Category Archives: Sports

New trends in the Prevention of Running Injuries

From West 4th Physiotherapy associate Alison Heald I recently attended a course called New Trends in the Prevention of Running Injuries. The Running Clinic utilizes the most recent evidence-based information available in the prevention and treatment of running injuries. We discussed many different topics of interest, including biomechanical analyses, shoe analyses, diagnosis of injuries, the best of evidence based treatment, as well as training. This article will discuss the Biomechanical Analysis of Running with respect to what is considered to be an Efficient Technique ( where there is a minimal cost … Read the rest of this post »

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Cycling insoles

Overlooked and under appreciated. That’s the lot of the cycling insole. Far from being an “out of sight, out of mind” item though, the insole is another important component of fine tuning a bikefit. The standard insole that comes with most cycle shoes (with some notable exceptions) looks like a bit of an after thought. Generally quite flimsy and offering inferior performance after just a month or two. Allowing the foot to wash around inside the shoe reduces the sense of connection to the pedal and diminishes power delivery. By … Read the rest of this post »

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Patellofemoral pain syndrome… the biker’s knee.

Properly known as patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), this condition produces pain in and around the front of the knee. It’s a result of the repeated knee range of motion used in cycling combined with the frictional pressure behind the kneecap. Too much of either creates initial pain followed eventually by swelling and inflammation. Remember , if your knees are getting sore the first rule is to gear down and spin, spin, spin. Minimizing the per revolution pressure behind the knee is the goal so absolutely avoid grinding your way uphill. … Read the rest of this post »

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Gold for Gretchen!

I recently had the amazing opportunity to travel to Turin Italy for the World Masters Games, both as a player on the Meralomas United soccer team and as a physio for the team. It was such an incredible trip, with an incredible group of strong, powerful, athletic and humble women. Not only did we come together as a team to represent Canada, we also managed to win the gold! And have some fun doing it. The World Masters Games are a multi-sport event, open to anyone, held every 4 years … Read the rest of this post »

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Meralomas Masters win GOLD!

Congratulations to the Meralomas Masters Soccer team who recently attended the World Master’s Games in Turin, Italy and came home with the GOLD MEDAL! Our own Gretchen McLennan is a long time team member and West 4th Physio was thrilled to be a team sponsor to help the team reach their goal. A fantastic result for the team and for the Meralomas club. Gretchen will add her thoughts on the trip at a later date but for now big congratulations to all involved on achieving this great result.

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Elbow trauma and pain

From West 4th Physiotherapy Associate Jennifer Macpherson With my colleague Matt Powell, I recently attended the PABC (Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia) Evening Lecture by Dr. Thomas Goetz. He is an orthopaedic surgeon working out of St. Paul’s Hospital.  The topic was examination ,differential diagnosis and management of common elbow disorders. Dr. Goetz reviewed the mechanism  of injuries, tissue damage  and manual diagnostic tests for elbow injures; such as, elbow dislocations and varus postero-medial rotary instability (VPMRI). He pointed out manual testing is a very accurate way of diagnosing injuries, so … Read the rest of this post »

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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?

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

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

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

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

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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