Tag Archives: injury prevention

Cross training for the bike

Want to be a better cyclist? The road to better cycling goes through the gym (true) but there are other ways for those who don’t like the gym.  One of my favourite cross trainers is trail running, a terrific way to improve your all round fitness in ways that will translate to performance improvements on your bike. Consider these three categories: Power transfer – When you are trail running you can’t afford to be lazy about your posture or balance. It is a constant core workout which we need as … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Cycling, Cycling injuries and prevention | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Knee, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Knee, Running and the SunRun, Sports | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

C.O.A.C.H Obesity Network

Something different for the blog this month. West 4th Physio associate Marj Belot brought this to our collective attention. This is an excellent initiative that we hope readers will support. We have included the Health Canada recommended activity guidelines in our online library. Please feel free to download them (or tactfully pass them on to those you think could benefit!). They are available here:  http://www.west4thphysio.com/resources/library Help Canadians find credible weight management resources: Support COACH today! The Canadian Obesity Network (CON) is currently working with its partners, members and the public … Read the rest of this post »

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

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

Improving your golf game

It’s already tee time on the west coast and elsewhere in Canada regular golf is getting underway. So what can be done to improve your game this season? There has been some interesting work done by exercise physiologists and coaches in answering the question of what it takes to be a successful golfer. In an article which appeared in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in Feb 2009, researchers took some detailed physical measures of  24 national team golfers. Specifically they looked at flexibility, strength and aerobic fitness. Some … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Low back | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Low Back pain and specific exercise

  Following on from my last post on low back pain treatment options where we considered the use of manipulation, today we’ll look at some specific types of exercise Stabilization Exercises If your physiotherapist finds three or more of the following factors then a good choice for treatment would be stabilization or core exercises.  The factors associated with success in this treatment group were: age less than 40, presence of abnormal active movement patterns, straight leg raise of more than 90 degrees and a positive lumbar prone instability test.  The … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Low back | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Running shoes – when to replace?

As you work into your running program you will need to keep an eye on how much wear has occurred with your shoes. Running in shoes that have passed their prime is a sure fire way to develop running injuries such as plantar fascitis, achilles tendonitis and knee pain. Knowing that you can expect to get around 1000km from your shoes (+/- 200km ), tracking your shoe mileage will help you anticipate shoe failure and avoid injury. Here are a few commonly used tips and things to look for regarding … Read the rest of this post »

Posted in Avoiding Injury, Running and the SunRun | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments