Posts

Book your place on June’s MSK Workshop

/in /by

This weekend the Firefly MSK Workshop takes place in Central London. The event is proving increasingly popular among podiatrists seeking to up-skill in the area of MSK and biomechanics.

With continued demand for more Firefly MSK educational events, the next workshop has been scheduled for 29th of June and you can book your place now.

BOOK NOW

The worskhop is highly practical with lots of hands on learning and covers the following topics:

  • Evidence-Based Practice – Alignment Vs Force
  • MSK Assessments
  • Prescription Writing

We held our first workshop in Firefly’s head office in Sligo last October where podiatrists from across the UK, Ireland and further afield attended. You can read the review from that workshop here.

CPD ACCREDITED

The workshop is fully CPD accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

SMALL CLASS SIZE

To ensure you get the most from the workshop and to maximise your time, places on the workshop will be limited and allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. The workshop is highly practical with lots of hands-on learning so small class sizes are required.

Tickets for Firefly’s London MSK Workshop are Live!

/in /by

Firefly’s next MSK Workshop is scheduled for March 2nd in Central London. Build your confidence in the area of musculoskeletal podiatry with our one day practical workshop and learn how to treat complex foot and ankle pathologies.

Read more

Firefly MSK Workshop Report

/in /by

13 podiatrists from across the UK and Ireland and one from Latvia travelled to Sligo for a full-day musculoskeletal (MSK) workshop at Firefly’s offices recently, with the goal of learning how to achieve better patient outcomes.

For podiatrist whose caseload may not regularly see them treat patients with MSK pathologies, biomechanics can seem daunting. With this in mind the Firefly workshop was designed to develop the attendees understanding of how to assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate a appropriate MSK treatments.

Sports Podiatrist, Adam McIlwaine kicked off the morning session with some podiatric theory as a grounding before he demonstrated a number of key clinical MSK assessments.

The group then explored movement patterns and fundamentals of gait analysis with Adam. A topic he excels at from his professional clinical experience treating elite level athletes including his work with Ulster Rugby.

In the afternoon, Martin Mc Geough lead a discussion on prescription writing for custom made foot orthoses, offering his pearls of wisdom on how to effectively prescribe for common pathologies.

Extended Scope MSK Podiatrist, Greg Gillanders has a special interest and extensive experience in the field of bracing therapy. He led a discussion on AFO rehabilitation and demonstrated Plaster of Paris casting for bracing therapy.

The day drew to a close with Firefly podiatrist Sarah O’Connell working through a number of case histories as a re-cap and theoretical application of the day’s learning.

If you wish to find out more about Firefly’s future MSK training opportunities, join our workshop mailing list.

Join The Mailing List

Eileen Dolan: Heel Pain Treatment – Cortisone, PRP or Botox A

/in /by

It’s estimated 20% of patients who present at podiatry clinics complain of heel pain; a perfect reason as to why you need to watch Eileen Dolan’s Firefly Summit rapid-fire presentation.

Confusion Treating Plantar Pain

Discover why there is a school of thought suggesting plantar fasciitis should be categorised as two separate conditions.  With a myriad of treatments available, coupled with a lack of consensus from guidelines on how plantar fasciitis should be treated, Eileen explores injectable treatments, providing a systematic review of botox and PRP.

Key Concept

Despite the many treatment options available to the podiatric practitioner, Eileen says that 80% of plantar fasciitis conditions resolve within 12 months with conservative therapies – when the patient follows prescribed strengthening and conditioning exercises.

 

About Eileen Dolan

 

Eileen Dolan is an Advanced Podiatrist within the Orthopaedic ICATS team in the Western trust. She also works in a private practice in the neighbouring county town of Enniskillen specialising in MSK and Orthopaedics.

Eileen has an MSc in Advancing practice with postgraduate qualifications in Biomechanics, Diabetes and Vascular disease. She is a member of regional special interest groups for ICATS, MSK and Rheumatology.

ABOUT THE FIREFLY SUMMIT 2017

When we designed the Firefly Summit 2017 we wanted to create a podiatric event like no other. We invited 11 female and 10 male speakers to Sligo. Selected for their expertise and hands-on experience, these top clinicians collaborated on topics to deliver world-class podiatric presentations communicating their ‘clinical gold’ to the Summit delegates.

It wasn’t all podiatric talk. To keep things interesting, all 200 delegates and speakers immersed themselves in the beauty of the wilds of Ireland’s north west coast, taking part in surfing, hiking, stand up paddle-boarding and seaweed baths – WOW!

Don’t miss out!

Interested in finding out more about Firefly’s products and industry leading technical support? Click or tap the button below.

Discover the benefits of Firefly

Katherine Cook: Leg Length Differences: Measurement and Pressure Plate Analysis

/in /by

We progress to the seventh of our #FireflySummit rapid-fire presentations with physiotherapist Katherine Cook taking the stage. Katherine specialises in biomechanics, 3D motion analysis systems (CODA) and accelerometer.

Her presentation explores critical assessment of patients for leg length discrepancy [LLD] and whether any such difference is clinically relevant.

LLD have been linked to patellofemoral pain and knee osteoarthritis. Addressing LLD has been found to improve back pain and relationships have been found between LLD and gait deviations.

About Katherine Cook

Katherine graduated as a Physiotherapist from the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1999. After completing Junior and Senior posts in Portsmouth she moved to London and started her PhD at Kings College, London. Her biomechanical research involved comparison of 3D motion analysis systems (CODA) and accelerometry, particularly focussing on age related changes and factors associated with dynamic balance and falls.

Katherine completed her PhD in 2008 and returned to clinical work in the private sector. She began working for the MOD in 2008 and continues to enjoy working as a biomechanical specialist. Katherine ‘s life consists of trying to work like she doesn’t have children and bringing up the children like she doesn’t work.

ABOUT THE FIREFLY SUMMIT 2017

When we designed the Firefly Summit 2017 we wanted to create a podiatric event like no other. We invited 11 female and 10 male speakers to Sligo. Selected for their expertise and hands-on experience, these top clinicians collaborated on topics to deliver world-class podiatric presentations communicating their ‘clinical gold’ to the Summit delegates.

It wasn’t all podiatric talk. To keep things interesting, all 200 delegates and speakers immersed themselves in the beauty of the wilds of Ireland’s north west coast, taking part in surfing, hiking, stand up paddle-boarding and seaweed baths – WOW!

Don’t miss out!

To keep up to date on all Summit news and to get direct notifications to your inbox, complete the form below!

Discover the benefits of Firefly

Bartold Biomechanics Seminar

/in /by

Firefly is attending the Simon Bartold Seminar on the final day of the 2016 College of Podiatry conference at the Lough Erne Resort in Co. Fermanagh.

Martin McGeough and Greg Gillanders are representing both Firefly Orthoses Ltd and Firefly’s Foot & Ankle Clinics.

Bartold Biomechanics

Simon Bartold

Simon Bartold is a renowned name in the field of Biomechanics, his seminars regularly sell out around the world.  Beginning his careers as a Podiatrist and sports researcher in Australia, he now works alongside Asics as an international research consultant.

Bartold is well known for his stance against ‘minimalist’ or barefoot running and has played a role with Asics in the production of gender specific running shoes.

Simon’s seminar at the Northern Ireland conference is titled The Dynamic Athlete Assessment Protocol. Simon’s website, Bartold Biomechanics, describes the seminar as:

taking a unique and very hands-on approach to the assessment of the injured athlete, this seminar will give you the tools to change the way you assess and treat your patients. If you feel trapped in outdated models of static assessment, if you really want to learn new and relevant techniques that will immediately challenge the way you practice, this seminar is an absolute must. 

The seminar is an all-day event and will bring the 2016 conference to a close.  Thank you to everyone who called by the Firefly Orthoses stand at this year’s conference.

The next event Firefly Orthoses will attend is the Foot Health 2016 conference in Kettering on June 21st and 22nd. Hope to see you there.