Category Archives: Sports

Minimalist running shoes

Minimalist running shoes

From West 4th Physiotherapy associate Marnie Giblin Minimalist running shoes have gained a lot of attention in recent years, but how exactly do they differ from more traditional shoes, and what does the evidence say about them? Minimalist shoes are clearly much lighter then traditional running shoes; the vibrum five finger barefoot runner weighs in at 6oz, the minimalist Nike free 7oz, and Nike Pegasus (one of the lightest neutral standard shoes) weighs in at 12oz.  The other defining feature the this group of shoes is a low ramp angle, or height discrepancy between the heel … Read the rest of this post »

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What is K taping?

What is K taping?

West 4th Physiotherapy associate Stuart Anderson speaks about K taping… The Tape and the Technique: K-Tape explained If you watched the London 2012 Olympics you may have noticed a great proportion of the athletes wearing tape on various parts of their bodies, often in blue, black, or ‘skin-tone’.  These elasticized tapes have gained enormous popularity with competitive and non-competitive athletes alike.  I’ve been using these products for a few years, and I recently completed the “K- Taping Pro” course.  I’ve found K-tape to be helpful in treating my clients and … Read the rest of this post »

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Cycling and Achilles tendonitis

Cycling and Achilles tendonitis

A question from a member cyclist in my riding club Matt, Achilles tendonitis…got it during a hilly ride.  After a couple weeks of ice for swelling and a disgusting grinding, creaking sound it’s getting better. Have not been back on bike yet though. I was told I may need to change location of my cleat. Thoughts? The Cypress challenge is approaching and we’ll see a few of these Achilles flare ups in the clinic over the next several months as training ramps up. In cycling, this condition usually comes as … Read the rest of this post »

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Ride to Conquer Cancer

Ride to Conquer Cancer

Each year we look at where we can offer support through volunteering and community service. The Ride to Conquer Cancer is an event that we keep coming back to as a worthy cause and a great match for our skill set. It has fast become an annual event, raising millions of dollars for cancer research and introducing hundreds of people to the joys of cycling and physical activity in general. On June 16th and 17th this year the ride again goes from Vancouver to Seattle with an alternate extended route … Read the rest of this post »

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Running and life expectancy

Running and life expectancy

A couple of posts ago we looked at the relationship between activity levels and health, the message being that when looking at health and lifespan it is more important to consider how much people do rather than how much they weigh. http://www.west4thphysio.com/archives/1803 This was nicely confirmed by Dr Peter Schnohr, a researcher at the University Hospital in Cpenhagen. At a recent medical conference in Dublin he presented the findings based on data from the  Copenhagen City Heart Study. This study has been underway since 1976 and is ongoing, successfully providing … Read the rest of this post »

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Up hills and down

Up hills and down

April/May here on the Left coast means the approach of Spring. Time for the keen hikers to get (even more) outside and start hitting their stride. With that in mind I was asked last week by a client who loves to hike how her aging knees were going to manage this year? And what is harder, going up hills or coming down? As usual, the devil is in the details. Going up hills you are doing more work so the aerobic system of the heart and lungs (cardiorespiratory system) get … Read the rest of this post »

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Can ACL tears be prevented?

Can ACL tears be prevented?

The answer is yes.  I had the opportunity to listen to Carolyn Emory PT, PhD of University of Calgary speak at the Canadian Physiotherapy Congress in Whistler.  Her area of expertise is paediatric sport injuries, particularly, injury prevention.  Since ACL injuries are so common in soccer (an average of 25% of 15 year old female soccer players per season), it is an area that has been extensively studied. Researchers have identified key risk factors and, have been able to demonstrate success in preventing injuries, by giving exercises to address them. … Read the rest of this post »

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Osteoarthritis of the knee and physiotherapy – Part 1

World Physiotherapy Congress in Amsterdam

Osteoarthritis of the knee What does recent physiotherapy research tell us? I just returned from Amsterdam where I attended the World Physiotherapy Congress. I was fortunate to be able to present a poster of my Master’s research to a large international audience.  I previously summarized and posted my whiplash related master’s research on the West 4th Physiotherapy blog, http://www.west4thphysio.com/archives/645 so in this post I decided to focus on summarizing some of the most interesting research presentations I attended which focused on osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Can osteoarthritis be prevented … Read the rest of this post »

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Bike fitting in the clinic

Bike fitting in the clinic

I had a trip up to Kelowna this past weekend to participate in a professional seminar on bike fitting. The sport of road cycling continues to grow for various reasons. Always popular in the past, it is now attracting a large group of people who don’t feel inclined to do a lot of running anymore but want to continue to be physically active. Plus, you get to go really fast! With the success of  events such as the Grand Fondo, The Ride to Conquer Cancer and increasing membership in cycling clubs throughout … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Knee, Low back, Ride to Conquer Cancer 2010, Senior's Health, Sports | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Does your bike fit?

Does your bike fit?

In early March my colleague Jen Mcpherson and I rolled on down to Seattle to attend an intensive 2 day workshop on bike fitting. Jen is an avid multisport athlete who has completed multiple Ironman competitions and marathons and I’m a keen recreational road cyclist so our interest  in learning the process of getting a rider to the best possible position for comfort and power comes from the heart. This was an excellent course with both days full of hands on fitting experience. Thanks to the volunteers who attended and … Read the rest of this post »

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Healthy running

Healthy running

This running tip was specifically written for Vancouver Frontrunners and comes from Suzanne Foster, a Physiotherapist with West 4th Physiotherapy(www.west4thphysio.com) whose practice is heavily focused on runners. Thanks Suzanne! Start off on the right foot! Did you know that 50% of runners are injured every year? Even now with all the advanced technology out there dedicated with perfecting the running shoe and the time and money spent on different kinds of treatment, the incidence is still increasing!  We all know that whether you are an athlete, runner, or jogger, at … Read the rest of this post »

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Exercise : men vs women

Exercise : men vs women

An interesting article appeared in the Globe a few months ago which asked the question: Is it harder for women to lose weight as compared to men because of the different composition of their muscle mass? The answer is a general yes. It is more of a challenge for women because they, on average, have a lower percentage of their overall body weight composed of lean skeletal muscle. You can think of your skeletal muscle as the body’s engine. The bigger the engine, the more fuel it can burn and … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Children's Health, Men's Health, Senior's Health, Sports, Women's Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment