The Winning Advantage: 5 Reasons to Consult a Sports Physician

Picture this : you're walking in the sunshine, whistling dixie and having the best day. All of a sudden you step wrong, and your ankle twists. Ouch! You've got yourself a ‘ simple ’ ankle sprain, right? Well, not so fast. What might seem like a minor injury can sometimes turn into a bigger problem than you'd expect. Here's the lowdown: An ankle sprain happens when the bands of tissue (ligaments) that hold your ankle bones together get stretched or torn. You might think r est , ice , and a bit of elevation will sort it out – and sometimes they do. But other times, there's more going on under the surface. Amazingly, Once you have injured your ankle for the first time, you have a whopping 47% chance of re-injuring that same ankle in the future! Not to mention 40% of first time ankle sprainers, go on to develop Chronic Ankle Instability (CAI)!

Do you get pain at the front of your knee? Walking downstairs? Sometimes you feel like you have to go down sideways ! When you’re hiking…… Especially when you have to go downhill? Playing sport…. Especially when you have to do a lot of short stop and start type movements?

So, you have done your ACL. You felt the pop, your knee collapsed and the pain was excruciating for the first 30 seconds. You hobble off the field, and thoughts start rushing through your mind… Oh no I'm going to need surgery! How much will it cost me? How long will I be ou t for?

Adhesive capsulitis , or frozen shoulder , is a condition that affects the capsule/lining of the shoulder joint. It occurs most commonly in people aged 40-60 and while it can result from an injury or surgery to the shoulder, in the majority of cases there is no obvious cause. The condition involves inflammation and scarring of the shoulder joint capsule. The inflammation causes pain, particularly at night, while the scarring results in reduced range of motion in the shoulder joint as the capsule tightens. Then if the shoulder is pushed into extreme positions, the scar tissue becomes irritated, causing more discomfort. While there is often no cause, adhesive capsulitis occurs more commonly in people with diabetes and other systemic inflammatory diseases, so it may be worth performing some blood tests if these haven’t been done previously. Imaging with an X-ray and ultrasound (or sometimes an MRI) is not always essential as adhesive capsulitis can be diagnosed based on symptoms and clinical tests, but may be performed to ensure there is not another diagnosis to explain the symptoms. Adhesive capsulitis has a natural history of resolution after typically 12-24 months. It is characterised by 3 phases: freezing, frozen and thawing phase. The freezing phase is often the most painful, as the inflammation causes progressive pain and loss of range of motion. The duration of symptoms is often unchanged by treatments, however the goal of management strategies is to reduce pain and improve function during the course of the condition.

What is an Achilles Tendon rupture?

Does the thought of biting into a hard apple give you goose bumps? The constant clicking and pain that occurs when you bite is enough to turn you off hard fruit - For life! & Don't even talk about yawning......

Stretching has long been considered a vital component of a proper warm-up before physical activity..... However, recent studies suggest that stretching may not be as effective as once thought for injury prevention , especially when done before exercise!

Blisters are the most common injury in sport...

5 Tips to return to pre-season safely!