ASSESSMENT, TREATMENT, MOVEMENT, IMPROVEMENT
Modern lifestyles, compounded by the Covid pandemic and instructions to ‘work from home’, have meant many of us have spent far longer than normal at home, often hunched over laptops, tablets or mobile phone screens. Now, the average human head weighs around 5kg. That’s bigger read more…
I love to go out and run, cycle or swim in a lake or the sea. But not everyone is motivated or disciplined enough to exercise alone. Sometimes the motivation is there but the knowledge, skill or confidence is lacking. That’s where PT – in read more…
Hello Soft Tissue Therapy!
I started my career as a massage therapist and personal trainer more than 20 years ago, but, as the years have passed, massage therapy has gradually expanded it’s skill sets to a point where a new profession has emerged; that of Soft Tissue Therapy. Whilst massage remains a key part of a soft tissue therapist’s skill set, additional soft tissue and joint mobilisation techniques more akin to osteopathy have now been adopted. Combined with exercise these skills can help treat and resolve many MSK pain issues.
Although I am now proud to call myself a Soft Tissue Therapist, I still believe massage therapy to be one of the best healing therapies we have to hand. There is never a ‘one size fits all’ solution to our aches and pains. By taking a case by case approach, listening to client needs and adopting a combination of techniques a successful outcome can be achieved.
With 15 years of experience working with both primary and secondary lymphoedema, I always strive to ensure all bases are covered – Massage, Compression, Skin care and Exercise. Although Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage continues to be one of the cornerstone therapies in the treatment of read more…
As the old adage goes, the foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone’s connected to the leg bone and so on up the body. It is a mantra well worth subscribing to, particularly in the case of foot pain or, more specifically, read more…
The problem with gait analysis – where to begin? Well for a start gait analysis has made us all a little foot and trainer obsessed! Pronation is a word we all love to quote – but pronation is not the enemy! It is a normal, natural and much needed element of the gait cycle (be that running or walking) To control it is to stop the foot functioning as it should, robbing the body of stored elastic energy and shock absorption and effectively stopping muscles further up the leg from firing correctly. If the foot is ‘stuck’ in pronation then this probably needs attention but this too can often be solved by strengthening and working on how we run/walk.
My second big beef with gait analysis is that it often just involves a video of the lower leg and foot – we don’t just run from below the knee! Overall posture, pelvic mechanics, flexibility and how we use our arms are just a few areas that need analysing. Simply correcting what’s happening from the hips up may improve gait as will working on ankle mobility/calf flexibility (often a cause of over pronation). So when you are next sold a pair of trainers – and there are some lovely ones out there in some lovely colours – just bear in mind that you are one big complex unit and getting the man in the shop to look at your feet is just a small part of the picture.
My advice on trainers? Go to the shop, try a few running shoes, buy the pair that feels most comfortable for you and then go out and enjoy your running!
I taught the first of a six-week block of ‘Run Smart’ sessions this evening. These sessions are aimed specifically at runners and work on key areas of mobility, stability and strength. There was no running involved nor will there be any running involved in the read more…