Don't roll your eyes at me, I know I'm another voice in the crowd telling you to strength train BUT we have good reason. Although not a cure all and prevention for all injuries (there isn't one), strength training is an excellent supplement to your endurance work (runners looking at you specifically) to help keep pain and niggles away - and we have the research to support this. Working with a lot of endurance athletes, I commonly see injuries that could have been avoided with some considered strength work which is what interested me in doing my S&C (strength and conditioning) qualificatio ..read more

Areas with a high prevalence injury in our endurance athlete population include the plantar fascia, achilles tendon and patellar tendon. With plantar fasciopathy (or plantar fasciitis as it’s more commonly known), becoming classed as tendinopathy-type mechanism of injury, and a group of injuries that we see a lot of in clinic amongst our running and cyclist population, it's not a single bit of a surprise that these are classed as the main injuries in this demographic. Commonly referred to as an 'overuse' injury, I find it more helpful to reframe our poor tendon injuries and explain it as inst ..read more

Medial tibial stress syndrome, commonly known as shin splints, is an injury that many runners fear developing. In reality, shin splints when well managed are easily resolved in most. What is Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome? MTSS is essentially an overuse/repetitive stress injury of the tibia, the larger bone of the lower leg. It results in pain along the inside of the shin bone across a large area, typically the lower third of the tibia. There are many risk factors for the development of MTSS: training load, running experience, BMI, smoking and biomechanical abnormalities are all relevant, and ..read more

“ A Mummy MOT is a 1-Hour specialist postnatal examination for women following both vaginal and C-section deliveries. It has been designed to assess post-partum conditions and how your posture, pelvic floor muscles, respiration and stomach muscles are recovering after birth." Who can benefit from a Mummy MOT? The postnatal assessment is suitable for all mums from six weeks and beyond. However, it's never too late to make an appointment if you are experiencing symptoms. How can a Mummy MOT help? Research suggests that up to 40% of women can still have diastasis (tummy separation) six months af ..read more

What is Dry Needling and how can it help? Dry needling is a technique similar to acupuncture used for the treatment of muscular or myofascial pain. The technique involves specific insertion of filiform sterile single use needles to cause stimulation of a muscle (intramuscularly or from within the muscle). The needles are inserted without any substance being injected into the muscle (hence the term ‘dry’). The needles stimulate neurophysiological mechanisms and causes reflex relaxation of muscles. Overactive muscles, trigger points and muscle pain respond well to dry needling. Dry needling has ..read more

1) Two short videos to help understand pain and the nervous system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUzvSph7Z4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwn9rC3rOI 2) Bitesize 'lessons' to help understand pain itself; pain in relation to medication; sleep and pain and the mental aspects of persistent pain: https://www.retrainpain.org/ 3) Self management tips such as pacing and goal setting: https://my.livewellwithpain.co.uk/ 4) A free pain guidebook if you are interested in more extensive reading: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57260f1fd51cd4d1168668ab/t/590dca266b8f5b01a7f97ceb/1494075961206 ..read more

It’s been so much fun to see so many new cyclists out on the road this past year! As someone who is relatively new to the sport, I remember the all too-many mistakes I had to learn the hard way - a blog like this would definitely have come in handy. For those of you who have just started riding or picking it up after an extended break following childhood, welcome! For those of you who are thinking of starting but think it all feels a bit overwhelming, hopefully the below demystifies the process for you.  Layering Very easy to think about putting on the warmest jacket you have and setting ..read more

Neck and shoulder discomfort is super common from desk based work, often our set up promotes a rounded shoulder position and the nature of work may lend itself to us sitting in that one spot for long periods of time. Aside from ensuring your set up is optimal in terms of screen height and having a separate keyboard and mouse, we recommend regular breaks from your desk and a few gentle stretches to help relieve tension. Here's 4 quick exercises you can do seated at your desk, enjoy! 1) Scalenes - 30 seconds hold on each side https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqiUm5cXFTc 2) Levator scapula - 30 se ..read more

Often when we get lower back pain, it is because a particular structure or tissue is getting irritated or inflamed and this can make our lower back particularly sensitive. It's important to recognise that the pain you may feel in your back is NOT an accurate indicator of what is happening to the tissues, but that pain is actually an alarm system of sorts. Unfortunately, sometimes these pain signals can be amplified by the nervous system due to things like stress, lack of sleep, anxiety and also by your expectations and belief about what that pain is. (you can read more about this here https ..read more

Today's blog post is for all of you that are currently working from home due to self isolating and social distancing during the coronavirus/ covid 19 pandemic. I'll be going over some strength exercises going forward but right now, let's focus on a few simple exercises you can do to help with shoulders, neck or upper back tension you may be feeling from working at an unusual set up at home. 1) Anterior scalenes stretch - the scalene muscles are respiratory muscles, they get tight when we over recruit them for breathing e.g. if we're stressed or with conditions such as asthma. They also get tig ..read more