Sharp Physiotherapy

Sharp Physiotherapy ▪️Specialist Sport & Musculoskeletal Injury Clinic.
📍 Bawtry 📍 Lincoln📍 Newark

Sharp Physiotherapy Doncaster helps adults aged 30–60 recover from pain, injury, and surgery so they can stay active and move with confidence. We treat all areas of the body including back, neck, shoulder, hip & groin, knee, foot, and ankle pain. Our services include physiotherapy, sports injury rehab, physio-led gym access, shockwave therapy, manual therapy, and post-surgery rehabilitation. Conveniently based in Bawtry with free parking and HCPC-registered clinicians, we're trusted by patients across Doncaster.

18/01/2026

Neck pain driving you up the wall?

The truth is, it’s rarely just about the neck alone.

For many people, it shows up as aching around the shoulder blades, tension headaches, or even migraines.

Sometimes it travels down the arm, or makes turning your head feel stiff and restricted.

And when it hangs around, it can start to affect sleep, work, and everyday life.

When that happens, most people reach for quick fixes.

Painkillers.
A new pillow bought online.
A few random stretches they’ve seen on social media.
Or they rest and hope it clears on its own.

The problem is, these approaches rarely address what’s really driving the pain, and in some cases, they can make it worse.

Neck pain usually needs a more targeted, structured approach.

The good news?

With the right treatment plan, it’s possible not only to ease the pain, but to stop it from constantly coming back.

The Sharp Physio Team

18/01/2026

ACL rehabilitation is structured into clear time based blocks with specific goals at each stage.

Weeks 0 to 6 focus on protection and foundation work.

The priorities are preventing infection, reducing swelling, restoring knee range of movement and re establishing good quadriceps activation and control.

Weeks 6 to 12 are focused on strength development.

At this stage rehabilitation typically moves into the gym with progressive and appropriately heavy loading.

Jumping and plyometric work is usually introduced between weeks 10 and 12 once strength and control criteria are met.

Straight line running is normally introduced from week 12 onwards.

From around week 16 light change of direction work can begin.

This is gradually progressed in speed range and complexity before moving into more sport specific drills that reflect the demands of the individual athlete.

Return to sport typically occurs between 6 and 9 months following surgery.

In practice 6 months is often too early and most athletes return closer to 7 and a half to 8 months depending on progress and sport demands.

Before returning to sport all relevant exit tests must be achieved.

Failure to meet objective strength power and control criteria significantly increases the risk of re rupture.

Time alone is not enough.

Safe return to sport is driven by meeting clear performance standards not just reaching a certain week post surgery.

The Sharp Physio Team

17/01/2026

Muscle injury grading has changed significantly.

The older 1,2,3 grading system was overly simplistic and did not provide enough clinical detail to guide prognosis or rehabilitation.

Current best practice uses the British Athletics Muscle Injury Classification (BAMIC) which combines numbers and letters to describe both the size of the injury and the tissue involved.

The numerical grade describes the length of the tear.

Grade 1 is a tear less than 5 cm.
Grade 2 is a tear between 5 and 15 cm.
Grade 3 is a tear greater than 15 cm.
Grade 4 is a complete rupture.

A higher number indicates greater severity.

The letter grade describes the tissue involved.

A indicates involvement of the fascia.
B indicates involvement of the muscle or the musculotendinous junction.
C indicates involvement of the tendon.

Letter grading also reflects severity.
C injuries are more severe than B injuries.
B injuries are more severe than A injuries.

This system allows more accurate diagnosis, clearer prognosis and more appropriate rehabilitation planning compared to the older grading model.

The Sharp Physio Team

17/01/2026

Neck pain rarely comes out of nowhere.

More often, it creeps in quietly, a bit of morning stiffness, a dull ache after a long day at the desk, or tension that never fully settles.

It’s easy to brush off at first, until one day you turn to reverse the car or look over your shoulder and realise your neck just doesn’t move like it used to.

That’s usually when people recognise something isn’t right.

But relieving neck pain isn’t just about easing the sharp pinch you feel when you turn your head.

It’s about restoring movement in every direction.

Your neck is built to rotate, tilt, and extend smoothly.

When even one of those movements becomes limited, the others are forced to compensate.

That’s when tension builds, stiffness increases, and pain hangs around.

Recovery comes from restoring balance, freeing up restricted movement, retraining control, and building strength where it’s needed.

With the right mix of hands-on treatment and guided exercises, you can regain full, comfortable movement and get back to feeling like yourself again.

📍 Doncaster | Lincoln | Newark

The Sharp Physio Team

16/01/2026

Almost run-ready 🏃‍♂️

Before I introduce straight-line running in ACL rehab, these are three of my go-to drills I want my patients to master first:

🔹 Isometric hamstring bridge (roughly 30° knee flexion)
A position often associated with higher injury risk — which is exactly why we train it. Build endurance where it matters (👀 40s holds).

🔹 Wall-lean triple extension
Hip. Knee. Ankle. Together. Teaching clean force production with control at end-range.

🔹 Single-leg deceleration fall
Low intensity, high confidence. Re-learning that it’s safe to slow down on one leg.

Strong positions ➡️ confident movement ➡️ running readiness

16/01/2026

Neck pain that just won’t go away?

One of the most commonly missed contributors is the sternocleidomastoid, or SCM a powerful muscle that runs from just behind the ear down to the collarbone and sternum.

Because it sits at the front of the neck, it’s often overlooked during treatment.

But when the SCM becomes tight or irritated, it can cause far more than simple neck stiffness.

It can refer pain into the head, jaw, or face, contribute to headaches or dizziness, and limit how freely you can turn your head.

Many people are surprised by how much relief they feel once this muscle is properly addressed, tension eases, movement improves, and pressure on surrounding tissues reduces.

So if you’re dealing with stubborn neck pain, recurring headaches, or persistent tightness at the front of the neck, don’t ignore the SCM.

It could be the missing piece in your recovery.

The Sharp Physio Team

16/01/2026

If you get pain or weakness when your arm goes above head this exercise helps because it builds strength and control exactly where the shoulder needs it.

It strengthens the rotator cuff as the arm moves upward which gives you active support through the full movement.

At the same time, the cuff keeps the ball centred in the socket which is the key to reducing soft tissue and joint irritation at the top of the range. This is the point where many people’s shoulder slip into a poor position.

The movement works the shoulder through different levels of abduction so the cuff learns to stabilise the joint from several angles. That carries over directly to overhead pressing pulling and daily reaching tasks.

It is important that this exercise stays completely pain free.

If there is pain, the shoulder will default to compensations instead of building true stability.

As the cuff becomes stronger, the challenge increases naturally with slower tempo or a stronger band. It can also be done seated or with both arms if early support is needed.

The Sharp Physio Team

16/01/2026

If you have torn your ACL, choosing the right consultant is one of the most important decisions you will make in your recovery.

You do not want someone who occasionally does knees alongside shoulders elbows and everything else.

You want a specialist.

Someone who works with sporting knees day in day out.

Someone who understands athletic demands return to sport and the realities of loading a knee after reconstruction.

We see a huge number of ACL cases. Different surgeons. Different techniques. Different backgrounds. And the pattern is very clear.

Patients who have their surgery done by true knee specialists do better.

They recover quicker.

They move with more confidence.

Their outcomes are stronger and more reliable long term.

ACL surgery is not just about fixing a ligament. It is about setting you up for the rest of your life.

That is why consultant selection really matters.

If you are unsure who to see or want guidance on the best knee consultants for your situation we have strong links with some of the very best across the country.

Get in touch. We are always happy to point you in the right direction.

The Sharp Physio Team

15/01/2026

That persistent ache between your shoulder blades is more common than most people realise.

Many people live with ongoing tightness or a dull mid-back ache, the kind that stretching never quite shifts.

It’s frustrating, because it feels muscular, yet the real cause is often more involved.

The mid-back, or thoracic spine, is a high-demand area.

Stiff joints and tight tissues here can create constant tension, but pain is also frequently referred from the neck.

When joints or nerves higher up become irritated, they can send pain into the upper or mid-back, making it feel like the problem sits lower than it actually does.

Rib movement and breathing patterns can play a role too.

If the ribs don’t move well, or breathing becomes shallow, the muscles around the shoulder blades are forced to work harder to support posture, leading to more tightness and discomfort.

That’s why stretching or massaging the same sore spot often only brings short-term relief without fixing the underlying issue.

By restoring movement through the spine and ribs, improving posture, and retraining breathing, that constant ache can finally settle.

The result is a back that feels lighter, freer, and far more comfortable day to day.

The Sharp Physio Team

15/01/2026

Not all hamstring injuries are the same, and some signs suggest that an injury may be more significant than a simple muscle strain.

One of the key indicators is bruising.

Visible bruising usually means there has been a more substantial amount of tissue damage.

This often points to a higher grade injury and the larger and more widespread the bruising, the more carefully the injury should be assessed.

Another important factor is the location of the pain.

Pain that sits high up near the bum cheek or low down at the back of the knee can indicate involvement of the tendon rather than just the muscle belly.

This distinction matters.

Tendon injuries behave very differently to muscle belly injuries and require a more cautious approach.

Hamstring tendon injuries need to be taken much more seriously for several reasons.

They typically take longer to heal than muscle injuries and they have a higher risk of recurrence if not managed properly.

Progression is often slower and loading needs to be very carefully planned.

It is also important to understand that not all tendon injuries respond fully to physiotherapy alone.

While rehab remains the foundation of treatment, some cases require more invasive interventions beyond standard physio to fully settle symptoms and restore function.

If a hamstring injury is associated with significant bruising, pain close to the bum cheek or the back of the knee, or symptoms that do not improve as expected, it should be assessed by a physio as soon as possible.

The Sharp Physio Team

14/01/2026

Pain at the back of your shoulder? It might not actually be a shoulder issue…

Posterior shoulder pain is often blamed on tight muscles or a rotator cuff problem, but in many cases, the neck is the real driver.

When nerves in the neck become irritated, they can send pain into the back of the shoulder, even when the shoulder itself moves perfectly well.

Here’s the reassuring part.

There are a few simple checks that can help point you in the right direction:

✔️ Does turning your head or looking down bring on the pain?
✔️ Does easing tension in the neck change how the shoulder feels?
✔️ Does the pain settle when treatment focuses higher up, not just on the shoulder?

That’s why effective rehab looks beyond the sore spot and targets the true source of the problem.

The Sharp Physio Team

14/01/2026

The first symptom of a frozen shoulder is usually pain.

This pain can be difficult to pin down and often feels quite diffuse rather than sharp or localised.

It may be felt at the front of the shoulder, the back, or the outer side, and it commonly travels down the upper arm.

However, pain is not the defining feature of a frozen shoulder.

The key symptom is a gradual loss of range of movement.

This is what separates a frozen shoulder from many other shoulder problems.

Over time, movements that were once easy start to feel restricted, stiff, and blocked rather than just painful.

This loss of range quickly translates into everyday problems. Simple tasks begin to feel awkward or frustrating.

Reaching up to a cupboard becomes difficult. Putting a coat or jacket on requires compensation or help from the other arm.

Reaching behind your back, such as when doing a bra strap up, often becomes one of the earliest and most noticeable limitations.

The Sharp Physio Team

Address

14 The Courtyard
Bawtry
DN106JG

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 8pm
Tuesday 8am - 8pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+441302244093

Website

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