I started running a little more in late 2019 when my knee started hurting and I needed to back off from the squash court. It was fun to be learning something new again but by late winter I was playing more squash again. Things changed of course again in mid March, so my focus returned to running. The experience has given me a greater appreciation for how long it can take to get truly “comfortable” [...]
From January 15 - February 15th I had 12 clients take part in an exercise and nutrition challenge. I asked them to record as much of what they ate as possible to help them reflect on their eating habits and I provided general nutrition information as well as specific questions and suggestions for each of them. Below is a summary of all the themes I noticed and spoke about. I have included all the videos [...]
There are three main goals of the challenge To get in touch (not obsess) with what you are eating To offer exercise options and implement them consistently To help kickstart good exercise and eating habits What you get A place to track your food. I will look this overly weekly and provide reflective feedback Weekly workouts that can be done outdoors or in the gym Support. Ask me questions - if I don’t know I [...]
In my last post I discussed the transition to in-season training. Most squash BC players are now six weeks into their season. Don’t wait until the new year to reflect, do it now. How is your training going? What can you improve? Are you focusing on the right things? With these questions in mind lets run through ideas for training from a fitness and squash lens. Are you training enough to meet the demands of [...]
I went through an intense bout of hip pain in late July, early August 2018. I had been off the squash court for a 6 weeks and was spending more time in the gym, running hills and doing solo hitting. The pain came on after a particularly hard match where I extended into the back corner. I have had groin strains in the past but this was unique. I did an assessment on myself and [...]
Education on injury and pain can vary from clinician to clinician, but it shouldn’t. Healthcare clinicians have a duty to be up to date with the latest research, educational tools, and clinical guidelines. In the same breath we also need to adapt as new information comes to light. I think one of the most important components of my treatment is offering quality evidence based education. In Canada we tend to think of treatment as massage, [...]
My viewpoint of Cognitive Functional Therapy. Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT) is the combination of bio-pyschosocial care (not bio-medical), cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing and exercise. It is a comprehensive and sound therapy model:) The model has been proposed and developed by Peter O’Sullivan. He created the model primarily for chronic low back pain but I see commonalities in the CFT approach with those of Jeremy Lewis, Adam Meakins, Greg Lehman, Bahram Jam, Sandy Hilton, and [...]
If you play competitive sports you have felt the inevitable pains that can come with too much activity. Often these pains are felt in your tendons. In this blog I will discuss how the latest researching is guiding our treatment of lateral elbow pain, while weaving in my own experience with this injury. Tendons transmit forces between muscle and bones. We don’t yet fully understand tendon pathology (the injury process), but research is providing greater [...]
Back pain inflicts western society more than any other disability. It is a huge burden on our system and sadly it is a largely manageable and preventable injury. Why has it become so out of control? There are appear to be numerous factors contributing to the ballooning costs (not in any order of importance). We assume a simple cause and effect but multiple factors are often at play. A bio-pyschosocial approach is more comprehensive and [...]
I see far too many people spend hard earned time in the gym on exercises that don't provide enough benefit. As long as you are healthy and have experience lifting weights consider sticking to these six patterns to give you the most out of your workout. Of course the best picked exercise don't matter if we don't adhere to plan, so make sure you create a plan that is realistic, enjoyable and flexible. If it doesn't [...]
