James Maddock - Remedial Massage Therapist

20/06/2025

Is it burnout.... or is it perimenopause?

One of my clients asked *exactly* this question about six months ago, nearly word-for-word. I sent her to her GP for some hormone testing and her eostrogen had nearly fallen off a cliff.

She was suffering from what is now known as Perimenopausal Depression. As it turns out, females between the ages of 45 and 49 in Australia currently make up the largest group of completed suicides among adult women in the country. The reasons for this are many, not just hormonal, but it does make me wonder whether hormonal upheaval in this age group could be contributing.

Perimenopausal Depression (which is similar but *different* from PMDD—PreMenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, which is a whole 'nother thing...) comes on suddenly, usually over the course of a few months, around the age of 40, give-or-take a few years. Each individual's timing and strength of onset is a little different, but it usually comes "out of nowhere" and the person says things like "I have no reason to feel depressed, but nothing I do seems to shake it" and "it keeps getting worse and I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Often the person has tried all sorts of things to get on top of it: exercise, diet, meditation, *everything.*

And then, their doctor (if they don't know about Perimenopausal Depression) inevitably prescribes SSRI anti-deppressants.

And everything gets WORSE.

These are all signals that the person needs specialist help from someone who understands perimenopause in-depth, for a full assessment. ❤️

20/06/2025

GET IT, GURRLLLS

Strength training is GREAT for femmes. Building strength, resilience, and controlled mobility sets you up for MUCH, MUCH greater quality of life through the entire lifespan.

It can help avoid joint injuries and reaplcements, OA, bone density issues, and birthing problems. It boosts immune function and (when trained well) help regulate hormones, particularly eostrogen and testosterone.

Don't let nobody tell you that ladies can't lift.

If you're lookig for an excellent Personal Trainer to guide you through it, I strongly and personallyu recommend Larissa at Healthy Society. She is also a practising Naturopath and understands everything you need to get the most out of your training, and your health!

17/06/2025

14/06/2025

"Risk of Injuries Associated With Sport Specialization and Intense Training Patterns in Youth"

Citation: Jayanthi NA, LaBella CR, Fischer D, Pasulka J, Dugas LR. Risk of Injuries Associated With Sport Specialization and Intense Training Patterns in Youth: A Prospective Cohort Study. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2015;3(7):2325967115596279.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study involving 1,206 youth athletes aged 7–18 years.
scholars.northwestern.edu

KEY FINDINGS:

Athletes who specialized in a single sport were 1.5 times more likely to sustain overuse injuries compared to those who participated in multiple sports.

Training more hours per week than the athlete's age (e.g., a 12-year-old training more than 12 hours weekly) significantly increased injury risk.

A ratio of organized sport hours to free play exceeding 2:1 was associated with a higher incidence of injuries.

05/08/2024

Barefoot walking for plantar fasciopathy/fasciitis. It's totally a thing.

“Barefoot walking” is not something I would ever have thought to prescribe for plantar fasciitis.

In fact, I probably would have warned readers not to do that!

But now a surprising new study suggests that I might need to change my tune. The results are of practical interest to anyone with persistent arch and/or heel pain.

So … a lot of people.

~ Paul Ingraham, PainScience.com publisher

Links in the comments, because apparently that’s what we’re doing now. Think of it like a footnote. Or just Google for “painsci barefoot plantar.”

05/08/2024

Remember to REST.

You don't have to grind the whole time.

Recuperate, revitalise, and then return stronger than before.