Prevent

Biceps tendinitis causes a deep ache at the front of the shoulder, worse lifting and reaching overhead. It usually comes with a rotator cuff problem, and most people get better with a few months of exercise, sometimes helped by an injection.

Most isolated PCL injuries, usually caused by a blow to the front of a bent knee, are treated without surgery using a brace and strong quadriceps work. Surgery is mainly for combined ligament injuries or a knee that stays unstable after rehab.

Morton’s neuroma is an irritated nerve between the toes that causes burning pain and a pebble-in-the-shoe feeling. Most people get better with wider shoes, a metatarsal pad and less squeezing; surgery is kept for pain that lasts beyond 3 to 6 months.

Spondylolisthesis means one vertebra has slipped forward on the one below. Most people manage it well with exercise and activity changes, and surgery is for leg symptoms or weakness that won’t settle.

Metatarsalgia, or ball of foot pain, usually settles within weeks to a few months with better shoes, a metatarsal pad and less impact. If it doesn’t, a Morton’s neuroma or a stress fracture may be the real cause.

SI joint pain sits low in the back on one side, just over the dimple at the top of the buttock. Exercise-based physio is the first treatment, and injections or fusion are only for a confirmed diagnosis that won’t settle.

An epidural steroid injection can ease leg pain from a trapped nerve for weeks to a few months, but for most people the benefit is small and short-lived. It works best as a window to get moving, not as a fix.

A Lisfranc injury damages the midfoot and is often mistaken for a sprain, with up to 1 in 3 missed at first. Stable injuries heal in a boot, unstable ones usually need surgery, and full recovery often takes six months to a year.

Hallux rigidus is arthritis at the base of the big toe, and most people manage it with stiff-soled shoes, inserts and sometimes an injection. When that fails, a cheilectomy suits milder arthritis and a fusion gives reliable pain relief for severe cases.

Gluteal tendinopathy is an overloaded tendon on the side of the hip, and the main cause of what’s often called hip bursitis. It settles best when you stop squashing the tendon and load it with exercise that gets gradually harder, usually over about three months.