Anna Risius Physio

Anna Risius Physio ACPAT Chartered Physiotherapist

๐Ÿ’”๐Ÿชฝ๐ŸŒˆโค๏ธ
20/08/2025

๐Ÿ’”๐Ÿชฝ๐ŸŒˆโค๏ธ

04/08/2025

What horse Strangles, how to prevent your horse from getting it, and how to look after your horse during an outbreak.

Human/CaninePhysiotherapy appointments available from Monday 18th AugustEquine appointments available from SeptemberChar...
04/08/2025

Human/CaninePhysiotherapy appointments available from Monday 18th August
Equine appointments available from September

Chartered Physiotherapist with over 20years experience in musculoskeletal health and sports injuries.

Expert in manual therapy and hands on treatments to get you moving and feeling better alongside advice and exercise.

Studio room at Welham nr Somerton

Www.annarisiusphysio.uk



Canine physiotherapy appointments also available ๐Ÿพ

Anna Risius Physio

Chartered Physiotherapist

27/07/2025

What a weekend of sport ๐Ÿ‰โšฝ๏ธ๐ŸŸ๏ธ๐Ÿฆ
We are the champions!! ๐Ÿ†๐Ÿฅ‡๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ
Inspired ๐Ÿ™Œ

14/07/2025

Early morning appointments in the lovely cool treatment room has meant hot dogs have kept comfortable in the heat wave ๐Ÿ˜…

Summertime downtime! ๐Ÿพ ๐Ÿ˜Žโ›ต๏ธ
01/07/2025

Summertime downtime! ๐Ÿพ ๐Ÿ˜Žโ›ต๏ธ

26/05/2025
21/05/2025

Great to see ACPAT in the mainstream media! Welldone Holly! ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿคธ

12/05/2025

๐Ÿ“ฃ๐Ÿ“ฃ๐—–๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ก๐—š ๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—Ÿ ๐—›๐—ข๐—ฅ๐—ฆ๐—˜ ๐—ข๐—ช๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—ฆ, ๐—ฅ๐—œ๐——๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—ฆ, & ๐—ง๐—ฅ๐—”๐—œ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—ฆ๐Ÿ“ฃ๐Ÿ“ฃ

๐——๐—ผ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ/๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ?

Dr Victoria Walker, Dr Russell MacKechnie-Guire, Prof Hilary Clayton, Dr Rachel Murray, Prof Jane Williams & Dr Jo Winfield are carrying out an international study looking at use and application of pole work exercise. Whether you use poles regularly or occasionally, your input is valuable and will help guide future research and education.

๐Ÿ“ ๐—ฃ๐—ข๐—Ÿ๐—˜ ๐—ช๐—ข๐—ฅ๐—ž ๐—ฆ๐—จ๐—ฅ๐—ฉ๐—˜๐—ฌ๐Ÿ“: https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5i05P0WNAvWtEeq

๐Ÿ”ž Open to anyone 18+

The survey takes no more than 10 minutes and focuses on your training with one horse. No personal data is required.

Thank you for supporting evidence-based training for horses!

27/04/2025

A great season of sport to look forward to (and a rest from supporting the household rugby fanatics ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜‚)

Welldone and good luck to all those participating in sport from school games to elite competition, including any sore bodies from yesterdayโ€™s marathon!
๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽพ๐Ÿ‡

TCS London Marathon
Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event
Badminton Horse Trials

More wise words! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ™Œ
22/04/2025

More wise words! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ™Œ

๐Ÿฅ• CARROT โ€˜STRETCHESโ€™ ๐Ÿฅ•

Dynamic mobilisation exercises, aka carrot or baited stretches are often used by therapists and given to owners to do at home as part of a rehabilitation plan, and FOR VERY GOOD REASON..!

Letโ€™s delve a little deeperโ€ฆ.

The commonly used term, carrot โ€˜stretchโ€™, is slightly misleading as it suggests itโ€™s just used for stretching or in fact is stretching, BUT it is more commonly used for range of movement, posture and muscle development.

Several studies over the years have looked into these exercises as a means to aid horses in IMPROVING MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT, and POSTURE ๐Ÿ’ช

Below are just a couple of fab studies showing an INCREASE IN SIZE AND SYMMETRY of multifidus (Stubbs et al, 2011), (very important muscle found deep along the spine) and STRIDE LENGTH (de Oliveira K et al, 2015) when carried out regularly.

As a side note, although mainly used for activation and muscle development it should be noted that stretches can be beneficial when used appropriately. In human studies there is NO EVIDENCE that stretches cause muscles to weaken when held for less than 45 seconds (Anthony D. Kay et al, 2012).

Like all exercises you need to get them right. If we want core activation and back lift to help posture we need our horses to be doing just that - often I give these exercises wide and low and/or until I see the desirable frame and muscle activation. Check youโ€™re doing these correctly with your therapist for maximum benefit to your horse ๐Ÿง 

It might seem that everyone is giving these exercises out w***y nilly, but rest assured theyโ€™re doing so because itโ€™s BACKED BY SCIENCE and as long as carried out correctly and given appropriately on a case by case basis, they can benefit horses at any level.

Kindly demonstrated here by Gillian Tabor and her horse, taken from one of her papers with permission ๐Ÿ’ช

Papers in comments for those who love to dive down a rabbit hole ๐Ÿ‡ (Easter pun intended).

๐Ÿ“ž 07933287321
๐Ÿ“ง megan@polgreenphysio.co.uk
๐Ÿ›œ www.polgreenphysio.co.uk
๐Ÿ“ Dorset, Somerset, East Devon, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, East Herefordshire, West Oxfordshire

Wise words!๐Ÿ‘
22/04/2025

Wise words!๐Ÿ‘

๐‘บ๐’๐’Ž๐’†๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐‘ฐโ€™๐’—๐’† ๐’ƒ๐’†๐’†๐’ ๐’“๐’†๐’‡๐’๐’†๐’„๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’๐’ ๐’๐’‚๐’•๐’†๐’๐’šโ€ฆ

The equestrian world has seen a surge in gadgets and therapies promising quick fixes โ€ฆ vibrating pads, LED wraps, super-charged magnets, and devices that claim to โ€œreset fasciaโ€ or โ€œrealign energyโ€ in just one session. With sleek marketing and bold claims, itโ€™s easy to see why people are drawn in. But not all that glitters is gold. Many of these fads lack an evidence base, and theyโ€™re often presented as having no risks or contraindications - marketed as cure-alls that canโ€™t do any harm. In truth, even the most effective electrotherapies - those backed by science - come with guidelines, precautions, contraindications, and require professional knowledge. Anything powerful enough to create change should be used with care.

Among all this noise, itโ€™s easy to overlook the value of something less flashy but far more meaningful: clinical skill, experience, and true connection.

As a dual-qualified veterinary and human physiotherapist with a strong academic background, my approach is rooted in science, careful observation, and hands-on understanding. Iโ€™ve spent years learning how to spot the subtle things - a slight asymmetry, a change in tension, the shape of muscle development, how the horse moves through it all. These insights come from time, training, and a deep respect for each horse as an individual - not from a machine.

Thatโ€™s not to say thereโ€™s no place for technology. Used well, it can be a helpful part of a broader treatment plan. But when gadgets replace clinical reasoning instead of supporting it, we risk missing the bigger picture.

Whatโ€™s sometimes difficult is seeing how quickly people jump from one trend to the next - chasing results without always asking deeper questions. True rehabilitation isnโ€™t always instant, and it doesnโ€™t come with a single button press. It comes from really understanding the horse: its history, its workload, its environment, and its needs.

And sometimes the best course of action isnโ€™t what people expect. It might mean strengthening work, ground work, changes in handling/management/work routines, and hands on therapy. It might also mean pausing and referring to another professional - working alongside the vet, farrier, dentist, or saddle fitter to make sure the horse is truly pain-free before starting physiotherapy. Timing matters, and so does teamwork.

I donโ€™t offer miracles. I offer thoughtful, individualised care built on evidence, intuition, and experience. I want to help horses not just feel better in the short term, but move and live better in the long run.

In a world full of quick fixes and big promises, I stand by something slower, steadier, and more meaningful: the value of professional experience, integrity, and putting the horseโ€™s wellbeing above all else.

๐‘ญ๐’๐’“ ๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’”๐’† ๐’˜๐’‰๐’ ๐’„๐’‚๐’“๐’† ๐’‚๐’ƒ๐’๐’–๐’• ๐’๐’๐’๐’ˆ-๐’•๐’†๐’“๐’Ž ๐’‰๐’๐’“๐’”๐’† ๐’‰๐’†๐’‚๐’๐’•๐’‰ ๐’‚๐’” ๐’Ž๐’–๐’„๐’‰ ๐’‚๐’” ๐‘ฐ ๐’…๐’, ๐‘ฐ ๐’‰๐’๐’‘๐’† ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’” ๐’“๐’†๐’”๐’๐’๐’‚๐’•๐’†๐’”.

Address

Somerton, Somerset
TA11

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