Midlands Physio & Back Pain Clinic

07/05/2026

Delighted to be able to help out another person in need - this time someone who was having a lot of back pain.

Back pain is something that used to freak me out when I first started out as a physio.

I can still clearly remember the panic I had when I was on placement as a student physio and had to see someone who had shown a mild disc tear on an MRI.

But over the last 10 years of seeing people with all sorts of back complaints I have come to realise that back pain is rarely serious

And while it can be very painful and greatly restrictive at the time, with the right approach, guidance and exercise it will calm down and you can get back to living an active and enjoyable life.

If you are struggling with back pain and need some help, then get in touch.

DM the words ‘back’ or book online at link in my bio

30/04/2026

Runners - If you are looking to hit PB’s this year, and don’t want an injury to ruin months of hard work training…..

Then my advice is to not ignore pains and niggles, even if they do disappear after a few kms.

A running injury screening session is designed to catch potential injuries before they catch up with you.

I assess your mobility and strength in key areas that are needed in order to run efficiently and reduce the risk of injury.

That is the first third of the session.

The remaining consist of a sports massage to any muscles that feel tight or achy in order to help you to continue running pain free.

If you want to book then go the online booking link in my bio

Or comment the word ‘screen’ below

23/04/2026

Achilles pain can be a very tricky one for runners.

Due to the nature of the pain, which is usually caused by the Achilles tendon,  it can feel better once it gets ‘warmed up’...

but the problem is that it can come back twice as strong afterwards

As a result of this, runners can end up falling into a cycle of running through the problem while it continues to get worse in the background.

In general , if you are experiencing sharp achilles pain when running or after it, you should stop and focus on rehab until the pain is manageable.

Once the pain is manageable you can run with achilles pain,so long as you manage your load effectively and you are strict with the guidelines I go through in the slides. 

However, I would recommend that you get assessed by a physio to get  a clear idea on what you should do. 

If you need an appointment get in touch or check the booking link in my bio

22/04/2026

20/04/2026

If you want to continue running without injury you need to know that the biggest predictor of injury to an area is a previous injury to that area 

Why ? See the details in the slides above. 

And because most runners stop their rehab as soon as their pain eases and they go back running. 

If you want to stay running injury free,  and would like to know if you are at risk for injury then an injury screening assessment would be a great place to start.

You can book one along with a sports massage to a specific area by DM the words injury screen

➡️Or check the booking link in bio⬅️

13/04/2026

Let me explain why you may be still struggling with pain even though you have gone for a number of physio treatments.

And more importantly what you need to do to get a lasting solution and not just short term pain relief.

All you need to do is look at the iceberg.

And replace the tip of the iceberg, ………which the part you can see,

with the pain and symptoms you are experiencing

And the bottom of the iceberg, which is far bigger part that you can’t see,

With all the potential reasons for the pain being there in the first place.

It is very easy to identify and relieve pain,

There is dry needling, massage, stretching, resting, ice, heat, foam rolling, pain killers, injections. …

All of these can offer pain relief and sometimes they can make the pain go away altogether especially if it is only a minor issue

BUT…..

If do not address the reasons behind why the pain has developed in the first place,

And this is key if you have struggled with back pain, or knee pain for a longer period of time.

This is where a more thorough consultation and assessment is needed,

Where imbalances in movement and strength need to be found

And where your rehab needs to challenge and work multiple areas in the body, not just focus on the painful area.

As a physio I have been learning this for the past 11 years.

And guess what, I’m still learning new things about the body every week.

If you are struggling with movement related pain that is not getting better then a different approach is probably needed.

If you need help then get in touch.

You'll find a link to book a physio appointment in my bio.

09/04/2026

Knee pain among runners is such a common complaint that I see in my clinic.

But in a lot of cases it is also a complaint that can be helped by addressing some key muscles around the knee.

One of these muscles is the soleus.

Which is a key muscle in absorbing impact every time your foot lands when you are running.

Bent knee calf raises are one way to work the soleus, but this won’t be enough by itself.

You need to incorporate exercises that work your soleus with the muscles around your knee and hip as this is what has to happen when you run.

I’ll be sharing these exercises in separate videos

So, thanks for reading and hit the follow button so you don’t miss them.

31/03/2026

There is a reason why so many people struggle with recurring pains and injuries. 

In a lot of cases it is because of the opposite of the 5 steps I have outlined in the slides.

Need help with your knee pain?

DM the words knee pain and I’ll be happy to help

06/03/2026

When Aisling came to the clinic she was struggling  with back pain which was greatly affecting her ability to walk. 

She was worried, as you would be , that it might be something serious as she was in quite a lot of pain. 

But after listening to her story of how the pain came about and then assessing her movements, I was confident that it was a muscular problem, which put her mind at ease almost immediately.

With some hands-on treatment and two exercises , I was able to help her walk out of the clinic feeling a lot easier that day.

Over the course of the next 4 weeks we then worked on building better mobility and strength as her goal was to get back exercising as she did not want it happening again. 

All went well and Aisling flew through her rehab. . 

➡️Aisling said "I went into the clinic with a lot of pain in my lower back. I could barely walk. I was greeted by a really friendly receptionist.

Derek the physio asked me a few questions and checked my posture. Within about 10 minutes he could tell exactly what the problem was. He did some physio and told me it was muscular. He gave me a care plan on what to do when I got home.

He also emailed me videos of the physio to do. Within 24 hrs there was a huge improvement. Within 48 hrs I'm starting to forget about my back pain. He also stayed in touch to make sure the physio at home was working. I would highly recommend him.".⬅️

If you are struggling with back pain that is affecting your daily activities and stopping you from exercising, then get in touch to see how I can help.

Call 09064 66761 or message me the words ‘back pain’👍

06/11/2025

Let me tell you how I used an iceberg to help Paula finally overcome her back pain for good.

And this after 2 years of trying a mix of different things that only gave short term relief. 

When Paula came to see me for her first session, I listened to her story of how her pain came about and even before assessing her movements, I had a good idea of what was happening. 

So I drew an iceberg and began to explain that the painful area, which was her low back, wasn’t her problem area. 

And she had spent the last two areas focusing on addressing the tip of the iceberg and not the main bulk of it underneath.

The main problem area for Paula happened to be a mixture of a weakness in her right leg that stemmed from a calf injury, 

Poor advice that she had received over the past 2 years which had to her been overly protective of her back and afraid to move, 

And this led to poor daily movement habits which were causing her back to get overloaded.  

And while she had gotten some relief from addressing the 20% of the iceberg, which was her low back, her pain kept coming back because she hadn’t addressed the 80%, which was the rest of things I mentioned above.

Once we set about addressing the 80%, her back pain went away and she was able to return to enjoying exercise again, without her back pain returning.  

If you are in a similar situation and you need help getting lasting back pain then get in touch. 

The best option is to book an initial assessment.

You can do this at my booking link in my bio or by sending me a DM. 

04/11/2025

If ice, rest and waiting for the pain to go away is your solution to a throbbing knee after running then let me tell you…..

That I have done this before in order to keep running and it will only ever be a SHORT TERM fix and your knee pain WILL return.

Fortunately I learned from my own mistake and over the last 10 years as a physio helping tonnes or runners I now have a much better approach for runners over the age of 30.

However, if you want more than just the information in these few images and want to be able to enjoy your running pain and injury free,

Then you will like the sound of my new online program specifically for runners over the age of 30 who want to hit their running goals without pain and injury getting in the way.

I’ll have more details on the program at the end of the week so keep an eye out.