Category: BODYSYSTEM Blog

A rotator cuff tear can significantly affect a person’s ability to work, exercise and perform everyday activities. These injuries can occur with both trauma or generalised overuse and occasionally need to be repaired surgically. However, the operation is only one part of the recovery process. The role of physiotherapy is to guide patients through their recovery aiming to get their range of motion, strength and function back at appropriate intervals depending on their exact surgery and circumstances.

Youth rowing presents incredible opportunities for athletic development, but it also places significant demands on growing bodies. As a sports physiotherapist working with rowers across school, state, national, and Olympic pathways, I’ve consistently observed that the athletes who progress most successfully are not necessarily those who train the hardest. Rather, they are the athletes who develop strong movement foundations, manage training loads effectively, recover well, and address small issues before they become major injuries.

The story for years has been if a young athlete is to specialise early, they will have a greater chance at success in their chosen sport. However, the research now refutes this statement for most sports. To begin changing the narrative, a position statement from the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) was released in 2019 on Early Sport Specialisation in Young Athletes. It concluded that early sport specialisation is generally not necessary for future sporting success and may increase the risk of injury, burnout and dropping out of sport altogether.

Kate Moore was recently appointed the Australian Women’s Cricket Team Physio. It’s with mixed emotions that she takes on this role as it means she will be working full time with Cricket Australia for the next 12 months, which she is very much looking forward to, however will mean stepping away from BODYSYSTEM after 15 years.

Dancing has long been thought of as an art rather than a sport. But with the unique demands of flexibility, cardio, strength, jumping and speed dancers should definitely be considered athletes. And as with any athlete, injury prevention is important for ensuring longevity and optimising performance. This is particularly important in younger dancers who are developing their dance skills at the same time as their bodies are growing. But for dancers of any age, when we look at injury prevention, we take a holistic approach and consider factors related to both safe performance and optimal recovery.

Main Principles for Strength Exercise and Bone Mineral Density

Main Principles for Strength Exercise and Bone Mineral Density

If you have been diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, you may have been told to “do some strength exercise”, but not all strength exercise is created equal when it comes to bone health. I want to share the evidence behind why individualised, progressive strength training is the most effective and safest intervention to improve bone mineral density (BMD), reduce fracture risk, and protect your long-term health.

Ageing is often associated with declining muscle mass, reduced mobility, and increased risk of chronic disease. But these outcomes are not inevitable. Strength training—also known as resistance training—is one of the most effective, evidence-based strategies older adults can use to maintain independence, improve health, and enhance quality of life.

Nick Wison recently travelled to Italy with the Australian Winter Paralympic team. He was the health performance lead for the Para-Nordic skiing group in the small mountain village of Predazzo.

Para-Nordic is a combination of 2 separate events – cross-country skiing and biathlon. The cross-country skiing events cover various distances with a sprint, middle, and long-distance event, and the biathlon combines target shooting with cross-country skiing.