Trigger Point Therapy - Assessing Athletes for Common Hip, Knee and Shin Pain

How the smartphone has become the therapists magic tool!

Runners frequently develop hip, knee and shin pain much of which may have trigger points as a root cause.

Because trigger points make their host muscles shorter, weaker, and less efficient, this will often cause the runner to unknowingly compensate putting undesired strain on other muscles, with a knock-on effect in form, technique and performance.

In today's video blog, Stuart Hinds shows how he uses the video app on his phone to assess the running technique of his clients, and to help identify those tiny but all important signals that something might be going wrong.

So just how common are running-related injuries?

These are the stats according to one major study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine:

• 65% of all runners will be injured in any year.

• For every 100 hours of running, the average runner will sustain 1 running injury.

• The average runner will miss about 5-10 percent of their workouts due to injury each year.

• Novice runners are significantly MORE likely to be injured than individuals who have been running for many years.

• Only 50% of these injuries are new – the rest are recurrences of previous problems.

Stuart Hinds is one of Australia's leading soft tissue therapists and is highly regarded for his work with elite athletes including his contribution to the Australian Olympic teams (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012).