Validation for Cortisone in plantar heel pain?

I must admit I have been far from convinced about either the evidence for, or the efficacy of, infiltration of corticosteroid for plantar heel pain. however a brand new study seems to provide some pretty good evidence to the contrary...

Use of Primary Corticosteroid Injection in the Management of Plantar Fasciopathy. Is It Time to Challenge Existing Practice?

The Foot and Leg in Sport: New chapter up.

This is important stuff, and if you hope to understand sports injury, this is the background information you need to diagnose and treat. Get into it!

Using Ultrasound for imaging lower limb stress fractures

Today a very interesting précis of a new diagnostic investigation for stress fracture.. Ultrasound. Cheap, easy, non ionising, and specific.

We all know that stress fractures are best imaged by isotopic bone scan, CT scan, or even better MRI right? Wrong, the old is new technique of diagnostic ultrasound is rapidly gaining traction as a relaible early diagnostic technique for stress fracture.

Evolutionary Aspects of Human Exercise – Born to Run Purposefully

Let me commend this paper by Mark Mattson to you. Take the time to read and understand the consequences of exercising.. or not!

The take home message of this article can be appreciated from the following few sentences in which I comment on daily life in modern societies.

Research update: genetic expression and exercise

If you want to understand the effect of exercise on diseases like diabetes, and its effect on muscle and fat cells, this a MUST READ

Exercise promotes health, reducing most people’s risks of developing diabetes and growing obese. But just how, at a cellular level, exercise performs this beneficial magic — what physiological steps are involved and in what order — remains mysterious to a surprising degree.

More evidence for genetics in Achilles tendon injury.

I have for some time been reporting on the genetic basis if injury, and perhaps recovery. In particular, there is mounting evidence for the involvement of the COL5A1 gene. Here are a few recent papers reinforcing this important concept.

The COL5A1 gene and Achilles tendon pathology

The Comprehensive Description of Stress Fractures: A New Classification System.

Finally.. something to hang our hats on!

The Comprehensive Description of Stress Fractures: A New Classification System

Today's breaking news..

Domhnall MacAuley is the Primary Care editor for the British Medical Journal.

So.. when he says "“Although they are trendy money spinners, best evidence shows little effectiveness”—An attention grabbing subheading to an editorial by Nic Maffulli in the BMJ commenting on an intriguing randomised controlled trial (RCT) from New Zealand on the use of autologus blood injections in treating Achilles tendinopathy. It doesn’t work.

It might be time to pay attention! Read the full story here.