Sunninghill Physiotherapy

07/11/2025

This is a seminal study from nearly 15 years ago that still doesn’t guide enough people’s thinking when planning training programmes.

🧠 Study Summary — Nielsen et al., 2012

Design: Prospective cohort study of 873 novice runners followed for 1 year, monitoring training volume, injury incidence & progression rate via digital training logs.

Key Findings: Runners who increased weekly mileage by >30% within 2 weeks had a 64–128% higher injury risk.

Injuries were distance-related (load accumulation rather than acute overload):

→ Achilles tendinopathy
→ Patellofemoral pain
→ Iliotibial band syndrome
→ Plantar fasciitis

Injuries didn’t appear immediately — often lagging 3–6 weeks behind the training spike.

Cardiovascular adaptations outpaced tissue adaptation → “fit but fragile” phase.

Take-home: Gradual, progressive load beats aggressive growth.

Tissues need time to catch up with fitness.

06/11/2025

An old post that’s worth resharing as it’s one of the biggest frustrations for injured athletes.

Returning an endurance athlete back to full training and competition is as much an art as a science.

One strategy I use to test an athletes tolerance is the “3 to see” rule.

This involves repeating the same run / bike / swim session 3 times to assess response.

If the reaction is appropriate then we progress either speed or distance (but never both simultaneously) and repeat the rule.

In cases where we may be more confident in the response then we can accelerate this to only 2 sessions, and of course, can protract it to 4 as needed to.

It takes away the guesswork and provides a framework to progress.

19/10/2025

Your jaw controls your pelvis - here’s how:

When your jaw clenches, your pelvis compensates.

The cascade:
1️.Jaw imbalance pulls your head forward
2️.Your neck muscles tighten to stabilize
3️.Your spine compensates by shifting
4️.Your pelvis tilts to maintain balance
5️.One-sided back pain, hip tightness, or SI joint dysfunction appears

Why this happens:
1.Your jaw connects to deep neck muscles that attach directly to your spine.

2.When jaw muscles stay tight, they create a chain of compensations that travel downward.

3.Your brain tries to keep you balanced, so when your head shifts forward from jaw tension, your pelvis shifts backward.

👉🏽This is why jaw clenchers often have chronic lower back issues that don’t respond long term to hip stretches or core work.

The pattern: Stressed → Clench jaw → Head forward → Pelvis compensates → Chronic pain

Most people treat the pelvis or lower back. But the trigger is higher up - in the jaw.

Fix the jaw tension, and the pelvic compensation often releases automatically.

25/09/2025

🌍💨 World Lung Day 💨🌍

Your lungs work tirelessly every day to keep you moving, breathing and living well. Physiotherapists play a key role in helping people strengthen their lungs, improve breathing, manage conditions such as asthma, COPD and post-COVID symptoms, and maintain overall health.

This World Lung Day, take a deep breath, get moving and remember that movement is medicine for your lungs.

👩‍⚕️ Speak to your physiotherapist for personalised exercises to support healthy breathing.

11/09/2025

09/09/2025

08/09/2025

As we close World Physiotherapy Day 2025, the South African Society of Physiotherapy celebrates every physiotherapist who empowers movement, restores independence, and improves quality of life across our nation.

Today reminds us of the vital role physiotherapy plays in building healthier communities and stronger futures. Let us continue to move forward together, advancing care, advocating for our profession, and making every step count.