Physiotherapy for pain and injury in London
The news that Andy Murray is to have a minor back operation hit the back pages last week. It is understood that he will undergo a microdiscectomy, a technique that minimises the tissue trauma in order to access the injured disc and the nerve that is being impacted upon by this structure. Microdiscectomy - what is […]
Spending time in the West Country you cannot help but be drawn into the culture of surfing. Whether it be watching the action from the beach, taking a lesson, going shopping in one of the vast array of surf outlets or sitting in a cafe watching footage of surf champs (the most intriguing are those […]
Both talks are inspiring and demonstrate courage, perseverance and motivation in the face of the enormous challenges that were presented. In performance and rehabilitation, mindset is a key determinant and in many cases several skills must be developed, including resilience and coping strategies. In the first video, Janine Shepherd talks about her experience of recovery […]
Most runners will have put in the hard yards by now and are set to go. Undoubtedly there have been quite a few aches and pains along the road so far. Sadly this will prevent some people from participating, say in the case of a stress fracture – click here. It is entirely normal to […]
Why is it that some people recover from an injury and others take longer than expected or continue to have problems beyond a normal healing time? It’s the latter group that I spend a great deal of time with, helping them to develop understanding of their pain and devising a plan of what they must […]
Thanks to my friend and colleague Dr Peter Malliaras for this blog on tendinopathy – here is his bio Painful tendon injury or tendinopathy is common and often difficult to manage. Previously this type of injury was known as tendinits, and the suffix ‘it is’ suggesting an inflammatory pathology. For over three decades now researchers […]
In the April edition of the SportEX journal you can read my article on chronic pain in sport – click here Chronic pain and recurring injuries in sport are a huge problem. The modern approach uses the latest neuroscience to tackle the pain and restore normal function required for the particular sport. Call us for details on […]
Dr Cath Spencer-Smith writes… Marathon season is upon us, and thousands of runners throughout the land are in the final stages of training for their big day. For some, this is also the time when they find themselves experiencing new aches and pains. Whilst we may all expect to feel discomfort and stiffness from time […]
Our immediate and early thoughts about an injury or pain that we feel can have a significant impact upon how we cope and manage the problem. It is therefore vital that we have a really good understanding of what is normal and what we can do to optimise the conditions for healing. Within this early experience, the […]
The hamstring injury is one of football’s blights, affecting so many of our best known players. The latest is Andy Carroll who sustained the injury yesterday in his first game at West Ham – read here. The extent of the injury will be clearer following a scan. Hopefully this will be a minor insult that […]
Feeling numb can mean that the self has lost its physical presence, or in an emotional sense, feelings have become blunted. These are both different constructs of loss for which we are compelled to seek an answer, often causing great angst. To step out of the normal sense of self is profound, difficult to define […]
The ‘Living with Dystonia’ Day, organised by the Dystonia Society, was held in London in November. This was an opportunity to talk to neck dystonia sufferers and their carers about the sensorimotor training programme that I am using in conjunction with botox treatment — see here. We have an understanding of how the brain plans and […]
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who has written and spoken about compassion and mindfulness for many years, talks to Oprah Winfrey. There is a great deal that we can learn from him, in particular the potency of breathing and awareness of the breath that anchors us to the present moment, the only ‘real’ […]