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Are your Hip Flexors Tight or just Weak? One of the most common problems runners can experience during marathon training is developing 'tight hip flexor muscles', this is often due to running technique and the lack of strength training during marathon training. The thing that makes it difficult, is that tight or weak hip flexors don't always present themselves as 'pain' to the quadriceps; instead, they manifest themselves further around the kinetic chain and cause issues fu

In our last blog, Tendinopathy = Science Made Simple we explained the 3 stages of the tendinopathy continuum which is all well and good, but if you're like us then you'll probably want to know how to get rid of it... So we put together our 5 top tips on how to tackle Achilles Tendinopathy. 1. DO: Load management - Reduce your tendon loading to a level that the tendon can handle and then gradually increase the load without causing overload, this is the main principle in tendi

Achilles Tendinopathy = Science Made Simple In the sport of running, many injuries that occur are classified as overuse injuries, occurring from pushing the body further than it is currently conditioned for, this is something that all calibres of runners can be guilty of, whether it’s that new found desire to getting into shape and running every morning that week, a period of warm and sunny weather, causing you to break from your training schedule as it’s 'such a perfect day

Reducing the severity of injuries by training potential weak links within the body is what wins championships. Quite often, in contact or ac

Riding a bike of any nature requires a particular riding position, and often involves your shoulders adopting a protracted (shoulders rolled forward) and internally rotated position, hips in a flexed position (sat down position) and the lower back adopting a rounded position leading to tight Thoracic and Cervical vertebrae (upper back & neck). The consequences of this are susceptibility to injury as the following two things often dictate one and other; a tight group of muscle

The importance of muscular strength in any form of cycling is often overlooked, and the general consensus of the MTB community is that riding regularly is enough to improve every aspect of your riding ability, unfortunately like almost every-other sport, this isn't quite the case. Don't get me wrong, riding your bike regularly is super important and it is of course the fundamental aspect for developing your riding skills, technique and coordination; it's just that there are a

Flexibility plays an important role in movement and is often one of the most over looked aspects of training. Many people believe that flexibility training should be completed as part of the warm-down after exercising but rarely utilize this form of training at any other time. The human body is a very adaptable machine that needs to be exercised regularly, and if a joint is not used to its full capacity regularly, it will eventually lose its ability to go through that joint r

You may have heard the term 'sports specific training' quite a lot if you're a sports person looking for a physical trainer as it's a key message in many health professionals marketing these days, but what exactly does it mean? If you're a sports person and want to improve in your sport, then the term 'sports specific' will appeal to you right? Well, like everything, it's important to do your research, as it seems to be more and more common that athletes and coaches in this d

Here's the reality. In my experience of rehabilitation, the most successful method of returning to sport is by reducing the 'immobility phas

From a back pain perspective, a strong & stable core can leave you less susceptible to injuries caused by awkward movements such as rotation and flexion (usually caused when in the presence of weak spinal stabilisers). The spine is made up of 33 vertebrae, each with a small amount of movement per vertebrae that when combined allow greater movement in forward flexion, side flexion, extension and rotation. Strengthening the deeper spinal support muscles such as multifidus, tr

Last weekend, I headed over to the local BMX club at Hayes Hawks to check out the local racing scene. It's fair to say there's a real energetic vibe about the BMX community right now, and lots of talent emerging through the age-groups. Upon watching the racing, it dawned on me how much of a physical sport BMX is, with races lasting between 30 seconds to 1 minute in duration there's a huge demand on the anaerobic glycolysis system (the energy system our body's use when at spri

So for part 2 of the body series (You can view part 1- the ankles here) we discuss the structure of the knee and proven ways to prevent injury & improve your performance. If you're an action sports athlete or specifically a motocross rider, then read on! (Previously featured in Moto magazine) The Basics Motocross is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world which impacts a lot on the body and the knees which are a crucial part of the human suspension system pro

The ankle is a very important complex, supporting your whole body weight through it with each footstep you take. Therefore it is no wonder that lateral ankle sprains are the most common injury in sport (Mitchell, et al. 2008) accounting for 10% of all reported sports injuries! As well as being a very commonly injured joint in sport, it is also a highly injured joint in the general population. Injuries to the ankle, range from fractures of individual bones, ligament sprains, b

What are the benefits of Sports Massage? It's one of the most talked-about recovery tools in modern-day sports science, yet most people couldn't name more than three benefits for having it! People are told all sorts of myths from 'it releases toxins', 'it flushes out lactic acid' and the list goes on. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you'll have a better understanding of the true benefits of sports massage. 1). It relieves muscle tension Often used in the early to mid