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What’s your Achilles heel?

By Brad Smith
March 17, 2010 at 7:00 pm

As the English public recovers from the world-shattering news that David Beckham is unlikely to go to the World Cup this year – even the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy has an opinion on the subject – I thought it would be interesting to explore what your achilles heel is and how you can treat it if it needs first aid.

Foot being bandagedYour achilles heel is a tendon which links the calf muscle to the heel bone. If it ruptures – as with what happened to David Beckham this week – it can be very painful and require surgery. As a first aider, for an injury of this scale, you need to get them to hospital for X-Rays and possibly surgery. As an interim measure, you can administer rest, ice, comfortable support and elevation. I described the process when I told you RICE has it’s uses in cricket – watch the video, it’s still excellent advice!

A weakness or weak point that leads to downfall can also be known as an Achilles heel, as fabled in Greek mythology. My Achilles heel is my love of music. It costs me a fortune. What’s yours?

Image © British Red Cross/ Layton Thompson


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