Alex Carrod Physio

Alex Carrod Physio Striving to get people pain free and moving better since 2009. Fitness today for a healthier tomorrow Fitness today for a healthier tomorrow!

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05/16/2026

🚴‍♂️ Stop Guessing Your Bike Fit… Start Riding Pain-Free 🔥

Think a bike fit is just for pros? Think again.

A proper physiotherapy bike fit isn’t about looking fast — it’s about staying pain-free, efficient, and riding longer 💪

Here’s why it matters 👇

🦵 Injury prevention
Poor positioning can overload your knees, hips, and lower back. A physio-led fit helps reduce stress on your body before pain even starts.

⚙️ Optimized performance
Small adjustments = big gains. Saddle height, cleat position, and reach all impact how much power you can produce 🚀

🧠 Individualized to YOU
Not just “textbook angles.” A physiotherapist considers your mobility, strength, injury history, and goals 🧩

🔄 Fix current pain
Already dealing with discomfort on the bike? A bike fit can identify the root cause and correct it — not just mask symptoms ❌

⏱️ Efficiency = endurance
Better mechanics mean less wasted energy → ride further, faster, and with less fatigue ⚡

Your bike should fit YOU — not the other way around 🙌

If you ride regularly, a proper physio bike fit isn’t a luxury… it’s essential.

RideSmart EnduranceTrai

05/15/2026

‼️KNEE EXTENSION HACK‼️

✅ WHY KNEE EXTENSIONS ARE SO EFFECTIVE 🦵💪

💪 1. Build Stronger Quads
The Knee extension isolates all four quadriceps muscles, which are essential for walking, running, squatting, and climbing stairs.

🦵 2. Reduce Knee Pain
Stronger quads can decrease pain and improve function in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and Knee Osteoarthritis by improving knee control and shock absorption.

🛡️ 3. Improve Knee Stability
The quadriceps help stabilize the kneecap, increasing load tolerance and confidence with movement.

🏃 4. Boost Performance
Greater quadriceps strength is linked to faster sprinting, better jumping, improved running economy, and stronger cycling power.

🩹 5. Key for Rehabilitation
Knee extensions are widely used after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury reconstruction, meniscus surgery, and Total Knee Arthroplasty.

🔥 6. Safe When Progressed Properly
Knee extensions are not harmful when load and range are tailored to the individual.

⚠️ Myth: “Knee extensions damage your knees.”
✅ Reality: Progressive loading helps the knee adapt and become stronger.

🏥 Bottom Line
Strong quads = stronger knees.
Knee extensions are one of the most effective exercises for reducing pain, restoring function, and improving performance. 💥

in 2013!! Finishing off with the “Electric Eel” ⚡️ Rehabilitation
05/14/2026



in 2013!! Finishing off with the “Electric Eel” ⚡️





Rehabilitation

🏃‍♀️🦵 YOUR KNEES ARE NOISY—SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED? 🔊🤔Hear clicking, popping, or grinding when you squat or climb stairs...
05/11/2026

🏃‍♀️🦵 YOUR KNEES ARE NOISY—SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED? 🔊🤔

Hear clicking, popping, or grinding when you squat or climb stairs? That’s called knee crepitus.

✅ In most cases, it’s completely normal.

🔍 WHAT IS CREPITUS?
Crepitus is any sound or sensation (clicking, crackling, crunching) that occurs when the knee moves.

🧠 WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?
💨 Gas bubbles shifting in joint fluid
🦴 Tendons or ligaments gliding over bone
🧽 Natural cartilage irregularities
💪 Changes in muscle tension and movement mechanics

📊 LESSER-KNOWN FACTS
🔹 Many people with perfectly healthy knees have crepitus.
🔹 The loudness of the sound does not reflect the severity of any problem.
🔹 Some people notice more crepitus after strengthening because they are moving their knees through greater ranges of motion.
🔹 Crepitus can occur even when MRI scans are completely normal.

✅ USUALLY NOT A CONCERN IF THERE IS:
✔️ No pain
✔️ No swelling
✔️ No locking
✔️ No instability
✔️ No loss of function

⚠️ GET IT CHECKED IF YOU ALSO HAVE:
🔴 Pain
🔴 Swelling
🔴 Catching or locking
🔴 Giving way
🔴 Difficulty squatting, running, or climbing stairs

🏃‍♂️ GOOD NEWS
Exercise is one of the best ways to support knee health by improving:
💪 Strength
🦵 Load tolerance
🧠 Confidence in movement

💡 BOTTOM LINE
🔊 Noisy knees are common.
🚫 Noise alone does not mean damage.
🏃 Focus on symptoms and function—not the sound.

RunnerEducation MoveWithoutFear EvidenceBasedPractice HealthyJoint

🩺💉 CORTISONE SHOTS & YOUR TENDONS: READ THIS BEFORE YOU INJECT ⚠️That quick pain relief? It’s real. But so are the biolo...
05/09/2026

🩺💉 CORTISONE SHOTS & YOUR TENDONS: READ THIS BEFORE YOU INJECT ⚠️

That quick pain relief? It’s real.
But so are the biological trade-offs 👇

🔴 Short-term win:
✅ Pain drops fast — you feel “fixed”

📉 Long-term reality:
💀 Reduces tendon cell (tenocyte) viability
🧬 Slows collagen production (your tendon’s building blocks)
🔩 Weakens tendon structure over time
⚠️ Repeat injections = cumulative damage (cells don’t fully recover)

📊 Big picture from research:
Initial relief fades… and outcomes are often worse at 6–12 months vs. active rehab

🚨 Translation:
You’re borrowing relief now — with interest later

—

✅ What actually helps tendons heal:
👟 Progressive loading (done right)
⏳ Time + consistency (no shortcuts here)
🧠 Individualized rehab > passive fixes
🩸 PRP? Promising, but still emerging evidence

—

💡 Bottom line:
Corticosteroid injections aren’t “bad” — they’re a tool.
But they don’t fix the problem… and they come with real biological costs.

👉 Use them strategically, not blindly.

CortisoneShot InjuryRehab StrengthMatters RehabScience AthleteCare MovementIsMedicine LoadManagement RunSma

🦵 KNEE ARTHRITIS 🚷“WEAR & TEAR” ISN’T A HELPFUL TERM ‼️• Implies joints are irreversibly damaged → fear & avoidance 😬• S...
05/06/2026

🦵 KNEE ARTHRITIS 🚷

“WEAR & TEAR” ISN’T A HELPFUL TERM ‼️

• Implies joints are irreversibly damaged → fear & avoidance 😬
• Suggests movement (like running) is harmful ❌
• Ignores that OA is a living, adapting joint process

👉 Reality: OA involves cartilage, bone, synovium + the nervous system
👉 Better frame: “Load vs capacity problem”

🔍 WHAT CAUSES IT?

OA is multifactorial:
• ⚖️ Repeated load > tissue capacity
• 💪 Muscle weakness (quads, glutes)
• 🧬 Metabolic + inflammatory contributors
• 🦴 Joint tissue changes (cartilage + bone)
• 🧠 Pain sensitization

🧪 HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED?

• 🗣️ Activity-related pain + stiffness
• 🔎 Reduced ROM, crepitus, joint line tenderness
• 🩻 Imaging if needed (joint space ↓, osteophytes)

⚠️ Imaging doesn’t always match symptoms

🏃‍♂️ RUNNING & OA: FRIEND OR FOE?

Good news 👇

✅ Recreational running is NOT linked to higher OA risk
✅ Runners often show similar or even lower OA rates vs non-runners

Why it can help:
• 🌀 Cyclic loading supports cartilage health
• 💪 Builds muscle capacity → reduces joint stress
• ❤️ Improves overall joint + metabolic health

⚠️ What matters:
• Sudden spikes in training load
• Previous injury history
• Very high (elite-level) volumes

👉 Takeaway: Running isn’t the problem—poor load management is

🏃‍♂️ HOW PHYSIO HELPS

1. Exercise = GOLD STANDARD 🥇
• Reduces pain + improves function

2. Strength training 💪
• Stronger muscles = better joint support

3. Load management ⚖️
• Modify—not avoid—activity

4. Education 📚
• Pain ≠ damage
• Builds confidence to stay active

5. Adjuncts
• Taping/manual therapy → short-term relief

💡 CLINICAL TAKEAWAY

👉 OA ≠ “bone-on-bone = stop moving”
👉 Joints adapt to load—they don’t just wear out
👉 Movement is one of the most powerful treatments

sportsphysio movementismedicine rehabscience evidencebased loadmanagement

05/05/2026

🚼🏃‍♂️ Stroller Running: Free Speed Workout… or Silent Form Killer?

Different stimulus, not just slower running

✅ Benefits

🔥 Higher effort at same pace (↑ HR, lactate, ventilation)
💪 More upper body + trunk demand
🦵 ↓ Impact forces (~8–17%)

⚠️ Limitations

🐢 ↓ Speed + ↓ stride length
⚖️ Technique-dependent efficiency
🫁 Not always ↑ VO₂

🔬 What changes biomechanically

⚡ Running economy ↓ (less efficient)
👣 Cadence ↔ / ↓ slightly
🦶 More rearfoot strike tendency
🌀 Ground forces shift → ↓ vertical, ↑ rotational
🏃‍♂️ ↓ Arm swing + ↑ trunk lean

🧠 Physio takeaways

✔️ Harder, less economical run
✔️ Great for consistency
✔️ Alternate hands
✔️ Watch tibia, calf, hip load

🏁 Bottom line:
Higher cost. Lower impact. Different mechanics. 👊

runnersofinstagram instarunners runningcommunity injuryprevention sportsphysio physiotherapy biomechanics runningmechanics runningscience strengthandconditioning enduranceathlete momrunner dadrunner fitparents returntorun

🦵 Hamstring tear? Here’s what you need to know.Your hamstrings are the 3 muscles running down the back of your thigh — t...
04/25/2026

🦵 Hamstring tear? Here’s what you need to know.

Your hamstrings are the 3 muscles running down the back of your thigh — they bend your knee and power every sprint, jump and kick.

When they’re pushed too hard, too fast (think: cold muscles, sudden sprint, or a heavy lunge), fibres can tear.
There are 3 grades:
▸ Grade 1 – a minor strain, back in 1–2 weeks
▸ Grade 2 – a partial tear, expect 4–8 weeks
▸ Grade 3 – a full rupture, up to 3–6 months

Recovery follows the PEACE & LOVE protocol:
🕊️ PEACE (first few days)
▸ Protect – limit movement that causes pain
▸ Elevate – get the leg up above heart level
▸ Avoid anti-inflammatories – let your body heal naturally
▸ Compress – reduce swelling with a bandage
▸ Educate – understand your injury, avoid unnecessary treatment

❤️ LOVE (after the first few days)
▸ Load – start gentle movement early
▸ Optimism – a positive mindset genuinely speeds recovery
▸ Vascularisation – low-impact cardio to boost blood flow
▸ Exercise – progressive strength work to rebuild and protect

The #1 mistake? Going back too soon. Most re-tears are preventable.

See a physio early — the right plan from day one makes all the difference. 📌

5️⃣ Common Running Myths 💔1. “You should land on your forefoot to run properly”Gait retraining has its place, but there’...
04/25/2026

5️⃣ Common Running Myths 💔
1. “You should land on your forefoot to run properly”
Gait retraining has its place, but there’s no single “correct” foot strike for everyone. Research shows heel striking isn’t inherently injury-causing — what matters more is load management, cadence, and how gradually you build mileage. Forcing a forefoot strike can actually increase calf and Achilles tendon load.
2. “Stretching before a run prevents injury”
Static stretching before running has little evidence behind it for injury prevention and can temporarily reduce muscle power output. A dynamic warm-up — leg swings, hip circles, walking lunges — does a far better job of preparing tissues for load.
3. “Running is bad for your knees”
Recreational runners actually show lower rates of knee osteoarthritis than sedentary populations. Cartilage responds to load by adapting and thickening over time. The risk isn’t running itself — it’s too much, too soon, with too little recovery.
4. “Pain means stop running completely”
Complete rest is rarely the answer. Most running-related injuries (tendinopathies, shin splints, mild IT band issues) respond better to load modification — reducing volume, intensity, or terrain — than to stopping entirely. Deconditioning and prolonged rest often make return harder.
5. “More cushioning in shoes means fewer injuries”
Maximalist shoes don’t consistently reduce injury rates in the research. Cushioning can actually mask impact feedback, altering your natural gait mechanics. Shoe fit, comfort, and a gradual transition to any new footwear matter far more than stack height.

01/30/2026

🏃‍♂️ Lower back stiffness after running? You’re not alone.

That tight, stiff feeling in your low back post-run is common — but it’s not always a “back problem”.

Here are the usual suspects 👇

🔹 Hip stiffness – limited hip extension = your back does the extra work
🔹 Fatigued glutes & core – the low back picks up the slack late in the run
🔹 Poor load tolerance – your back isn’t used to the volume (yet)
🔹 Running form changes with fatigue – hello over-stride & arching
🔹 Sudden training changes – speed, hills, or mileage jumps

💡 What helps?
✔️ Easy mobility (hips + thoracic spine)
✔️ Progressive running load (no big jumps)
✔️ Glute & trunk strength (anti-extension / anti-rotation)
✔️ Cool-down walks or easy jogs
✔️ Don’t panic — stiffness ≠ damage

⚠️ If stiffness becomes pain, lingers >24–48hrs, or affects your stride, get it checked.

Save this post for your next run 📌
Share with a run buddy who always says “my back’s cooked”

Soaking in some winter miles. Glorious afternoon. Taking in all the mountains along the river ⛰️
12/14/2025

Soaking in some winter miles. Glorious afternoon. Taking in all the mountains along the river ⛰️

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Vancouver, BC

Opening Hours

Monday 6:30am - 1pm
Tuesday 1pm - 7pm
Wednesday 1pm - 7pm
Thursday 7:30am - 7pm
Friday 3pm - 7pm

Telephone

+16047043309

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