Athletic Trainer and Therapist: Sarah Doyle
It has always been my dream to work in the area of sports and exercise medicine and this passion gave me the determination to spend four years studying Athletic Therapy and Training in Dublin City University, where I graduated with a 1st Class Honours degree. I am a member of the Athletic Rehabilitation Therapists Association of Ireland and carry the title " Certified Athletic Therapist and Trainer". My speciality lies in the areas of injury prevention, neuromusculoskeletal evaluation and diagnosis of injuries, acute care of injuries and treatment, rehabilitation and re-conditioning of patients presenting with such injuries.
I have worked with individuals and teams across all sporting disciplines including GAA, rugby, football, hockey, swimming, dancing and athletics and I have traveled to Pisa, Italy where I worked as part of the medical team for the European Baseball Academy.
Since my childhood, sport has played a huge part in my life. Having started as a camogie player while I was in primary school, I soon realised that running was more my thing! I began running at the age of 9 and continue to do so to this day. I currently race at national level and have major ambitions to break on to the international scene in the coming years. As a competitve athlete, I have suffered numerous injuries and performance knocks and I understand the mental frustration and upset it causes.
I fully subscribe to the concepts of professional responsibility and continued professional development and I hope that the patient-centered approach I take in my work will bring you success, whether it is to return to sport at a high level, to ensure that your daily activities are no longer compromised due to injury or to simply provide you with more comfort in daily living. Whatever your treatment goal, I am here to understand it and help you achieve it.
I am delighted to be working in the Priory Clinic, Kimmage and I look forward to working with you on your road to recovery.
Articles by Sarah Doyle
Sarah On Crutches - with George!
Last updated: May 27, 2011
Hi all!! Today I was diagnosed with a stress fracture of my first tarsometatarsal (TMT) joint in my left foot. I am now in an aircast & on crutches for the next 6 weeks with no running or weights. I’m going to tell you a little about the history of my injury and the signs & symptoms. I had a gradual onset of pain during the last week in February. It began as a generalized, dull ache in the dorsal (top), medial (inside) aspect of the foot after running which tended to subside quickly. In mid March, the pain began to localize to the space between my 1st and 2nd metatarsal bones & I started to get shin pain. By the end of the month, the pain in my foot & shin became very sharp & was affecting my sessions. I went to Portugal on warm weather training for 10 days @ the beginning of April & despite only running every second day, the pain in my foot got a little worse. I found it almost impossible to push off my left foot when sprinting & I began to get occasional pain even walking around. The odd time I had a dull, diffuse ache along the medial longitudinal arch (inside arch) of my foot too. I knew myself that something more serious was wrong. During a weights session in April (after I returned home) my left foot gave way on the last rep of an 80kg lunge as I tried to push up. I ended up falling to the ground & bar landed on my neck. I was brought to A&E in the Beacon Hospital and thankfully I had only damaged some muscles in my neck. The doctor decided to do an X-ray & MRI scan of my foot since this was the cause of the accident. The results of my foot X-ray came up completely clear which I wasn’t surprised about as in most cases a stress fracture will not show up in an X-ray but the MRI showed the problem.
The things that aggravated my foot the most were running (especially sprinting), hurdles, weights, putting my foot in to my shoe & taking my R. shoe off with my L. foot. Rest was the only thing that eased it & even then the pain usually returned during my 2nd-3rd session back running. I never have swelling, bruising, redness, numbness, pins & needles or unusual sounds/sensations. I had osteopathy & physical therapy treatment during this time but it only ever gave me temporary relief.
I know myself the reason I put off going to a specialist was because I knew what to expect. As a clinician I felt my injury resembled that of a stress fracture back at the beginning of April but I didn’t want to believe it. This was my first good year back after a serious hamstring injury, I was running very well…things were finally coming together for me & I didn’t want to stop. I had missed the indoor season due to pneumonia and was just dying to get back on track…literally! All along I was having a mental battle with myself….Athletic Therapist versus Athlete…head versus heart…heart was going to win here no matter what. I was quite upset with the outcome of the visit…. one minute I was crying, the next I was laughing & then I was just really angry. A positive attitude was the only way to tackle the injury. My last injury didn’t beat me despite the odds and this one certainly wasn’t going to beat me either. I’m aiming for a late track season now.
12. A Nice Break.
Last updated: August 2, 2011
Friday 22ndJuly – Friday 29thJuly: It’s no wonder I’ve been feeling tired and down the last while....had some blood tests done during the week and the results show that I have low ferritin levels and my body is in a chronically tired state. I’m delighted I know what has been going on for the last while & why I was feeling so terrible. The running season basically finishes on August 7th so after next week I am going to stop training for this year...take a nice break.... recover properly & start back training in September with a BANG. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result = insanity!!!
11. Going Great
Last updated: July 26, 2011
Friday 8th to Friday 15th July: Things just keep getting better and better. I have done two sessions on the track now and everything is going great. I am running strong and while my speed is obviously not at it’s best, my endurance has improved to no end over the last four weeks. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! My left shin has been acting up a little bit but I know myself this is purely related to getting back on track again and increasing the training intensity a little. I’m running in the relay this Sunday and very much looking forward to a good day out on the track. I’ll fill you in on how everything goes next week.
10. On Track
Last updated: July 26, 2011
Friday 1st July to Friday 8th July: This week I was able to challenge myself a little more by beginning some fartlek sessions on the grass and thankfully my foot is holding up just fine. I am still alternating my running days with gym days and rest days to allow my foot optimum recovery time. To be honest I’m surprising myself with my fitness levels...all those bike sessions during my 6-week immobilisation period have definitely helped me to stay physically strong. I can’t wait for next week where I will hopefully be able to begin some light sessions on the track...all going well I’ll be able to run a leg of the 100m relay in the league next weekend.
9. Building Up
Last updated: July 19, 2011
Friday 24th June – Friday 1st July: I spent this week building up my run time to 40 minutes which to be honest was an absolute killer for a sprinter who never had to run over 15-20 minutes!!! My foot is holding up great and I am dying to start back doing some light sessions on the grass next week. I have been thinking more about competing and have decided against racing in the National Seniors – there is no point risking re-injury because I put too much pressure on myself to get back training too hard when my foot is not ready. Instead I am going to focus on some smaller competitions for enjoyment and work towards the indoor season 2012.
8. Great News!
Last updated: July 15, 2011
Friday 17th to Friday 24th June: GREAT NEWS....I got the all clear from the orthopaedic surgeon to go back training. I’m only allowed to jog on grass for the next two weeks but everyone has to start somewhere. My first day back I did a 20 minute jog. I had a generalised sensation in my foot and my ankle felt stiff but no pain at all. I ran every second day this week and did an hour on the crosstrainer or core as maintenance in between the runs. I increased the run time by 2 minutes each day so I am now up to 26 minutes running with no difficulties. The orthopaedic surgeon advised me against racing in any big competitions this year and I had been hoping all along to compete in the National Seniors in early August. I can see I am going to have to get my thinking cap on about this one!
7. Fingers Crossed
Last updated: June 21, 2011
Friday June 10th to Thursday June 16th. Motivation levels seemed to hit an all time low over the weekend as I was feeling a little down in the dumps due to the occasional sensation in my foot while walking around without the boot. The orthopaedic surgeon had said that I could start walking around on it after 4 weeks but maybe I pushed it a little too far?! I hope not. Sessions in the gym have gone fine as usual but I’m just dying to get back running at this stage. I’ve been feeling down and somewhat stressed this week but I know myself its all apprehension ahead of my appointment with the specialist this morning. I’ve assessed my foot myself and am completely pain free on all movements that previously aggravated it. The end of one movement still causes a slight sensation of the 1st TMT joint but I wouldn’t even describe it as a discomfort; just an awareness. I’m hoping to get the all clear to get back running today. At least I could make an appearance at training tonight then I’m expecting to have to go for another MRI scan too to see if the stress fracture has actually healed. If I can return training, I’ll have to take it easy and listen to my body, especially over the next 2 weeks. Fingers crossed all goes well today....wish me luck!
6. Progress!
Last updated: June 17, 2011
Friday June 3rd to Friday June 10th: Seeing as I was feeling a little on the tired side at the end of last week I thought it would be best to take the weekend off training and get back in to the swing of things again on Monday morning. This turned out to be a very wise decision as my sessions were super, in particular for the first four days this week. Seeing as I made my bike sessions more intense last week, I felt it best to squeeze in a low intensity day on the Wednesday to allow my legs some time to recover. So instead of doing the bike, I did an hour steady state on the crosstrainer. This also provided me with the opportunity to test the foot out to a certain extent as well....and the good news....I had no pain...DELIGHTED. Again I felt more tired than usual at the end of the week and a little down in myself...not exactly sure why! Motivation for the gym has become lower as the weeks progress but once I go and get started on the session I feel all the better for it! Bring on next week!
5. A Good Week
Last updated: June 16, 2011
Friday May 27th to Friday June 3rd. YES....more than half way there now...I could not be happier!! This week was great – I felt positive, confident and really well in myself. I stepped it up a notch with the bike sessions and changed my weights routine slightly so all in all this resulted in more satisfaction for me this week. I was feeling more tired than usual at the end of the week but I reckon it’s from the increase in training intensity. My foot felt fine this week too which was a big bonus! Things are starting to look up now thank God.
4. Hard Times
Last updated: June 10, 2011
God I thought this week would ever end (Friday 20th to 27th May )! For some reason my emotions were all over the place…I don’t know whether it was the realisation of how many races I was missing or that I wouldn’t be hurdling at all this summer but I’ve been like an antichrist all week….lets just say I wouldn’t want to have been living with me!!! I didn’t feel myself and even acted like a recluse at times! I found myself tired and unmotivated to do any training because it was so repetitive and boring but once I did the sessions I did feel much better for it . Thankfully, I’m back to myself again and delighted that I’m halfway there…the first 3 weeks have gone quicker than I thought so lets hope that the second 3 weeks goes even faster.
3. Surviving The Worst
Last updated: June 8, 2011
I’ve survived the 2nd week!! This week Friday 13th May to Friday 20th May I went to the AAI Games on Sunday (an event I had hoped to compete in). This had to be one of the hardest things to date as everyone was asking me what had happened, how long I was going to be out for and coaches were telling me that the season was over for me and to forget about it. To be honest, I felt pretty low after I left! Despite the negativity, however, I managed to stay positive all week. My foot has been good this week thank God…only the odd bit of pain here and there. I’m thinking of my injury as resistance training for my mind!!
2. My Left Foot !
Last updated: May 30, 2011
1 week down now! This week (Friday 6th May to Friday 13th of May) was a mix of emotions but I focused on designing a rehabilitation programme for myself that emphasised the things I could do as opposed to the things I couldn’t do. I developed some weights sessions, abdominal sessions and bike sessions to help maintain my strength and fitness and I bought an aqua belt so I could do some running in the water that was impact free. On Monday I made a countdown calendar to the day I was going back to the orthopaedic surgeon (16th of June) and I wrote out a positive quote for every day. It was a frustrating week in terms of getting used to the aircast and crutches and realizing that no matter what I did I have a level of dependence on people. I would have to get used to the idea of asking for help!! My foot was a bit sore from time to time this week.
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