It’s an exciting time for Tasmanian football, and Charlotte Sayers is right at the heart of it.
Charlotte has taken on the role of Head Physiotherapist for the inaugural Tasmania Devils VFLW team, helping lead the medical and performance program as the Devils take their next major step towards the national football stage.
Joint hypermobility refers to a greater-than-normal range of movement within one or more joints due to increased laxity of connective tissues such as ligaments and joint capsules. It exists on a spectrum, ranging from asymptomatic hypermobility to hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
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.
