Rebecca Rushton

Podiatrist

Rebecca Rushton is an Australian podiatrist with 32 years of experience. She has a special interest in the cause, prevention and treatment of foot friction blisters in athletes, a seemingly basic injury, but one that is vastly misunderstood. This special interest stemmed from her own blister struggles and culminated in the popular Blister Prevention website and BlisterPod brand.

Rebecca is considered a leader in this space, providing foot care at 6-day ultramarathons; co-authoring 2 recent journal articles, and educating podiatrists and sports medicine professionals on blister management for many years.

Modernising Blister Prevention: A Practical Evidence-Informed Framework for Podiatrists

Foot friction blisters are common, painful and often underestimated. Yet prevention advice in clinical practice still tends to rely heavily on taping, padding, footwear and general “anti-rubbing” advice. This presentation reframes blisters as a predictable mechanical injury of the skin, rather than an unpredictable nuisance to be endured.

Using an evidence-informed framework, we’ll translate blister research and relevant material science into practical clinical decisions podiatrists can use when preparing patients for athletic events and other blister-provoking activities. The session will cover how to predict likely blister locations, how to match prevention strategies to specific anatomical sites, and how common approaches such as taping, lubricants, socks, padding and other well-known strategies fit within a modern prevention plan.

Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of why blisters occur and recur, why some commonly recommended strategies fail, and how to provide more targeted, practical and evidence-informed blister prevention advice in podiatry practice.