11 things I learnt in 2011

At the end of each year I like to spend a bit of time to reflect on how my year has gone. As always I would like to have 'achieved' more than I did, but none the less I'm always surprised at how much I DID get done.

Reaching January 2012 means that I have completed one full year in my new clinic. This is obviously a significant mile stone to me and I thought it would be a shame not to mark it here on my blog.

2011 will be a special year to me for a number of reasons but most significantly it's the year I got engaged to my girlfriend Gemma. We're getting married this year (2012) in early November which we're both very excited about.

Along with reflecting on my previous 'achievements' I also like to write down some of the things I've learnt.

Here are 11 'Sports Therapy' related things I learnt (or have been reminded of) in 2011:

1) Everyones body is unique and will respond to treatments differently. For example one stretch may work well with 7 out of 10 people, however the other 3 out of 10 will require a very different approach.

2) The most common 'problem' I see in the clinic is related to shoulder and neck tension (or stiffness). The majority of this is due to poor posture. Fix your posture!

3) Writing this blog is enjoyable AND a useful tool for attracting new clients. I've had a number of people book in after reading one of my blog posts. Remarkably I had a mother bring her daughter on a 7 hour round trip from Suffolk after they read this blog post. Incredible!

4) Increasing your mobility, range of motion or flexibility in many cases is easier than most people think. It just takes a consistent (daily) approach with the right exercises or stretches.

5) Look after your body, because there are some structures and tissues that once damaged cannot be put back to 'normal'.

6) Deal with your injuries as early as possible - This really is important. Doing nothing and leaving an injury to 'settle down for a few weeks' is not a good approach.

7) When injured the majority of my clients don't know when to use ice vs when to use heat.

8) Normal people can complete extraordinary things with the right dedication. I've had a number of 'normal' clients do some extraordinary things from endurance horse riding events (100 miles) to first time iron man events. Very inspiring.

9) If you have an on going knee problem you MUST look at the joints above and below the knee (i.e. the hip and ankle).

10) The foam roller is a great self massage and treatment tool.

11) If you work in a desk job you must take time to stretch - see point 2.

And one bonus: Many people have very weak and under-active glutes that are causing back pain.

What do we treat? - Info Graphic

Click on the image to see in full size

Recovering from a race: 3 Essentials (5km, 10km, 10miles, Half Marathon, Marathon)

Yesterday I completed the 2011 Bupa Great South run, along with a friend Rob, my girlfriend Gemma and 23,997 other runners.

The course is a flat, supposedly fast, 10 mile road race. I personally didn't put in a quick time but I'm aware the conditions were great for the elite runners on the day.

At about 15.7 stone I have to say I'm not one of the greatest runners out there, needless to say I'm suffering a fair bit for it today.

My knees have taken a bit of a pounding and my quads are feeling a little sore. Gemma, I know, is feeling stiff in her hips today. For those of you who have completed a race and pushed yourself harder than normal you will be familiar with these type of aches and pains.

With this in mind I though it would be useful for me to put down a few of my thoughts on recovering down wind of a race. I'll include a few of the things I've personally done following this race.

1) Ice 'hot' joints and tissue.

During a race you will cause, varying degrees of, damage to your joints and tissue. For example, the muscles will under go many small micro tears. This is normal, however it will cause inflammation within the muscles. This inflammation must be dealt with. The quicker you can reduce this inflammation the better.

Once you've finished the race and had a shower use your hand, ideally the back of your hand (it's more sensitive) to feel the heat around your muscles and joints. If your muscles, normally at the attachments, or joints are hot you must ice them.

Use an ice pack and try icing for 10 minutes at a time. This can be repeated as many times as required, just let your tissue come back to normal temperature between each application.

I didn't do this right away and left it to the next day (today) to do it. This isn't ideal but I didn't have an ice pack at home and had to wait until getting to the clinic to do this. Tut, tut.

2) Stretch and Mobilise

I know you'll be feeling pretty tired after a race but you must spend some time doing some stretching and mobilising after a race. As explained in the icing part of this post, your muscles will under go lots of micro tears. Early stretching and mobilising will help your muscle recover more effectively. These micro tears can cause your muscles to heal in a slightly shortened position. Stretching will help to avoid this.

For me I spent about 20 minutes on the ground last night (after finishing the race), mobilising my lower back and stretching my hips, hamstrings and quadriceps. If I'm being honest more time doing this would have been better. I'll get some more done this evening!

3) Hydrate

This one is very simple but makes a huge difference to your recovery. Make sure you get plenty of water back through your system down wind of the race. As already stated one of the major issues following a race will be your inflamed muscles and joints. Being well hydrated will allow your body to efficiently deal with the inflammation.

The earlier you can start to replace these lost fluids the better.

The Ringwood Clinic Facebook page - Please 'Like'

I've recently set up the clinic facebook page and stared to add some interesting post on the wall.

I'm now looking for some 'friends' and 'likes' on my page.

So here are 3 good reason to join the page:

1) I check the page daily so if you have any question about your injury you can ask them their and get a quick response. Just remember it's a public page, so if you have any private questions email me separately.

2) I'll put offers up on the page. For example if I have a quite morning / afternoon I occasionally offer FREE 30 min assessment slots for new injuries. Being part of the group will help you keep up to date on those offers (and be able to share them with friends / family who many benefit).

3) I share tips, articles and my blog posts on the page all designed to keep you pain free.

Go here => www.facebook.com/theringwoodclinic and click 'like' on the top right hand side of the page.

See you there.

Raising Money for Children with Cancer

I'm raising money for CHILDREN with CANCER UK, formerly CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA by taking part in Bupa Great South Run. Please sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/RobGemmaAlex

For those of you who have been in to see me over the last few weeks it's likely I will have mentioned that I'm running the Great South Run this weekend.

It's a 10 miler so not a huge distance but I'm running it for Children with cancer (Formerly known as Children with Leukemia).

I'll be running it with Rob a friend and Gemma (my girlfriend).

It's looking likely that I'll be beaten by both of them, so some encouragement in the way of sponsorship would be very welcome ;-)

I'll make sure I get the 10 miles 'done' - I promise.

Have I got true shin splints?

The term 'Shin Splints' is a cover all term for pain found around the shin bone (Tibia).

Shin Splints actually refers to three separate problems:

• Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS).


• A stress fracture of the shin bone (Tibia).


• Compartment Syndrome.

True Shin Splints refer to Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS). In the case of MTSS the bone lining of the shin becomes inflamed where the muscles attach to it, this causes the pain. With out the correct treatment MTSS can be difficult to get over.

The symptoms of MTSS will include some/all of the following:

• Pain / discomfort at the front of the shin bone (mainly on the inside).


• Discomfort at the start of activity, which may reduce when 'warmed up'.


• Morning soreness, which may reduce with movement.


• Lumps and bumps along the inside edge of the shin bone.


• Occasionally visible swelling / redness.

Shin Splints (MTSS) are often set off by a sudden increase in training, a change of training surface or a change of footwear.

The classic example I see of this every year is right after the football 'off season' when pre-season training begins. The ground is hard after the summer, the footballer has done little training between the end of season and the start of the new pre-season. This combination of the footballer being out of 'condition' and the ground being hard is a recipe for overloading the musculature in the shin leading to the development of MTSS.

In terms of treatment it is important to establish what type of issue is occurring at the shin as this will determine the course of treatment.

With all three type of Shin Splints it will be important to assess the individuals biomechanics, joint mobility, muscle length and training habits.

Factors such as overpronation/underpronation, increasing training too rapidly, reduced joint mobility, tight muscles and poor footwear can cause problems. It's important to have a full assessment of all of these components.

With MTSS treatment will initially focus on reducing the local inflammation, improving the tissue quality around the shin.

It is important to find out what type of Shin Splints you've got before you start any treatment MTSS, stress fractures and compartment syndrome all have to be dealt with differently.

As always this post just covers the basics so if you have any extra questions call me on 01425 480030 or email office@theringwoodclinic.co.uk

Printable foam roller exercise sheet

9 Foam Roller Exercises - Printable PDF

After publishing my original foam roller post at the beginning of the year I've had a number of my clients ask me if I could put together a printable sheet of foam roller exercises for them.

After doing this separately 4-5 times I thought it would be best to put a sheet of exercises here on the blog, so everyone can benefit.

If you are interested in using the foam roller for your own 'self massage' click here for my first post on how to use the foam roller, there is a useful video on the basics there.

Once you've done that click here and print off a program sheet of exercises.

Finally read this...

3 top mistakes when using the foam roller

1) You're rolling too fast - most people I see roll up and down the foam far to fast. Slow down. As you're rolling you should be 'scanning' your muscles for trigger points, knots and scar tissue. To make it easier if you are rolling a large muscle group like your thigh (quads) then roll them in two halves. The top half, then the bottom half separately. As a rule it's better to roll too slowly then too fast!

2) You're not stopping on the trigger points - When you're rolling you should be 'scanning' for the knots and trigger points. You'll know you're on them as the area will be pretty uncomfortable once you've got pressure on them. Unfortunately these are the areas that need the work, much like if you were having a sports massage the focus will be on the problem areas. The same goes for when you're foam rolling, when you find these areas spend some time going SLOWLY backwards and forwards over them.

3) You're not doing it for long enough - Everyone asks me how long you should foam roll for. This is a 'how long's a piece of string' type question. The time required will differ hugely between individuals. However here is a good rule for effective use of the foam roller: Roll your trigger points long enough for your discomfort (some times pain) levels to drop by 50%. Depending on where you're rolling this may take as little as 30 seconds all the way up to 5 mins. However long it takes your aim is to reduce your discomfort level 50% - Simple!