James Whiteley physiotherapy

12/11/2025

12/11/2025

Explore your path to better health—visit my website today! Discover tailored physiotherapy services that support your recovery and enhance your well-being.

08/11/2025

Tight or Sore Hamstrings?
Here’s What You Need to Know!

Hamstring strains and tightness are really common — whether you’re a weekend runner, a gym enthusiast, or someone who sits a lot during the day.

Physiotherapy can help you:
✅ Reduce pain and inflammation
✅ Improve flexibility and strength
✅ Prevent future injuries
✅ Get back to doing what you love — faster and safer!

A full assessment will help identify the cause, it’s not always the hamstring itself, and create a personalized plan including manual therapy, targeted exercises, and movement retraining.

**Pro tip:** Consistency with your exercises is the key to long-term results!

If you’ve been dealing with tightness or that “pull” in the back of your leg, don’t wait for it to get worse — book your physio session today and start moving freely again! 💪

I am a physio with more than 25 years experience and have been based in Sidford since 2006. Call or text 07882 508822, email james@jameswhiteleyphysiotherapy.co.uk or book online. Let me help you to get the most out of life.

19/10/2025

Certainly food for thought. Eccentric exercise has long been thought to be an important part of the rehab of muscle and tendon injuries

📃📌 Hamstring Injuries: Why They Happen, What Works, and The Hidden Keys to Prevention

▪️ Hamstring injuries are a massive challenge in sports, known for their high incidence and recurrence rates.
▪️ They account for about 10% of all injuries in field-based sports, with recurrence rates ranging widely from 15% to 70%.
▪️ Despite decades of intervention strategies, such as resistance training, the prevalence remains stubbornly high, demanding a deeper look into both injury mechanisms and prevention strategies.

⚙️ The Mechanism of Hamstring Injury

▪️ Most hamstring injuries (over 80%) occur during high-speed running.
▪️ The most vulnerable phase is the late swing phase, where the hamstrings act eccentrically.

⬜ 1. The Vulnerable Position:
During late swing, the hamstrings must produce large eccentric forces while operating at long muscle lengths to decelerate the leg.
Animal studies confirm that muscle injuries often happen when high strains occur at long muscle lengths.

⬜ 2. The Primary Victim:
The biceps femoris long head (BFlh) is the muscle most commonly affected.
Musculoskeletal modeling suggests the BFlh muscle–tendon unit (MTU) length peaks significantly longer (at 112% of upright standing length) compared to other hamstring muscles during this phase, placing significantly more strain on it.

⬜ 3. The Core Problem:
Injuries in this phase typically result from insufficient or delayed neural activation, or an inability to produce the necessary force to resist active overstretching.

▪️ Two major risk factors are consistently identified: low eccentric strength and short muscle fascicle lengths.
▪️ Athletes with short resting fascicle lengths (

18/10/2025

“The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.” – Mark Twain

Twain strikes at the heart of ignorance — the stubbornness that blinds reason. Truth is not weak, but it cannot argue with a mind that has chosen blindness. Logic fails when pride has already made its choice.
🕰️ The fool does not seek to understand; he seeks to confirm. No amount of light can help the man who keeps his eyes closed. And yet, societies fall into ruin because too many prefer comfort in illusion over the pain of awakening.
Truth does not chase; it waits. The wise learn that it is not their duty to convince, but to remain steadfast in honesty — for time itself is the ultimate judge. Lies may win applause, but truth outlasts every echo.

11/10/2025

The Future of a Generation: Hyperkyphosis from Excessive Screen Use 😬

We’re witnessing a troubling trend — the posture of a generation being reshaped by screens. Hours spent hunched over phones, tablets, and laptops are leading to a condition known as hyperkyphosis — an excessive forward curvature of the upper spine.

What was once seen mostly in the elderly is now appearing in teenagers and young adults, their necks craned downward for hours each day. The constant strain on the spine, shoulders, and neck muscles gradually alters posture, causing the classic “tech neck” or hunchback appearance.

Beyond looks, the consequences run deeper: chronic pain, reduced lung capacity, nerve compression, and long-term musculoskeletal damage. Doctors warn that these posture issues, left unchecked, could become one of the most widespread lifestyle-induced deformities of the 21st century.

It’s a silent epidemic of our digital age — one text, one scroll, one slouch at a time.

01/10/2025

The ColyTen race is just around the corner, I will be there to provide pre and post race taping and massage -£10 for 10 minutes. I will also have rolls of tape, Fisiocrem massage cream and cold packs available to buy. Come along for a chat and learn how physiotherapy can support your performance and recovery journey.

It’s cutting it fine but if you’re carrying any niggles or injuries call or text 07882 508822 or book online.