Affordable treatment

Hi, This is probably a long shot but... has anyone out there any ideas about how or where I can get affordable treatment for chronic running injuries?Im held up at the moment by calf and achilles injuries but cant afford to go to a specialist clinic. Thanks

A referral to an NHS physio should be your first port of call, Shazza. Many of them are very interested and very knowledgeable about sports injuries. You can also get biomechanical assessments and orthotics via the NHS in most areas, but where I work the waiting time for the initial consultation is over 6 months.

Some major orthopaedic units have sports physicians, but again there's a long wait for an appointment and it's a bit of a waste of time if you already know more or less what's wrong with you and what caused it and just want treatment.

A good osteopath will assess you thoroughly, give you treatment and advice, and be honest about how many sessions you need rather than keeping dragging you back with little benefit. Expect to pay £30-40 per half-hour consultation, but if you only need four ou five sessions it's worth every penny.

Cheers, V-rap.

Shazza - where do you live ?

You can get a video gait analysis AND custom made orthotics if needed for a total of £35 at Salford University's Department of Podiatry, Fredrick Street, Manchester - 0161 295 2207 - if you let the students (fully supervised) use you for learning on!

The students aren't back til October but you need to register asap as there's a waiting list.

Sorry its taken me some time to reply,Ive been away, but thanks to both of you.I think first I need to see my Gp as im in pain most of the time and running is out of the question. Then I think Manchester might be a good idea as Im in need of a long term solution.Cheers!

Shazza, I am adding my two pennyworth to V-Rap's recommendation about osteopaths. I swear by mine.