Regular running is good for the body and the mind. Studies show that running regularly is associated with reduced heart and lung disease, a reduced risk of stroke and a lower incidence of type II diabetes. Runners also have improved mental wellbeing, with reduced levels of depression (1,2). But is there a potential downside to […]
I’ll get straight to the point. If you want to improve your running times and reduce you’re injury risk, then you need to go to the gym regularly and shift some relatively big weights (1, 2). Now this is something that contradicts the beliefs and practices of most runners. Some believe that strength training will […]
Star Trek’s Mr Spock, who was characterised by his faith in science and logic would probably be happy with the twist on the Vulcan greeting of “Live long and prosper”, as it is based on sound science and it is a simple solution to a significant and worsening public health epidemic. Over recent decades as […]
Physiotherapists deal mainly with people in pain. Pain problems vary immensely from patient to patient. In most cases the situation is pretty straightforward where the pain serves an important purpose – indicating damage and helping to protect the affected area as healing occurs. In such cases, the pain is a very efficient indicator of safe […]
I have had a personal interest in the management of osteoarthritic knees that dates back to the mid 1980’s when I dislocated my knee playing hockey. After the surgery and a long period of immobilisation, I was told by my surgeon that I would never be able to run or play sport again and that […]
Around 160,000 hip and knee replacements are performed each year in the UK. The split is roughly 50 / 50 but recent data suggests that knee replacement surgery is becoming more common. There has also been a trend for more joint replacements to be performed each year with one estimate projecting that the number will […]
When it comes to aches and pains, words matter. The words and phrases that are used to explain someone’s pain and disability are important, because they affect how we deal with the problem. The process of describing a particular problem or ailment isn’t as straightforward as you may think. There is usually no shortage of […]
The human foot is a complicated thing. It is made up of 26 bones that are connected by 33 joints and 107 ligaments, with 19 muscles and tendons that help to control movement and provide stability. Feet come in many shapes and sizes and the shape and posture changes with age. The posture of an […]
Back pain is arguably the most misunderstood of all the different aches and pains that humans succumb to. Back pain is certainly one of, if not the most common pain complaint in western societies and it causes huge amounts of financial, physical and mental problems (1). Unfortunately, the health profession doesn’t have a great track […]
Most of the people who come to our clinic have a problem with pain and for many people, the pain has been around for a considerable time. When dealing with cases of persistent and longstanding pain, our job is to work out what factors are causing and perpetuating the problem. As Physiotherapists, we are trained […]
