Author: annlebek

Health is Wealth

Health is Wealth

Another New Year is here and, with it come the resolutions to be fitter, slimmer and healthier. I hate the saying ‘New Year New You’ It’s such an old cliché It’s as if learning to love vegetables, joining the gym or going ‘dry’ for January read more…

The weight of the world on your shoulders?

The weight of the world on your shoulders?

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…

Classes & Personal Training

Classes & Personal Training

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 a group or one to one – can be so beneficial.

I offer a selection of exercise sessions but also offer one to one Personal Training. Sessions can be indoor or outdoor depending on your preference. They can include video analysis of you running to help correct and improve your technique and performance as well as running drills and skills. Alternatively, working indoors and focusing on core stability, strength, mobility and flexibility may be more for you and these sessions can be tailored to address any injury or pain issues you may have.

find out more…

MSK Pain & Injury

MSK Pain & Injury

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 read more…

Lymphoedema

Lymphoedema

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…

Dem Bones, Dem Bones …

Dem Bones, Dem Bones …

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, plantar fasciitis [PF]. Now firstly, lets be clear, there are many causes for foot and ankle pain. Plantar fasciitis is just one of fifty plus causes of foot pain so diagnosis is never simple.

Working a day a week at Red Roof Podiatry Clinic, I often have clients present with foot pain. Many of these present with the classic PF symptoms of heel pain first thing in the morning. To resolve these issues a thorough assessment of the foot and ankle mechanics is obviously needed, but looking in isolation is rarely the solution.

Muscles and tendons of the lower leg blend with the plantar fascia and, if these structures are weak or tight, they may cause dysfunction and pain. Tight calf muscles are often the culprit, but tight calves often go hand in hand with tight hamstrings and tight hamstrings can be the result of neural tension, poor spinal and pelvic mechanics or muscle imbalances. That is just one very brief scenario and it is not uncommon to ‘chase the pain’ further up the kinetic chain until the real cause of the problem can be identified.

The moral of this short and very simplified post is, therefore, not to simply look at a point of pain but to look elsewhere for the root causes. In the case of plantar fasciitis that steroid injection the doctor may suggest is, more often than not, an Elastoplast to deal with the pain symptoms without ever addressing the root causes.

The Problem with Gait Analysis

The Problem with Gait Analysis

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, read more…

Run Smart Without Running!

Run Smart Without 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…