A Plymouth University partnership has enabled a basketball star to step closer to comfort after a long-term foot injury.
Plymouth University Raiders player BJ Anthony visited podiatry lecturer Vasileios Lepesis on 15 October to receive treatment following lower leg pain.
Mr Lepesis observed that, among other factors, the main causes of the pain were a previous stress fracture in the area and an aggravation of an Achilles tendon rupture sustained four years ago.
He also observed that BJ was unable to shock-absorb ground reaction forces after a jump and had chronic ankle instability with some early signs of degenerative changes.
As well as providing useful advice, Mr Lepesis used his expertise to help alleviate the stress overloading and straining the ankle joint as much as possible.
The partnership between the city basketball team and the University enables the players to receive expert treatment from staff and students – not only in podiatry, but also optometry, physiotherapy and, for their marketing needs, events management and media arts.
The University podiatry team sees around four players per year, and Mr Lepesis is hoping its partnership with Plymouth University Raiders will continue to enhance the experience of staff, students and players.
He said: “The partnership is great because what students usually lack is real-life experience, exposure to real case studies. This is immensely important as it contextualises their knowledge and helps to bridge the gap between theory and practice.”
Dave Briggs, Chief Executive of Plymouth University Raiders, said: “It is great to be able to offer players the opportunity to come and access expert medical care at Plymouth University; players benefit from the best treatment possible and we love being able to offer staff and students the chance to get involved.”
