Sally Child

Podiatrist
BPodiatry(Honours) MSM
OPSMC since April 2001

Sally Child is head of the podiatry department at Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre. She was awarded a first class honours and won the Young Investigator’s award at the Victorian Podiatry Conference in 2000. Sally worked in Perth for 18 months before joining the Olympic Park team in 2001.

Sally’s practice interests include: Lower limb biomechanics and footwear technology. She also has a special interest in Australian Rules Football, track and field athletics, recreational running and the treatment of children.

More recently Sally completed her Master of Sports Medicine (by Research) at the University of Melbourne. Her research focused on Achilles tendinopathy and the mechanical behaviour of the Achilles tendon in running athletes. Her main findings were published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2010

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Podiatry with Honours
• Master of Sports Medicine (High distinction)

Involvement with Teams and Associations:

Current:

• Richmond Football Club
• Australian Ballet School
• Liaises with Little Athletics Victoria and PGA

Past:

• Victorian Bushrangers Cricket
• Perth Wild Cats Basketball
• AIS hockey

Professional Memberships:

• Member Australian Podiatry Association
• Member Sports Medicine Australia (SMA)
• Member Australasian Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine  

Personal sporting experience:

• Competed for Boxhill Athletics Club for 8 years
• Victorian underage athletics team member competing at national level 1991 - 1994
• Australian underage 4 x 100m record
• Captain of Sport at Camberwell Girls Grammar School 1994.

Professional conferences & appearances:

• Perth Podiatry Conference 2000
• Victorian Podiatry Conference 2000 & 2006
• National Podiatry Conference 2007 (poster presentation)
• Victorian Sports Medicine Conference 2002 & 2003
• National Sports Medicine Conference 2008
• Lecturer for Post Graduate Certificate in Lower Limb Anatomy 2009 & 2010
• National Sports Medicine Conference 2010 (poster presentation)
• Various lectures to sports physiotherapists, doctors, coaches and sporting groups

Publications

• "Mechanical Properties of the Achilles Tendon Aponeurosis Are Altered in Athletes With Achilles Tendinopathy" Child et al; The American Journal of Sports Medicine 2010, Vol. 38, No. 9, 1885-1893