Confessions Of An injured Physio

So, this last couple of weeks I’ve struggling with a foot injury.

Let me tell you a bit more about it and how you can stop something similar happening to you:

I love to keep active. For me, sitting in the house isn’t really an option and my home is more like a hotel because all I ever use it for is to sleep in at night.

And, because I’m happy to say that I’m “addicted” (no exaggeration) to the feeling that I get from exercising daily, sometimes I do too much and my body hurts as result.

And this summer, because of wanting to spend more time after work with my little boy, I’ve become a “lazy runner”. And what I mean by that is this: I’ve succumb to the temptation to quickly and easily go for a run most nights so that I can get back and spend time with Harry (my little boy).

And I’ve paid the price. I’ve got in my right foot the beginnings of what could be leading to a ‘stress fracture’ which is no doubt caused by my pounding the streets of Hartlepool, a few too many times.

Now, I noticed it about 6 weeks ago and so I’ve stopped the running and taken to my bike a lot more.

But, because riding my bike takes about 90 minutes to get the same feeling as a 30 minute jog, I’ve had re-engineer my day some what to be still able to get to see Harry before his 8.30 pm bed time.

And guess what? Because I’ve spent so much time in the sitting position and riding my bike every night, I’ve developed a lot of tension and discomfort in my shoulders.

And at the minute, it feels like my posture is “awkward” with shoulders rounded and I’m even feeling a lot of stiffness in my lower back.

So the moral of the story is this: If you run a lot, expect problems to surface somewhere like your foot or your shins. If you cycle a lot, shoulder and lower back problems WILL occur.

And it’s not just these two types of activities that come with some “health risks”. Take golf for example… I see golfers in my clinic regularly and they nearly always come in with an Achilles tendon problem, or a lower back issue. And what about if you play bowls? Well, a bad knee (or two) is common. Hill or fell walking? Same as the golfers, lower back and Achilles injuries.

Even swimmers – the one activity you might think is “good for you” is going to cause physical problems with your shoulders and neck from the repetitive nature of arms swinging forward and neck constantly held out of the water.

The solution? Is this: Read back to the beginning of the article and you’ll realise that the REAL cause of own my own current issues were not caused by biking or running.

No. It was due to my insistence on NOT planning my day properly to find the time to vary my exercise.

At times, we’re all guilty of thinking that we don’t have the time to do things properly and will try and find a short cut to do it. But, isn’t it true that when pain strikes, all of a sudden it’s pretty easy to re-engineer your day to find time to do the thing you should have been doing, in the first place?

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Article written by Paul and printed in the Hartlepool Mail, Sept 2014.

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Paul Gough

Paul Gough is an internationally known Physio and Founder of The North East’s Leading Specialist Private Physiotherapy Practice for People in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, who want to keep healthy and active.

You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.

Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.

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