Category Archives: physiotherapy

Research focus: trigger point therapy for calf pain

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We are constantly reading, researching and investigating issues relating to the work we do. In our recent research we’ve read an interesting research study looking at calf (triceps surae) dysfuntion and whether trigger point therapy is an effective treatment. Alongside the trigger point treatment that was administered, subjects were advised on home care using a programme of stretching and foam rollering. The abstract from the paper is in the text below, if you want to have a look – the results show that following treatment to deactivate trigger points the subjects had better range of movement in the ankle, less pain and better function. … Continue reading →

End of physio placement 2

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For the past 6 weeks I have been on my Neurophysiotherapy placement in Tameside General Hospital. Neuro is not a discipline that I found particularly easy or natural to learn, and the placement held a few fears for me. To be honest, before I did it, I had visions of not learning all that much and finding myself out of my depth in terms of communication and background knowledge. However, my preconceptions were completely changed by my Clinical Educator and the general team over in Tameside General. I know that Tameside hasn’t really got the greatest of reputations, and also, … Continue reading →

Sports Massage qualifications

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There are a decent number of people out there with sports massage qualifications now. Or at least, a good number of people out there who are advertising sports massage as a service, though there are a confusing array of different qualifications that allow them to advertise themselves as such. The main qualifications out there are under the BTEC banner. They start off at Level 3 and go to Level 5, but what is the difference, and what can you expect from a practitioner of each level? BTEC Level 3 A one-weekend qualification, generally done as a continual professional development course … Continue reading →

Physiotherapy Work Placement #1

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For the past 6 weeks I have been kept busy during the day by my uni course. Instead of spending my days slaving over books in the library, I have been out on placement. This basically means that I spent my time being a NHS physio, with a qualified supervisor looking on, to ensure I wasn’t doing anything wrong or stupid. I’ve been lucky enough to have a placement on community physiotherapy, which meant treating a variety of issues on people who were unable to get to hospital for an appointment. During this time I was fortunate to get to visit … 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 →

University – the 2nd year continues

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My degree in Physiotherapy continues on apace. The first semester of year 2 was very crowded with a lot of specific learning on the Spine, Cardio-Respiratory and Neurological physiotherapy, with only 3, 4 and 4 weeks worth of teaching time given over to each. All that cumulated in exams and a written assignment, which all collided in the first couple of weeks of January. I even missed a race as I thought it was probably a better idea to stay at home and revise the day before one of the exams, rather than batter my way across 22 miles of … Continue reading →