The FIFA 11+ warm-up program is effective in reducing the rates of injuries in elite male basketball players.

Minimally invasive techniques for hallux valgus correction include arthroscopy, percutaneous and minimum incision surgery. In the last few decades, several techniques have been increasingly used. We performed a comprehensive search of CINAHL, Embase, Medline, HealthSTAR and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials, from inception of the database to 4 January 2010, using various combinations of the keywords terms 'Bosch', 'PDO', 'percutaneous distal osteotomy', 'SERI', 'percutaneous', 'minimal incision', 'minimum incision', 'minimally invasive', 'less invasive', 'mini-invasive', 'hallux valgus', 'bunion', 'surgery', 'arthroscopy', 'metatarsal' 'forefoot'. Only articles published in peer reviewed journals were included in this systematic review. Several new techniques are available for minimally invasive correction of the hallux valgus. Minimally invasive correction of the hallux valgus may provide better outcome for patients who would not recover well from traditional open approaches, because of decreasing recovery and rehabilitation times, as surgical exposure and deep tissue dissection are smaller and gentler to the soft tissues. Data are lacking to allow definitive conclusions on the use of these techniques for routine management of patients with hallux valgus. Given the limitations of the current case series, especially the extensive clinical heterogeneity, it is not possible to determine clear recommendations regarding the systematic use of minimally invasive surgery for hallux valgus correction, even though preliminary results are encouraging. Studies of higher levels of evidence, concentrating on large adequately powered randomized trials, should be conducted to help answer these questions.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and preliminary clinical results of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for treating chronic plantar fasciitis. Methods Fourteen consecutive patients with chronic plantar fasciitis receiving three injections of PRP into the plantar fascia were assessed 12 months after the procedure. The modified Roles and Maudsley score and a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain were used to evaluate the clinical results. Results According to criteria of the Roles and Maudsley score, at 12 months of follow-up, results were rated as excellent in nine (64.3 %), good in two (14.3 %), acceptable in two (14.3 %) and poor in one (7.1 %) patient. VAS for pain was significantly decreased from 7.1±1.1 before treatment to 1.9±1.5 at the last follow-up (p<0.01). Conclusions In this single-centre, uncontrolled, prospective, preliminary study, results indicate that treating chronic plantar fasciitis with PRP injections is safe and has the potential to reduce pain.

Osteoid osteoma is a benign tumour in young adults. The clinical manifestations are generally typical nocturnal pain that prevents sleep and that is alleviated with aspirin. When the typical clinical and radiological features are present, diagnosis is not difficult. Problems in the differential diagnosis may arise in connection with an unusual location. We report on the clinical features, radiographic and histopathological findings, treatment, and results of four patients who were managed for an intra- or juxta-articular osteoid osteoma at our medical centre between 2000 and 2002 and in whom the initial diagnosis was erroneous and delayed from 1 to 10 years. In order to remove these lesions, we performed a CT-guided en block retrograde resection under arthroscopic control for juxta-articular osteoid osteomas (knee) and an arthroscopy-assisted en block antegrade resection in two cases of intra-articular osteoid osteoma (elbow and shoulder). None of the osteoid osteomas recurred in the follow-up period, and each patient got relief from pain.

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