Tag Archives: Injury prevention

Sports & Remedial Massage Therapy

Reaquaint yourself with the floor

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Having spent six weeks on placement in the NHS, it seems that a lot of problems that professionals face, both on the ward, and in the community is that of falls. Falls to the ground, and then the difficulty in getting back up off it again. I find this astonishing, but it really is the case. The evidence is out there. It was estimated that in 2002,  just under half of all hospital admissions in the UK were directly attributable to a fall (http://www.hassandlass.org.uk/reports/2002data.pdf). I’m sure there are some more up to date data around, but couldn’t find any after a cursory … Continue reading →

Y is for…YMCA

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The YMCA have been around for a long time (it was founded in 1844). Their strapline is “Helping Young People Build a Future“. I don’t know what your experience of ‘The Y’ is, but I’ve always associated them with activities, some sort of movement in the form of sport or physical activity. My first introduction to them was well over 20 years ago at the local aerobic classes I went to. Later on, in central London, I saw a sports massage therapist who rented a room in their Tottenham Court Road centre. The main thing that I took from the … Continue reading →

Olympic Dreams for Andy Turner and Ice Climbing

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It’s amazing to think that 18 months ago Tim and I were working at the 2012 London Olympics, and now we’re in the midst of the 2014 Winter Olympics. We’re having a great time watching the winter sports over in Sochi, and even more exciting, one of our regular clients is on his way to Russia right now. Andy Turner set up the Great Britain Ice Climbing Team, and as well as climbing for the team he also coaches other climbers. We saw Andy on Tuesday for his final session of soft tissue therapy before flying out to Sochi. Over in … Continue reading →

Global Therapies – taking part in research

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Last week we were both over in Salford University, taking part in a bit of research about barefoot running. There is a piece of research being done about whether traditional running training or barefoot training has more of an effect on running economy. I thought it sounded pretty interesting. I don’t really have much of an opinion either way, which is good as that is what the research is meant to find out. There is a lot of information and disinformation out there about barefoot running and how good, or not, it might be for runners, both in terms of … Continue reading →

Breathing, your diaphragm and strength training

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Is it your legs or lungs that give out first when you are running? It used to be a combination for me, but lately it’s swayed towards my lungs. I find that my legs feel as though they could run forever (obviously not if I’m sprinting) but my lungs just can’t suck enough air in. On a run the other day I recalled how Mo Farah’s face looked at the end of the Great North Run…mouth wide open, gulping in air as he pushed his body to the limit seeking that first place finish. You could see him desperately trying … Continue reading →

W is for Winging

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Winging Scapulae are a sign that something is not quite right in the shoulder, and some muscles may either be out of synch with each other, or might not be working at all. When you move your shoulder, theoretically the scapula – or shoulder-blade – should move up, down and around on the rib cage. It shouldn’t really come off, or splay outward, which is known as winging. We can class this suboptimal movement as either “true winging” where the entire inner edge of the shoulder-blade is prominent away from the rib cage, or “pseudo winging” where only the bottom … Continue reading →