Our physio, Abi, recently attend the ‘Running Repairs’ course with Tom Goom. Here are her key messages: Starting with the good news! Runners have been found to be less likely to suffer with osteoarthritis than non-runners. Studies by Horga et al. found that runners that were pain free but had abnormalities on MRI, including cartilage tears of the knee and disc degeneration in the spine, did not have worsening of these issues following training for and completing a marathon. However, overuse injuries are extremely common in runners and can have a big impact on training schedules. Often, these ..read more

We are proud to be a recognised BUPA facility to provide healthcare services for those with BUPA health insurance. We have provided care for those with private medical insurance since opening in 2020 and along with our CQC status which was secured in 2021 are now able to offer complete care packages for all our services to those who also hold BUPA health insurance. What does health insurance cover? As a Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic, our rehabilitation centre has the needs of the patient at the centre of all we do. Based in Liverpool but with connections to the rest of the Northwest a ..read more

Introduction Heel pain, which is also commonly known as Plantar Fasciitis or Plantar Fasciopathy, is an extremely painful and potentially debilitating condition affecting athletic and non-athletic populations. Characterised by a stabbing pain in the heel which is made worse with weight-bearing, prolonged periods on your feet or increased walking and running with Plantar fasciitis can be extremely difficult to treat. Thankfully, due to an increased understanding of load modifications, the importance of exercise therapy and highly effective interventions such as Shockwave therapy, heel pain tre ..read more

The R4P Liverpool Bike Clinic The R4P Liverpool Bike Clinic is a combined service which aims to bring the expertise of world leading sports medicine professionals to the elite, sub-elite and “want to be treated like the elite” cyclists of Liverpool and the wider northwest region. The R4P Bike Clinic is led by Dr Nigel Jones, Consultant in Sports Medicine and Chief Medical Officer for British Cycling. If you have any cycling related injury, illness or performance concern – a consultation with Dr Jones will get to the bottom of the issue for you. A management plan can then be put in place to en ..read more

Hamstring injuries are common among athletes and active individuals, and they refer to any type of damage to the muscles or tendons in the back of your thigh. The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that run from the pelvis to the knee and are responsible for hip extension and knee flexion, often referred to as a hamstring strain or pulled hamstring they are one of the most common injuries seen in football, rugby and athletics, indeed any sport or activity which will require sprinting. The three hamstring muscles which make up the hamstring muscle group are Biceps Femoris Semitendinos ..read more

Knee ligament injuries as a result of trauma can result in significant pain and joint instability, these knee injuries can impact on everyday life and sporting activity. When managed effectively with simple strategies and expert advice it is usually possible to make a full return to previous levels of work and activity. What is a knee ligament? Ligaments can be found all over the body and essentially are soft tissue (flexible connective tissue) structures which connect bone to bone, in this case the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (Tibia) and small shin bone (Fibula). The role of knee liga ..read more

I have been pitch side the moment of Adductor Longus, Achilles Tendon, Proximal and Distal Hamstring, Rectus Femoris, Biceps (Brachii) and Plantar Fascia ruptures (not a tendon as such but similar in its force absorbing properties at the moment of injury) and have also witnessed Patella Tendon ruptures after the event. Recognising these injuries is often as much about recognising the shock that the person experiences in the immediate aftermath of the mechanism as it is about carrying out a physical assessment which will tell the story. The language used by the athlete is fairly graphic in d ..read more

Read our previous article on complex knee injuries.  Initial Management ABCs: Whether post-operative or a conservative management approach is instigated the principles of initial management are concrete. “Alleviate dysfunction and optimise tissue healing”. A) Achieve a ‘quiet’ knee – if the knee is swollen it is not happy. Regaining homeostasis is fundamental to rehabilitation and should be a key focus. Andy Williams makes a great point when he refers to surgery as a ‘2nd injury’ for the limb – do not underestimate this (it’s also a great way of framing clinical presentation for your ..read more

Sport and Exercise Medicine Consultants often lead medical departments in elite sports clubs and organisations and can transfer those leadership qualities to deal with members of the public with sports injuries or those who are competing at an elite level but need an external specialist to review their case and provide a second opinion. Sports Doctors work closely with the rest of the multi-disciplinary team to provide a holistic wellness approach and get to the bottom of any sports injury or sports-derived physical complaint. At R4P, Dr Nigel Jones leads our Sports and Exercise Medicine cons ..read more

It’s safe to say they the rehabs that don’t go well are the ones that haunt you whereas the ones that go well are often forgotten about before the dust has even settled on the athlete’s return to competitive action. Of course, it is important to reflect on processes that went well, as much as those that didn’t in order that we can constantly refine our approach and use our increasing bank of positive and negative experiences to improve and enhance the next one.  Individual and collective reflection on any injury and rehab is an ABSOLUTE MUST if any High-Performance team really wants to ..read more