Surgical Goals - Sports Injuries Podcast

Triathlon triumph - Lucy Crookston on beating patellar tendon injury

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Episode notes

Tale of a remarkable recovery - talking to triathlete Lucy Crookston who beat the odds to compete in a World Triathlon Finals just 12 weeks after surgery on her torn patellar tendon.

A tri-tastic episode in which we talk all things triathlon with amazing athlete Lucy Crookston. Originally a track specialist at  400m hurdles, she tells us she stumbled on triathlon by chance with no real clue about what she was getting into but after taking part she was instantly hooked, and it became her new obsession. She has gone on to rub shoulder with the best in the world competing in World and the European finals and incredibly one of those appearances was just 12 weeks after surgery for a patellar tendon tear.

She tells us of her long love-hate relationship with her patellar tendon since suffering from the common childhood disease - Osgood Schlatters. Gordon explains more about this painful problem that used to be called 'growing pains' and happens during periods of growth spurt in children and teens. We chat about its effects and how to recognise it in the young.
 
As so often happens though Lucy's most serious injury happened while doing a seemingly innocuous training exercise but she knew immediately what she had done was serious. She tells us how her knee felt at the time and Gordon talks us through her surgery. Lucy's positive approach to life helped her with her recovery and you'll enjoy hearing of her subsequent, emotional appearance a the Europeans just 12 weeks later.

We also learn a lot about triathlon as a sport - breaking it down into its individual disciplines and Lucy has some great tips on how to train and choose the right kit to avoid some of the common injuries that can occur.