Mike Walton Editor & Author

Mike Hayton specialises in problems of the hand and wrist. His main interest is the management of sports injuries. He routinely treats elite athletes and has a large experience in treating professional sports people. He is now preparing athletes for his 4th Olympic cycle in 2020. He is Honorary Senior lecturer at the Salford University, and the University of Liverppol while his clinical NHS contract is at Wrightington Hospital. He is the managing partner of OrthTeam a specialist MSK group in Manchester. In addition to his surgical qualifications, Mike is a Founding Fellow of the Faculty of Sports Medicine UK. Mike lectures nationally and internationally on hand and wrist problems and has been invited to speak at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) for the last 8 consecutive years.  He is published widely in medical journals and is a keen educator both through the Wrightington fellowship but also through online media.

Che Yew Ng specialises in hand, wrist and peripheral nerve surgery. He has particular interests in the management of brachial plexus injuries, long thoracic nerve palsy, scapular winging and scaphoid injuries. In 2013, he joined the Upper Limb Unit at Wrightington hospital and established a regional nerve service. He holds honorary lectureships at Salford and Edgehill Universities. He is also a member of the OrthTeam. He currently serves as the Council member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH).Following graduation as the gold medallist from Edinburgh medical school, he completed surgical training and obtained fellowship in Trauma and Orthopaedics in 2011. He holds the Diploma in Sport and Exercise Medicine, British Diploma in Hand Surgery and the European Board of Hand Surgery Diploma (Best Performance Award). In 2016 he was awarded the BSSH Stack travelling fellowship. Mr Ng lectures nationally and internationally on peripheral nerve injuries and he publishes regularly in peer-reviewed surgical journals.

Adam Watts is a Consultant Orthopaedic Elbow surgeon at Wrightington Hospital and Visiting Professor at the University of Manchester. He trained on fellowship in Adelaide, Australia and Wrightington, UK. His clinical interests include the treatment of degenerative joint disease, sports injury and trauma, with a focus on arthroscopic techniques and joint reconstruction. Adam works with a number of national sporting organizations, clubs and professional athletes.  He has published extensively on upper limb surgery and talks nationally and internationally.  He is clinical supervisor to a number of PhD students at the University of Manchester.  He is Associate Editor for the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons, and sits on the Editorial Board for the National Joint Registry and Shoulder and Elbow Journal. Adam is Research Lead for Specialist Services at Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust. He is clinical adviser to a several Orthopaedic manufacturers and has designed a number of surgical procedures and implants.

Lennard Funk specialises in arthroscopic (keyhole) and soft tissue surgery of the shoulder. His main interests include the management of shoulder dislocations, frozen shoulder, rotator cuff pathology and sports injuries of the shoulder. He routinely treats elite athletes with a particular interest in  rugby and contact sports. He holds an Honorary Professorship at Salford University and his NHS contract is at Wrightington Hospital. He is also a partner in The Arm Clinic. 

In addition to his surgical qualifications, Prof Funk is a Fellow of the Faculty of Sports Medicine UK and holds a BSc in Sports Physiology and an MSc in Orthopaedic Engineering. He is involved in developing and running postgraduate degrees for surgeons, therapists and sports clinicians in Orthopaedics. Prof Funk lectures nationally and internationally on Shoulder Surgery, Sports Injuries and Medical Informatics. He is published widely in medical journals and a member of many international and national professional organizations. He also trains other clinicians on shoulder ultrasound on regular courses and lectures internationally.

Mike Walton is a specialist shoulder surgeon. His practice incorporates the entire spectrum of shoulder pathology including complex and revision arthroplasty but he has a particular interest in sports injuries of the shoulder girdle.  He routinely treats professional and elite athletes involved in cycling, collision and extreme sports. He was awarded an MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine and is a member of the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (UK). He holds honorary senior lecturer positions at the Universities of Salford and Edge Hill.  Mike is actively involved in research and has published numerous papers in the medical literature. He acts as a scientific reviewer for the NIHR and several national and international journals. He lectures nationally and internationally and is actively involved in the education of future surgeons though a fellowship programme. He advises several implant and technology companies on the design and implementation of novel shoulder surgery solutions. He holds an NHS contract at the internationally renowned centre of excellence for orthopaedic surgery at Wrightington Hospital and is a partner in The Arm Clinic.