Surgical Goals - Sports Injuries Podcast

The shoulder is an incredibly complicated joint, it has to be to carry out its full range of motion so how realistic was the sight of Mel Gibson famously slamming his dislocated joint into a wall to pop it back in? Shoulder injuries occur for many reasons from direct trauma to wear and tear problems - the correct diagnosis and treatments are crucial to return the joint to health. So if you have ev...

We cover so much in this incredible episode with volleyball superstar - the super motivated Elly Harland. From her unpromising start in the sport, a determined young Elly worked hard, fine-tuning her skills in the US where she eventually represented Texas before moving to Scotland where her talent was soon spotted.  Her career nearly ended before it started though when a ruptured ACL at age 15 lef...

Our latest guest needs little introduction in the world of women's football. At just 16 Lauren Perry made her senior International debut in goals for Northern Ireland. Since then the young player's star has shone brightly taking her to various clubs, Championship League experience, and to winning major awards such as NIFWA Women’s Football Personality of the Year and NIFL Player of the Y...

Over his 40-year career Prof Bill Ribbans has operated on some of the world's best-known sports stars in his capacity as a top sports surgeon.  A friend and mentor for many years to Prof Mackay, it was brilliant to welcome him to the Surgical Goals podcast. Bill has recently encapsulated his 40 years of experience in a must-read book - Knife in the Fast Lane. P art autobiography, part comment...

Brilliant to catch up with former Premier League rugby player Nik Binning and hear his remarkable tale of recovery from serious knee injuries. Nik had already recovered from a bad ligament injury on one knee, only to suffer a multi-ligament dislocation to his left one. With unhappy memories of the first, slow, immobile 9-month recovery Nik tells us how his heart sank at the thought of going throug...

Claire Maxwell, still better known in netball circles by her maiden name Brownie, is one of the finest netball players Scotland has ever produced. Gaining over 90 caps she has been a vital part of making the national squad competitive on a world stage. In this brilliant episode, she chats about what it really takes to become an elite athlete while holding down a  day job, overcoming a serious inju...

It's every football player's nightmare - rupturing your ACL but when Mark Reynolds ruptured his while playing for Aberdeen FC, because the initial pain subsided quickly he didn't realise the extent of the injury. The team physio was worried though and scans revealed the rupture. Find out how Mark found surgery, rehab and recovery. With an incredible football career that began by wal...

We've all done it - rolled an ankle, it's agony, quickly goes an impressive black and blue so you strap it up and sit on the sofa watching boxsets for a couple of days before resuming life and sport as if nothing had happened. But, in this episode we ask, should we all be taking ankle injuries more seriously? In this episode listen in to your very own ankle injury consultation with sport...

Newly appointed National Team Doctor for Scotland's football squad, Dr Jonny Gordon has a special interest in sudden cardiac arrest in sport, he answers all our questions about how and why it can happen in seemingly fit and healthy athletes. When Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's Euro 2021 opener with Finland, the footballing world watched on in horror before cameras cut away...

Today John Kennedy is the highly respected Assistant Manager at Celtic but back when he was just 16 he was the club's rising star and at the age of 20 was called up to play in his first International for Scotland. It was 15 minutes into this game against Romania when a dangerous tackle left him with a devastating knee injury that was to change the course of his career.  In this episode of Sur...

Imagine flying through the air carrying out huge aerial jumps and flips - much like a pro skateboarder but this time the park is covered in icy snow, not concrete. Welcome to the high-octane sport of freestyle skiing and multi-talented athlete Anna Vincenti - who, we should add, is also a top-class football player and now boxer as well. During her ski-career Anna picked up several bad injuries but...

It was such a joy to talk to Scotland rugby legend Chris Paterson and friend and former squad physio Stuart Barton that we could not fit all their amazing stories into one episode. The pair had so many tall tales to tell that we decided to bundle some of the best bits into this short second episode.   So, listen in if you want the lowdown on how Chris handled some of the pressure of top-flight pla...

Former Scotland Captain and rugby legend Chris Paterson and former Scotland and Lions physio Stuart Barton, join us for this episode. Over a long career, Chris was lucky to avoid a lot of injuries but he picked up a couple of serious ones which he talks about here. Stuart was part of the fantastic rehab room team working to get him back to strength. Chris talks to Surgical Goals about his amazing...

Having given your all playing rugby at the highest level and then to find you are at a point where injuries are hampering you and affecting your love for the sport what do you do? Retire gracefully or take up a dangerous new sport and aim to be an Olympian? If you are former England 7s, Exeter Chiefs, and Bedford Blues rugby star Sam Blanchet of course you choose the latter option.   When too many...

Rupturing your ACL can be devastating but it is no longer the career-ending injury it used to be. In this episode, we cover everything you always wanted to know about the ACL - from its function in the knee, how to recognise you have injured yours (which is often trickier than you think) through to getting a diagnosis and choosing the correct treatment.  Professor Mackay explains who can be most s...

Golfer Paul Lawrie talks about the dedication it took to win the Open in 1999 but also how his tough training regime led to a serious ankle problem that eventually threatened to end his career. An opportune meeting with Physiotherapist Stuart Barton in a queue for coffee led to surgery with Professor Mackay and a remarkable recovery which saw him take the win at the Scottish Senior Open in 2019. S...

Our first episode is an introduction to your Surgical Goals host, orthopaedic sports surgeon Professor Gordon Mackay. Along with co-host, broadcaster Jennifer Reoch, they explore his journey from a football-mad youngster with hopes of a professional career to his decision to pick up a scalpel instead. Today returning patients to sport and activities is what drives him and he explains how insights...

Trailer for Surgical Goals - the unique sports injuries podcast hosted by Professor Gordon Mackay, specialist sports orthopaedic surgeon, and broadcaster Jennifer Reoch.  Together we explore the world of sports injury, treatments, rehab, and recovery. We chat with Olympians, weekend warriors sports injury experts, and everybody in between! We cover all sports from football to skiing, golf to rugby...