How good is turmeric or curcumin for recovery from exercise?
“Turmeric! That’s the stuff you put in a curry, right?” Yes, it is but incredibly it has medicinal qualities too. It is all about the curcumin which Turmeric contains. I even take it and we also stock it in our clinics too! So what does it do? The main reason it is of interest to […]
What is the best approach for plantar fasciitis? Rest, stretch or loading?
“I have plantar fasciitis, so I need to rest it and stretch it”. I hear this a lot but is this the worst thing you can do? Should you be loading it to make it become more tolerant to load? This study compared stretching to loading the plantar fascia to see what worked best. So, […]
Do neck mobilisation techniques manually loosen the neck joints?
“I’m just gliding this joint in this direction with this technique to loosen it up”. When I was at university, this is what I was taught and quite some years ago, I remember this exact research being quoted. The amazing thing was that I was still at university being taught the opposite of this finding. […]
Does massage improve agitation in people with dementia?
Agitation is a significant symptom in dementia sufferers but can we help this? Often medication is used to try to help this but they are limited on their effectiveness and have negative side effects. Is there another option? Does massage improve agitation in people with dementia?
Can strength training improve your flexibility as much as stretching?
“I lift weights so I am not flexible at all!” So, does strength training make you less flexible and in fact, can strength training improve your flexibility as much as stretching?
Does stretching between sets help to build muscle size?
“Stretch between sets? What about checking my Instagram?” So this is a hot topic, we know stretching between sets may not be advisable with heavy loads and for absolute strength but what about interset stretching for simply building muscle size? Does stretching between sets help to build muscle size aka hypertrophy?
Is resistance training good for children and adolescents?
“They are too young to lift weights!” Is this true? Well probably, you wouldn’t do resistance training with a 3 year old lol! Now, we know that the old idea that weight training stunts growth is false as per a previous video we did but is resistance training good for children and adolescents?
Does a smaller sub-acromial space in the shoulder cause shoulder pain and impingement?
“I have shoulder impingement because there isn’t enough space between the bones.” This is called the sub-acromial space and it has long been touted as a reason for shoulder impingement syndrome and even the shape of the acromion process has been spoken about for the cause. The thinking is that because the space is smaller […]
How good is aerobic exercise for pain relief?
“I’m in agony! I need morphine!” We tend to think of pain relief as being something we get from medication and morphine is right up there as one of the strongest medications for this purpose. However, is it good for pain relief and what about the side effects etc? Is there something as good for […]
Do the words we use as medical professionals influence our patients’ expectations?
“It’s not broken it’s just a crack in the bone!” This is interesting because the words we tell our patients have different connotations in spite of the same meaning to us as physiotherapists. This is important as we want to avoid unnecessary stress and anxiety as this will hinder some patients with fear-avoidance behaviours. A […]
Can you be fit and fat? An injury perspective.
Can you be fit and fat or healthy at any size? Now I am not a doctor so I am going to discuss things from a physiotherapists perspective. So we will discuss weights relationship with injury, joint health etc. essentially from a musculoskeletal perspective. This topic came up when I saw the “Fat doctor UK” […]
Can massage reduce anxiety and depression in pregnancy?
“I’m pregnant and overwhelmed by how I’m going to manage with a baby” Anxiety and depression are common during pregnancy but what can you do to help this? Can massage reduce anxiety and depression in pregnancy?
Can physiotherapy and massage help osteoarthritis of the hip?
“Physio and Massage can’t help me I have an arthritic hip!” Here we will look at the revised clinical practice guidelines that reviewed the recent peer-reviewed literature and made recommendations related to hip pain and mobility deficits in hip osteoarthritis.
What treatments can help osteoarthritis of the knee?
I have an arthritic knee so there is nothing I can do, right? This is a common misconception, I treat patients all the time with knee osteoarthritis and they can and do improve, sometimes to 100% levels. So, what treatments can help osteoarthritis of the knee?
Are massage and mobilisations good for chronic plantar heel pain or plantar fasciitis?
I have pain in the sole of my foot and the physio just gave me exercises! Is this correct? We discussed this broad problem in a previous video but what does the evidence show us the best approach is here with chronic plantar heel pain AKA plantar fasciitis? Are massage and mobilisations good for chronic […]
I saw the physio and they just gave me exercises!
Now I hear this a lot and the trouble with this statement is the connotation. The word ‘just’ is implying a negative. Is this wrong? should a physio just give you exercises or should they be doing some hands-on manual therapy alongside the exercises?
Does skipping breakfast impede athletic performance?
Now we have done videos on this before, but the difference here today is the context. We know for fat loss, skipping breakfast may well be advantageous but what about athletes and performance. So, does skipping breakfast impede athletic performance even if they eat the calories at lunch instead?
Can you target the inside or outside calf by training different muscle lengths?
Team no calves! What is it with calves? I was so obsessed with building my calves that I overtrained them and tore my left medial gastrocnemius head…ouch! Anyway, I had previously done a video on whether you can target the inside or outside parts of the calf and it would appear that turning your feet […]
Does strength training fatigue impair motor learning?
“Train harder than last time and I’ll rest when I’m dead!” So, if you are an athlete you have to train to improve and the more quality training you do that you can recover from the better. People often think this means more is always more. The key points here are quality and recoverable. It […]
Does looking down at your phone cause neck pain? Does text neck exist?
“I have a bad neck because I’m on my phone all day!” So, in a previous video, I highlighted some research showing that there was no cause of neck pain caused looking retrospectively from the use of a mobile phone. Now there is more research, and this is what we will talk about today. Does […]
Should you train muscles with light weights or heavier weights based on muscle fibre type?
“You’ve gotta train heavy to get big bro!” So we know this isn’t true but why? Is it because of the fibre types in each muscle maybe? Some people have hypothesised that heavy targets fast-twitch muscle fibres and light targets slow-twitch. Should you train muscles with light weights or heavier weights based on muscle fibre […]
Strength training isn’t all about muscle! What else does strength training strengthen?
“My physio says I need to get stronger but it’s not a muscle problem.” This is where people get confused, strength is how strong and resilient something is and that something doesn’t exclusively apply to muscle. As a physio, we may want to strengthen bone, ligament, tendon and even muscle. Strength training isn’t all about […]
Is exercise order important for muscle growth? Multi-joint exercises first vs single-joint exercises
“Muscle confusion bro, I change the order of my exercise to grow!” Some people train their multi-joint compound exercises first and some train their single-joint isolation exercises first others make it up as they go along and some mix things up. What is the best order for your exercises really? Is exercise order important for […]
How many athletes have low vitamin D levels?
“Vitamin D supplementation, that’s just for people with weak bones!” Is this true? Vitamin D is more than this, as low vitamin D levels have been linked to depression, cognitive decline, poor bone health, and decreased neuromuscular function, so it’s pretty important but how many athletes have low vitamin D levels?