Returning to exercise in Spring.
It is fantastic to see so many Perth people starting to get out and about again as our weather improves and the days grow longer again. Check out our top tips and things to consider when returning to exercise or building up again after a winter hiatus!
How much has your fitness or strength diminished?
Strength maintains well over a break, but fitness and “spring” or our bounce can drop off quickly. Check out this article by Steve Jeffries on strength decay and read on for more top tips!
Have you put on weight?
Most exercise is a power to weight ratio game! If walking or running, any increase in body weight magnifies loads on muscles, tendons and joints including the lower back… and the kicker, there is inflammatory hormones in excess fat that increase pain as well! We are excited to have Clinical Nutritionist Jemma Watson on our team who is an expert on healthy eating and long term weight loss. If you need some professional help around this – book with Jemma here!
Have you neglected an injury or niggle that you should have dealt with before winter?
While rest helps pain, it also leads to less fitness and strength. Get niggles checked ASAP if you feel them as you rebuild your fitness. Book here!
Start gently and build up gradually!
Most importantly, if any of the above refers to your situation, ease back into exercise gradually. Consider a walk/run plan and as a guide, if you have had a lazy winter, start at 50% of what you were doing previously and increase by 10-20% per week or get in touch with one of our experts to help map out a plan.
Train smarter, not harder!
Many athletes of every level exercise to vigorously, too often. James Lewin, Australian Triathlon Team physiotherapist has written a great article which shows how even the best triathletes in the world train at low intensity most of the time. Check out that great read here!
Explainer – what is pain and what is happening when we feel it?
Do yourself a favour and check out this article "Explainer: what is pain and what is happening when we feel it?" by Lorimer Mosely. In this article, Lorimer describes the new approach to explaining pain stating, "We no longer think of pain as a measure of tissue...
Tara West Knows Best – A quick lesson in Jumper’s knee (Patellar tendinopathy)
Patellar tendinopathy (more commonly known as Jumper’s Knee) is an overuse injury of the knee, characterised by pain during loading of the patellar tendon. Patellar tendinopathy is the result of your patellar tendon being overstressed, and is commonly seen in...
James Debenham and Merv Travers publish their research!
Star Physios James Debenham and Merv Travers have recently published their research into Achilles Tendinopathy, in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. Awesome news! We are certainly very lucky to have such experienced and knowledgable physios working...
2015 Sports Medicine Australia State Conference a big success!
A big congratulations to Star Physio’s Damian Oldmeadow, Dr Merv Travers (PhD) and James (soon to be Dr!) Debenham who presented at the Sports Medicine Australia State Conference in Busselton this past weekend. These guys were invited to share their knowledge...