SNEAK PREVIEW - REHAB OF REGIONAL GROIN PAIN FOR JULY 2nd

So here's a sneaky peak at some of the elements of the workshop presentation being given by SPACE physiotherapist STEPHEN MUTCH this weekend in Cardiff.

http://bit.ly/mgHcmP

If you're going be sure to say hello and give some feedback afterwards!

High Noon and now Medal Play-Off for Scottish Women

After the 21 match marathon of Friday, anything might appear sedate, and so Saturday at the Touch World Cup in Edinburgh proved for the physio team dealing with Scotland at Peffermill. 

Team morale remained high throughout the day capped by the Mixed Open team improving from an initial world ranking of 13 to finish 7th with a victory over Jersey. And the all-Scotland clash between Open Women & Womens 30s finished 2-1 to the Open team in an exciting high noon fixture!


And in today's matches there is a Scotland-England clash at 8am for the medal in the Womens 30s division, whilst the Open Men & Women are still competing too against some of the best in the world.

Anyone for Touch?

The media may be focussed on those well-known Championships in SW19 this week but our attention is centred on another global sporting event taking place in EH16, the Touch World Cup. As proud sponsors of the Scottish teams, we have been busy working with the players and their hectic schedule at Peffermill Sports Centre.

Hundreds of players from 26 countries are competing in eight different categories over five days – a logistical feat for the organisers timetabling the matches! The SPACE-sponsored Scotland squad had teams in 7 divisions. The men’s open team was Scotland’s best placed team heading into the Cup, as current European Champions. Unfortunately for them, Dan Moore dislocated his shoulder after landing badly in the match against the US on day one, but he was able to return to the field later in the tournament to join his team whose results so far have earned them a place in the Cup group.

However, thankfully for us medics, that was one of the more serious injuries we’ve dealt with so far, and hopefully that will continue, given the players conditioning and preparation ahead of the tournament.Alas we had three players leave Friday's matchplay on crutches including one confirmed leg fracture.

The action continues until the finals on Sunday, so come along to Peffermill in Edinburgh and see what’s happening. Unlike SW19, rain doesn’t stop play here!#

For the full match schedule and results, check out http://www.touchworldcup2011.co.uk/fixtures-results/.

We’ll also be keeping you up to date throughout the weekend on our blog, including news from the all-Scotland Women's match-up at noon on Saturday between the Open team and the Over 30s.

McFrost in European Team Championships for Britain!

Recent SPACE patient Andy Frost competes for Great Britain in the hammer competition in this weekend's Athletics European Team Championships in Stockholm, and Edinburgh's premier Sports Injury clinic wishes him well.

As a hammer thrower he had been suffering from repetitive injuries affecting his knee and hip, and following knee surgery by SPACE orthopaedic consultant Gordon Mackay, he successfully underwent rehabilitation for which he received extensive physio here in SPACE.  We spent much time working on the kinetic chain to allow his throwing to be more efficient as well as his gym sessions. He relished the hip workouts and fascial exercises that we devised, and completely altered his warm-ups to reflect some of this work.

Andy managed to finish 4th in the Mens final in Delhi in October's Commonwealth Games for Scotland despite recording 2 no-throws with his first two efforts of the final. This put him under immense pressure to even record a mark, and thus get more throws. Whilst ultimately he was unable to bring a medal back to West Lothian where he lives with his partner and womens' hammer thrower, Susan McKelvie, he was still able to look back with some satisfaction at the season as a whole and plan for 2011.

He threw a Personal Best at Loughborough in May of 72.79m which gained him qualification for Stockholm.

HUGE congratulations from us all here at SPACE in Dalry to "McFrost"! Do us proud lad!

Tooth brushing mistakes YOU might be making!

Are you brushing & spitting?
When you cleaning your teeth anyway?
Brushing for enough time? How long is enough?
You brushing the right way?
And what about rinsing?
Link : Teeth brushing mistakes YOU might be making: tips for a great smile!

Yahoo has produced a guide to the most common errors for those who actually brush their teeth from toothbrushes to technique, timings to tooth flossing.

It's all there and well worth a read!!!

And this is the first posting about dental hygiene although we plan to discuss that other 'hot potato' when it comes to teeth at another time: gumshields-for sport, at nighttime & in the gym!

Are we built to run barefoot & how does it affect injury risk?

Barefoot running is a hot topic for recreational runners these days & we get asked at SPACE about this frequently. A recent presentation at the American College of Sports Medicine symposium asked whether barefoot running can increase or decrease skeletal injury risk?

Link: Are we built to run barefoot?


Hans Neleman/Getty Images

Currently there have been no major studies have been completed to show whether barefoot runners are injured more or less often than those wearing standard shoes. However it is a fact that 80% of runners are still sidelined with an injury each year. 


Kinematic and kinetic analyses show that even on hard surfaces, barefoot runners who fore-foot strike generate smaller collision forces than shod rear-foot strikers.


The human mechanics of running are changed quite significantly when shoes are used opposed to natural, shoeless human running where the lateral edge of the forefoot is the part which strikes the ground with the most force. Running in padded shoes typically alters this as more emphasis is placed on the heel and the area towards the back of the foot.


The official position on barefoot running by the American Podiatric Medical Association states that there is not enough research on the immediate and long term benefits of the practice, and that individuals should consult a podiatrist with a strong background in sports medicine to make an informed decision on all aspects of their running and training programs. SPACE has one of these in the excellent Andy Paul whom has consultations on a Friday afternoon in Edinburgh's West End.

Backward motion helps injured knees

Link: Backward pedalling helps injured knees


39 subjects were tested for muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance & flexibility in a study presented at the recent American College of Sports Medicine Meeting in Denver, Colorado. After 24 sessions there was little difference exhibited between the forward & backward pedalling groups in balance and flexibility, but those who pedaled backward averaged about nine percent greater aerobic capacity and also measured higher in improvements in quadriceps and hamstring strength. 


Our colleague and erstwhile SPACE physio Olli Finlay alerted us to this study, and the effects of using elliptical machines for participants with knee pain. Lea author from the study was Elmarie Terblanche, Ph.D. who concluded that backward motion "can be a significant aid in rehabilitation to know how to most efficiently strengthen the joints and muscles after injury".

Gardening leaving you sore?

Perfect your posture!


Here's a piece to get you wondering about gardening, sitting, walking, housework & other challenges to the pelvis & spine.

Unusual as it sounds, the source of this piece on posture is one of UK's national newspapers, but we include it as an interest piece as it includes the risks of gardening as summer beckons. In such spirits did a couple of SPACE personnel meet over at the Gardening Show at Ingliston at the weekend amongst the exotic & the colourful exhibits on show such as these Ladys Slippers or Lilies! 

So if Weeding, digging, raking, planting and sowing all give you backache then take a look at the positions involved-often it's a bent-over posture which is held for prolonged periods whilst you tend the garden.

Come on down to SPACE in Edinburgh's West End to see how you can still look after or makeover the garden or patio but in a more comfortable manner, and learn some tips-on posture of course rather than gardening!

Great Anatomy

What a great day!

Superb learning event at the University of Glasgow Anatomy Dept sponsored by Knee & Shoulder Institute (KSI) under the tutelage of Professor Gordon Mackay.

A full house of about twenty including those seen here, Ross, Stephen, Stuart & Gordon himself, spent the day in theatre scrubs with cadavers investigating knees & shoulder or with the excellent Quinten Fogg with his anthropological and functional take on anatomy.

We learned of the role of supraspinatus in maintaining the head of humerus in gravity situations, the 3 sections to the subscapularis, the fascial sleeve of the lower leg, and the similarities of the pelvis of the male and female!

Finally the day was completed by Dominic Byrne. He dissected around the inguinal ring & conjoined tendon whilst showing exactly where the invagination of the scrotum takes the index finger when testing for sportsman's hernia. He demonstrated where the mesh would be placed, and that it would be likely to suffer 50% shrinkage.

So a great day all round. Thanks to all concerned. We can all look forward to Quinten's book in future as well as the next KSI anatomy roadshow!