Kim Baxter Physiotherapy

12/05/2026

Thanks for trusting us with your recovery. Simple, consistent strength work can make a huge difference — we’ll all help keep you accountable 💪🏃

11/05/2026

With Sheffield’s Woodbourne Road track now closed, many local running groups have moved sessions onto grass or tarmac — reigniting the old debate: does running surface really affect injury risk?

While harder surfaces like concrete are often blamed for injuries, research suggests the answer isn’t that simple. The body naturally adapts to different terrain by changing leg stiffness and muscle activity.

A recent studies showed concrete can create slightly higher impact forces, but there’s still no evidence that one surface consistently causes more injuries than another.

The biggest predictors of injury? Previous injuries and sudden increases in training load — not necessarily the ground beneath your feet.

Sometimes sports science reminds us just how adaptable the human body really is.

Many runners in Sheffield will already know that the Woodbourne Road athletics track has recently been closed by Sheffield Hallam University after failing to meet the required standards for shock absorption. As a result, many local training groups have had to quickly find alternative venues for inte

06/05/2026

What exercises are you using to strengthen your glutes? 👀

We still see many patients relying mainly on bridges and clams—but there are plenty of other, often more effective, ways to build glute strength.

A 2023 study looked at a range of exercises and showed how much each one activates the different glute muscles. The key is choosing the right exercise for you—based on:

✔️ Which glute muscle needs targeting
✔️ Your current strength level
✔️ How your body and pain responds to the different exercises.

https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2023/04000/gluteal_muscle_forces_during_hip_focused_injury.6.aspx

22/04/2026

Congratulations to Sally Fawcett on a fantastic result at the English Champs Blackstone Edge Fell Race last Saturday! She finished 18th female overall, 3rd V40, and 2nd V45—an impressive performance on such a short, fast 3.5-mile course, especially for an ultra marathon specialist.

20/04/2026

“Does the warmup really reduce injury risk? Why we need new approaches to confidently answer this question” (Afonso, 2025)

Warmups are widely believed to reduce injury risk—but the evidence isn’t as clear-cut as it seems.

Most research showing “warmups prevent injuries” is actually looking at long-term training effects from structured programs (like repeated injury prevention routines), not the immediate, within-session impact of warming up itself. In other words, we may be crediting the warmup for benefits that really come from consistent training over time.

Current study designs don’t clearly separate:

• Acute effects (what the warmup does in that session)
• Chronic effects (what repeated training does over weeks/months)

That distinction matters. Some findings even suggest similar benefits when the same exercises are done after training—challenging the idea that timing (i.e., “warming up”) is the key factor.

👉 Bottom line: we still don’t know if warmups themselves reduce injury risk in the moment.

Future research needs better-designed studies to answer this question.

Until then, claims about warmups preventing injuries should be interpreted with caution—and seen in the context of broader training effects, not just what happens before a session.

10/04/2026

With both London and Manchester Marathons in the next few weeks, the clinic is currently very busy and availability with Kim and Sally is extremely limited.

However, Joe has more appointment slots available. Joe is an osteopath who specialises in running injuries and rehabilitation, with over 10 years’ experience helping runners manage last-minute injuries and ni**les in the lead-up to race day.

So if you’re unable to book in with Kim or Sally, we strongly recommend securing an appointment with Joe.

If you're racing and struggling to find a appointment that suits you, get in touch and we'll see if we can fit you in.

02/04/2026

There are still a few spaces available on our Runners Strength and Kettlebell classes, so if you’d like to book a spot or try a session to see if it’s for you, get in touch.

📍 Stay strong, healthy, and injury free.

All sessions are:

🔹 Physio — focused on strength, agility and injury rehab / prehab.
🔹 Small group — personal attention & guidance
🔹 Suitable for all experience and ability levels
🔹 Welcoming, inclusive & motivating

📧 To find out more or book your place:

👉 Email: kimbaxterphysiotherapy@gmail.com

26/03/2026

There are still a few spaces available on our Ageing Well Strength Classes, so if you’d like to book a spot or try a session to see if it’s for you, get in touch.

📍 Stay strong, healthy, and confident for the long term.

All sessions are:

🔹 Led by health care clinicians — focused on strength, agility and confidence

🔹 Small group — personal attention & guidance

🔹 Suitable for all experience and ability levels

🔹 Welcoming, inclusive & motivating

📧 To find out more or book your place:
👉 Email: kimbaxterphysiotherapy@gmail.com

25/03/2026

New strength training guidelines have just been released by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) — the first update since 2009.

Drawing on 137 systematic reviews and over 30,000 participants, this is the most comprehensive, evidence-based guidance yet on building strength, muscle (hypertrophy), power, and overall performance throughout adulthood.

The key takeaway?

Consistency beats everything.

“The best resistance training program is the one you’ll stick with.”

Training all major muscle groups at least twice per week matters far more than any specific plan you follow.

Weights, resistance bands, bodyweight, gym, home, park — it doesn’t matter. What matters is doing it regularly and consistently.

There’s no perfect workout.

Find what you enjoy, do it regularly, and if you get bored, change to something different — just keep going at least twice a week.

16/03/2026

With the Sheffield Half Marathon less than two weeks ago, the clinic is currently very busy and availability with Kim and Sally is extremely limited.

However, Joe has more appointment slots available. Joe is an osteopath who specialises in running injuries and rehabilitation, with over 10 years’ experience helping runners manage last-minute injuries and ni**les in the lead-up to race day.

So if you’re unable to book in with Kim or Sally, we strongly recommend securing an appointment with Joe.

If you're racing and struggling to find a appointment that suits you, get in touch and we'll see if we can fit you in.

13/03/2026

🏃‍♂️ Taper time = peak maranoia season!

With the Sheffield Half Marathon just two weeks away and both the London and Manchester Marathons coming up soon after in April — along with a whole host of other spring races — many runners are now heading into the taper phase of their training.

As you head into the taper phase, most of the hard training is done and mileage starts to ease off so you can arrive at race day feeling fresh, springy and ready to go. But this is also the time when little aches, pains and ni**les seem to appear out of nowhere… and it can be hard to know whether it’s a genuine injury or just your body being a bit hypersensitive -maranoia!

⚠️ Pains worth paying attention to
These are the ones that may need checking out:

- Pain that stays in the same spot
- Pain around a tendon or bony area
- Pain that builds during a run or worsens over several runs
- Pain that doesn’t settle with a few rest days
- Morning stiffness or pain in the area
- Pain that makes you alter your running or walking gait

🤷‍♂️ Probably just maranoia

These are usually less concerning:

- Pain that moves around to different spots
- Pain that comes and goes randomly
- Pain that improves once you get running

These are only guidelines of course—there’s no absolute rulebook when it comes to running injuries.✔️ When in doubt, get it checked.

If something feels like more than just maranoia, it’s always worth getting it looked at sooner rather than later. When we catch things at the ni**le stage, small adjustments to training, strength work or mobility can often settle things quickly and help you stay on track for race day.

Our clinic has three running specialist clinicians (Kim, Sally and Joe) who are very experienced in assessing and treating both true injuries and pre-race maranoia. Between us we’ve helped hundreds of runners in the lead-up to races, so we know how to quickly work out what’s going on and build a plan that keeps you moving.