Kim Baxter Physiotherapy

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.

09/03/2026

Great weekend away in the Lake District with on their adult training weekend 🧭🏃‍♂️

The club organised a fantastic few days, catering for everyone from those just starting their orienteering journey to experienced orienteers.

For me, it was the first time in a long while that I could focus purely on practising my own navigation skills rather than coaching others. One of the standout sessions was a visualisation exercise where we had to draw our own map of the course, identifying key features before attempting to run the course using only that map. After sketching mine, I decided to take the challenge one step further and see if I could complete the course without any map at all.

I surprised myself by managing to run the course perfectly! As I get older trying to run in rough technical terrain whilst looking at the map is getting harder so this exercise has shown me that with practice visualising more of the course and looking at the map less might be a better strategy.

Thanks James for the amazing sunset photo and Bronwyn for the forest photo.

06/03/2026

Think Mobility As Well As Strength.

Are you prioritising strength sessions and racking up running miles, but overlooking the basics—your joint mobility?

If you feel stuck in a frustrating cycle of recurring injuries, or you can’t seem to fully resolve a ni**le despite doing all the “right” rehab exercises, the missing link may not be strength. It may be mobility.

Try these 7 ankle and foot mobility exercises to help your running feel freer, lighter and more powerful.

Full blog by Sally Fawcett https://www.kimbaxterphysiotherapy.co.uk/blog/7-ankle-and-foot-mobility-exercises-for-runners

26/02/2026

🏃‍♀️ Bone Stress Injuries (BSIs) in Runners 🦴

Bone stress injuries are far more common in runners than many people realise with some studies on collegiate athletes suggesting up to 1 in 5 runners per year will have a bone stress injury. Whilst this rate may be lower in more recreational runners we still regularly diagnose these injuries in the clinic.

📊 A recent large study by Wolff et al. (2025) — one of the biggest running-focused cohorts to date — gives us valuable insight into where these injuries occur. The study identified 13 different anatomical sites affected in collegiate cross-country runners, with a small percentage sustaining multiple BSIs at once.

📍 Most Common Sites in Runners
1️⃣ Tibia
2️⃣ Metatarsals
3️⃣ Femoral shaft
4️⃣ Sacrum

But: ⚠️ BSIs can occur in almost any bone of the lower extremity.
They’ve been seen in virtually every bone in the lower limb. Therefore they should always be on the differential diagnosis when assessing runners.

Why Do Bone Stress Injuries Happen?

At their core, all BSIs are caused by a mismatch between load and recovery. When you get repeated loading on the bone which exceeds its ability to repair and adapt a stress injury will occur.

Each individual's injury is driven by a unique combination of factors:

🏃 Training history & load progression
🦵 Biomechanics
🥗 Energy availability - inadequate nutrition compared to training load
💊 Medical history & medications
🧬 Hormonal & metabolic factors
⏳ Previous injury

Recovery takes time…..
There is no quick fix to bone stress injuries. They take time and patience.
Trying to rush a bone stress injury is a recipe for disaster.

Occasionally someone may “get away with it,” but often it leads to even longer recovery times.

Key Takeaways for Runners 🔑

✔️ Tibial and metatarsal BSIs are relatively common
✔️ BSIs can occur in almost any lower limb bone
✔️ Management must be individualised
✔️Rest and time is key for recovery

If you’re a runner with persistent pain that worsens with loading — don’t ignore it.

And if you’re managing a BSI right now:

Be patient.
Respect the process.
Let the bone adapt properly.

24/02/2026

Last weekend marked the first English Champs race of the season at Doctor’s Gate 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️

Sally (Sally Fawcett) and Joe (), competed for and delivered excellent performances.

Joe finished 39th overall and 6th in the V40 category, while Sally placed 16th female and secured 2nd in the FV40 category!

A brilliant start to the championship season — it's great seeing our team not only supporting athletes, but competing alongside them!

📸 Photo credit: Colin Brearley

09/02/2026

🎉Team Update🎉

We’re excited to welcome Ben Pestell to our growing team :)

Ben qualified as a Physiotherapist from Sheffield Hallam University with First Class Honours and has since worked across a range of NHS services.

With a particular passion for upper limb injuries, Ben has worked within hand therapy, general outpatients and fracture clinic settings in the NHS. Ben enjoys supporting people in returning to sport and helping them continue to pursue their passions following injury.

An active individual throughout his life including hockey and downhill mountain biking, Ben developed a strong interest in climbing, in 2017 with a focus on competition climbing. After moving to Sheffield for university, this quickly evolved into a passion for outdoor bouldering. He has climbed at a high level, achieving multiple 8B ascents, including The Ace. Despite this, you can rarely catch him on a rope as he’s scared of heights!

06/02/2026

Chuffed to finally send this burly Irn Bru climb after a few weeks of projecting 💪

Then topped it off by immediately sending a climb I’d completely written off as impossible — thought I wasn’t strong enough for the beta break and hated the heel hook in the “intended” beta. Turns out I was wrong 😅🔥

02/02/2026

🏃‍♀️ Training for the Sheffield Half on March 29th?

Here’s a 7-step guide to stay healthy and hit the start line strong! 💪

1️⃣ Gradually build long runs – Don’t rush to hit 21km. Increase distance slowly, and trust that on race day you will be able to go the extra mile!

2️⃣ Be flexible – Listen to your body. If you’re tired or sore, adjust your plan instead of pushing through.

3️⃣ Train for the hill and the descent – With some 300m of climb and descent, this isn’t your average half marathon. Train for the uphill but also the tough descent on tired legs. Focus on short strides and soft landings.

4️⃣ Strengthen your legs – Strength training helps you power up hills and absorb the downhill impact. Add a 20-min runner's workout!

5️⃣ Be realistic – Focus on consistent training, not huge leaps. Gradual progress is key!

6️⃣ Reassess goals – Haven’t hit 8km yet? Consider switching to a shorter race or adjust your race day goals (you can always run and walk the route).

7️⃣ Rest before race day – Cut back on running 10-14 days before the race.
If you apply these tips, you’ll give yourself every chance of arriving at Sheffield Half ready to rise to the challenge. Take in the views over the city, take in the encouragement from the crowds and enjoy getting out there and feeling the hard work pay off. 🏅

Follow link for full blog.

Come February and March in south-west Sheffield, Ecclesall and Ringinglow Roads are busy with runners training ahead of the Sheffield Half, this year held a bit earlier on 29th March. Whether you’re stepping up from 10km, looking to go quicker than last year or gearing up for the next installment ...

30/01/2026

Perimenopause & Muscle + Joint Pain

New research just published which reviewed-

📊 37 studies
👩‍🦰 93,000+ women

🔍 Key finding:
Muscle and joint pain is significantly more common during perimenopause and menopause compared to premenopause.

Pain peaks during perimenopause — and doesn’t keep increasing through menopause and beyond.

✨ This points to a major inflection point during the menopause transition, especially perimenopause.

If your body suddenly feels stiffer, achier, or more painful in this phase —

👉 it’s not random
👉 it’s not “just aging”
👉 and you’re definitely not alone

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12784006/