Back on Track

19/09/2025

📷

18/09/2025

Chloe at Keep Moving Pilates is offering specific Pilates for back pain. If you’re my client and wonder if this is appropriate for you.. let me know and we can have a chat.

02/09/2025

🏃‍♀️ Follow Andover’s finest, GB athlete Holly Mills!

Catch her in action on YouTube — training tips, behind-the-scenes & more! 💪🎥

30/08/2025

Is cartilage stronger than concrete!?

Is cartilage stronger than concrete⁉️

Beluzzi et al. (2023) say cartilage strength is approximately 9 to 40 Mpa. The compressive strength of standard concrete is 17 to 35 MPa.

They have comparable strength, but cartilage is a living, viscoelastic tissue which is far more resilient than concrete under repeated dynamic loading and manages millions of load cycles during its lifetime.

This strength and resilience allows it to function even with a tear. This may be why tears are often asymptomatic, even in runners.

As with everything, individual cases will vary and management will be influenced by the type of tear and symptoms such as locking, giving way or persistent loss of range.

The good news is that many meniscal tears can be managed conservatively without need for surgery. Reassuring people about the toughness of the knee and its cartilage can help them see that rehab is well worth a shot!!

10/08/2025

Well done Fred from Andover Gym club 🥉

06/06/2025

So proud of my client for completing the Big 6 – all six World Marathon Majors! 🏁🌍
Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and NYC – what an incredible journey of commitment, grit, and heart.

Huge congrats on becoming a Six Star Finisher! You know who you are- thank you for bringing in your medal🏅💪

03/06/2025

🚨 Sharpen your brainpower in minutes with exercise 🏃‍♀️ 🤯

NEW summarising the first meta-review on acute exercise and cognition 🧠

Full article ➡️ https://bit.ly/4dJNvTK

26/04/2025

🏃‍♂️ To all the marathon runners- The big day is nearly here!

All those trodden miles, times counting reps in the gym, planning your nutrition, managing blisters aches and pains, early nights and stretching those muscles a little bit more each time has got you ready for the 26.2miles! Trust your training and enjoy your day- you’ve earnt it.

I’m proud of you all 🙌

GOOD LUCK 🍀Go have fun out there!

24/04/2025

Colleague Dr Mike Rossiter- for our younger clients if they need referral for investigations

15/04/2025

⬇️

We used to think osteoarthritis was “wear and tear.”
But it turns out it’s more than mechanics. Much more than mechanics.

It’s genetic.
It’s metabolism.
It’s inflammation.
It’s systemic.

Your joints don’t break down from movement.

Our joints break down more from not moving.

That means you have more control than you think.
Improve your habits. Improve your health.
Your joints will thank you.

04/04/2025

Proud physio this week with lots of marathon runners hitting their mileage. You all look tired though! Training is catching up on you all.
Nearly there, ready for the big day.
Eat well, sleep well and stretch!

28/03/2025

This will make all my mara runners happy! ⬇️

Does marathon running increase arthritis risk? A recent study of over 3,800 runners would suggest not!.. 🏃🏽‍♀️

Hartwell et al. (2024) carried out a survey of Chicago marathon runners and found that hip and knee arthritis wasn’t associated with running history. Instead the most significant risk factors were age, BMI, previous hip or knee injury that prevented running, hip or knee surgery and family history.

These results are encouraging but we should acknowledge the limitations of using a survey without clinical or radiographic evaluation of arthritis and based on self-reported results. The prevalence of arthritis was established by asking participants if they’d ever been diagnosed with arthritis by a doctor.

We also need to consider each individual rather than seeing this as a green light for *all runners* to run despite concerns about joint health. The available evidence suggests that running isn’t damaging for the hips or knees but if a runner chooses to continue it should be at a level that feels manageable in terms of symptoms.

Mild pain that settles quickly after a run is often acceptable. Moderate to severe pain, symptoms that last beyond 24 hours or increases in swelling after activity suggest load is too high and should be modified to a more comfortable level. In addition, loss of joint range and sensations of locking or giving way should be fully assessed as these can require a break from running until addressed.

These are important points to discuss with runners as 1 in 4 runners that were surveyed were advised by their physician to either reduce the amount that they run or stop running all
together. Despite this 94% of all the participants in this study planned to run another marathon!

Reference:
Hartwell MJ, Tanenbaum JE, Chiampas G, Terry MA, Tjong VK. Does Running Increase the Risk of Hip and Knee Arthritis? A Survey of 3804 Marathon Runners. Sports Health. 2024 Jul-Aug;16(4):622-629. doi: 10.1177/19417381231190876. Epub 2023 Aug 9. PMID: 37555313; PMCID: PMC11195863.