MAD Physiotherapy Blog

Getting faster is easy.  In theory. 

Understanding of what allows people to run fast and potentially what will allow them to continue to get faster is continually emerging. In this two part series, we will look at how to accelerate faster and how to hit a higher top speed. It is important to highlight...

What a pain in the groin!

Groin pain and injuries are a nuisance. They are often caused by multiple factors and can be difficult to assess, diagnose and treat effectively. So when I read a recent paper looking at reducing groin injuries in sport I thought it would be good to discuss the...

Is stretching valuable for athletic performance?

We deal with a high proportion of track and field athletes as patients in our clinic. Sprinters, jumpers and throwers all have common attributes – good discipline, and more interestingly high level of body awareness. It makes sense, these are athletes who generally...

Shoe selection in running.

Minimal, cushioning, barefoot?  Maybe it doesn’t matter.  The last 10 years have seen the barefoot and minimalist running revolution come and maybe even go, however it is a question that I get daily from patients. What kind of shoes should I wear? And how...

Do more training to get less injured. 

Having higher training load exposure over time in team sports may reduce injury risk.  How can this be? A recent investigation by Bowen et al 2019 in English Premier league soccer players, showed that it was not high training loads, but spikes in training loads...

Pain is the most overrated symptom

I recently read an interesting article by arthritis rehabilitation researcher Ewa Roos from the University of Southern Denmark. The title for the article is the perfect discussion point for something that we have been discussing in the clinic, ‘If your knee hurts,...

Same injury. Different athletes. Different rehabilitation? 

I recently had a conversation with one of the physiotherapists in the clinic about tailoring rehabilitation to type of athlete. Athlete profiling has become more popular in recent sports science research. In particular the work of JB Morin and his team have started to...

My back hurts. Should I get a scan?

When people present with back pain, particularly if it is persistent or of high intensity, they will often ask if they require imaging. It is understandable. We want to know why we have pain, what the structure is that is causing pain, and by having greater...