Will Goodbourn Soft Tissue Therapy & Personal Training

17/10/2025

Please note that from now I will be out of office and due to return to work on Tuesday 28th October.

In the meantime I will have limited access to messages so please do expect longer response times and this will be limited to more urgent enquiries - all others will be responded to upon my return.

Cancellations have been an issue lately and this causes me a lot of stress, therefore clients are requested to keep these to a minimum for upcoming sessions wherever possible (especially for the week of my return) as ideally I don't want to be doing admin to fill these slots whilst I'm away. For this reason, my cancellation policy will need to be; as ever, strictly enforced for the week I get back.

Speak soon! 🖖

17/10/2025

This week's

14/10/2025

Here's one for the sciencey ones among us! It's a question I get asked a lot 👨‍🔬👨‍💻🧠

14/10/2025

Tis the season again!

Many people choose to start exercising in the New Year, however there are various reasons why I don’t think January is the best time to adopt new lifestyle habits, so I have a better suggestion – START NOW! ⏱️

Starting the New Year’s resolutions early has numerous benefits – for a start, many January exercisers and dieters do it then for all the wrong reasons, not that they are motivated for long-term change, but out of a sense of obligation as they feel guilty about how much they’ve eaten and drank over the holidays. But starting now will set you apart from the crowd and show that you’re really motivated for sustainable and positive change.

If you are generally quite anxious about exercising in large groups or busy places, then why make it harder for yourself by starting in literally the busiest time of year? From around now, gyms and exercise classes experience their ‘slow season’, largely down to the change in weather, but in January they will explode with popularity. My advice is to take advantage of the quieter environments – use the greater one to one times from the smaller class sizes, and the simplicity of a quieter gym to your advantage. That way, by the time January comes around you’ll already be familiar and have had a head start over all those who have just begun!

Starting now will also mean that by the time the holidays come, you will already have felt the benefits, and it will allow to you have a treat (within reason) without feeling guilty about it.

Finally, we have a lot of fantastic independent gyms and fitness instructors in the area - The Steel Yard gym and fitness and Purestretch with Laura just to name a couple. Starting early helps to support these businesses in their quieter times of the year, rather than just for a few weeks in the New Year – utilise what is around you!

11/10/2025

A very busy week in the clinic!

10/10/2025

🐙🦑

03/10/2025

Here's a good case study from a recent client which is a useful consideration for any jumpers or runners with knee injuries.

When a specific joint hurts then it's quite easy to develop tunnel vision for that area of the body. But in reality, in the absence of a direct trauma it's quite rare for the site of pain and the site of causation to be the same, and this is especially the case with the knee 🦵

A recent client had been training for a running event and was developing knee pain. There wasn't really anything wrong with the knee itself, but a significant factor in the causation was that the foot wasn't moving properly. Whilst the calves had good range of motion, allowing the basic forward and back movement of the ankle, it was the lower of the two ankle joints; the subtalar joint, which was restricted, as the foot was not being allowed to pronate (roll in) on landing. This was likely due to wearing worn out trainers which over time gradually locked the foot into a more supinated (rolled out) position 👟

When you strike the floor when jumping or running, (and even walking), the force of impact has to go somewhere 💥 Hence, without the shock-absorbing effect that comes from the foot being able to pronate on landing, the force has to be absorbed elsewhere - yes, you guessed it! Dry needling the shins soon restored the pronation movement back to normal! ✅

But this effect can also come from higher up as well as lower down and the poor knees often get caught in the middle. I've had so many clients where knee pain has been caused by tightness in the hips and abdomen/visceral areas, and dysfunctional movement is then passed down 👎

Hence, you should always look at the full picture - simply resting does not necessarily solve the underlying issue. Likewise, simply doing a lot of something doesn't necessarily cause issues either 🤔 - it's the quality of movement that counts and my services can help you to reduce dysfunction and improve efficiency in your day to day movements to minimise wear and tear! 🔎

02/10/2025

29/08/2025

This week in the clinic!

14/08/2025

The following is a prime example of how misleading food labels can be 🏷️

The product in question from these images is a yoghurt pouch which is advertised as high protein and 'fat free', with low sugar. Whilst these things can be ideal e.g. generally favoured by people wanting to lose weight; or athletes wanting to prioritise recovery and stay lean, beneath the label there is often a different story ⚠️

I used an app called 'Yuka' which is a great handy tool to have. Most foods and drinks you can buy from supermarkets have been analysed and you can access this information by scanning the barcode. You will then see a rating out of 100, with products scoring 50 or more being classified as good, and 70+ as excellent. If a food has a poor score, it will explain why, and even offer healthier alternatives. This is very useful as sometimes perceptively healthy foods can actually be unhealthy and vice-versa 😟

This particular product scored 49, so not disastrous, but as you can see here, despite all the labels being in the green (low fat, sugar content etc), this food contains risky additives 🔴🔴 These are used as sweeteners in this product to replace the sugar. This is a classic case of taking one thing out and replacing it with something just as bad, which is why I often tell clients they are likely better off having the 'full-fat' versions of products.

Of course I'm not saying to never have these foods, and this product clearly does have some positives, e.g. high protein, and being in a pouch makes it easy to meet your nutritional requirements on the go, ideal for busy schedules, but like with anything, diet is about BALANCE ⚖️ and it's always good to be aware of what lies beneath!

For more info on how my nutrition coaching can help you to meet your health and fitness goals, then visit my website:
🔗 www.wgtherapy.com/nutrition-coaching

11/08/2025

I was pleased to receive this in the post today 😃 📄📚🧾📖

Just a few small things to do before this service is up and running, so stay tuned! ⏳

www.wgtherapy.com/acupuncture