piece of sporting equipment. It really cuts down on the likelihood of suffering a sports related injury - after all you wouldn’t buy a cricket ball if you were playing golf!
“I would advise anybody actively participating in sports who starts to feel pain in the foot, knee, ankle or heel to seek the advice of a podiatrist as soon as they can. Persevering through the pain will only put further stress on the injury and cause long term damage which can spell the end of a sporting career.”
To give sportsmen and women a head start, Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists have put together five ‘top tips’ on how to avoid injury when playing sport:
Top Tips to avoid sports injuries:
1. Choose the correct shoe for each sport, and make sure it fits!
2. Warm up and cool down with stretching exercises
3. Wear only good quality, well fitting socks
4. Practice good foot hygiene - only wear clean socks and keep toe nails trimmed
5. See a podiatrist if foot pain is prolonged
The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists have launched a practical foot care guide called Sporty Feet, which offers in-depth information for sportsmen and women on how best to look after their feet when playing sports (including football, cricket, cycling, dancing, golf, tennis, rugby, running and walking) in conjunction with this year’s Feet for Life campaign and is available FREE in all clinics and to the public.
Click here for more information and advice on sporty feet.
For members of the press
For further information, case studies or to arrange an interview with Mike O’Neil, Society spokesperson, please contact:
Tina Davies - External Relations Assistant on 0845 450 3739
Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
Soc Chiropodists & Podiatrists 6-Jun-2006
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