Cross Bay Challenge event boosts students' skills

Our programme offers undergraduates many opportunities to develop their skills in a 'real-world' environment.

A group of Sports Therapy students recently travelled to Cumbria to support competitors at the Cross Bay Challenge charity fundraising event.

Tom Khan, Regan Fox, Melissa Clive and Ashleigh Careless provided post-event massage to participants, with all funds raised going to CancerCare - an independent charity dedicated to helping North Lancashire & South Lakeland families affected by cancer and other life-limiting conditions.

The event featured a half marathon, family walk and fatbike cycle challenge, and gave our students the chance to treat a variety of people and gain valuable hands-on experience.

For more information about CancerCare please click here.

Are You Wimbledon Ready?

Tennis is a great form of exercise, requiring full body participation and good hand-eye coordination.

Despite the benefits of tennis, it puts a lot of strain on the body through repetitive movements, leading to various injuries through overuse and lack of conditioning of the muscles.

However, injuries can be avoided through proper technique and training routines.

Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is often caused by over use of the wrist extensor muscles through improper backhand technique and poor body positioning.

To avoid tennis elbow, it is important to select the correct racquet and maintain a good grip size. High string tension and smaller racquets can lead to tennis elbow as the forearm muscles need to exert more force. The grip should be a good size and can be determined by measuring the distance from the crease of your palm to the tip of the ring finger.

Tennis elbow is treated by rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). The condition can become chronic but can be treated by decreasing playing time, tennis elbow supports, and rehabilitation through constant repetition of simple exercises, increasing in difficulty as strength increases.

However, if these methods of treatment do not work, injection therapy may be considered or referral for an orthopaedic surgeon's review.

Wrist strain

To prevent wrist strain it is important to keep a good grip position, with the racquet forming an 'L' position with the forearm.

Rotator cuff injury

The rotator cuff is made up of muscles and tendons linking the shoulder blade to the humerus, enabling the shoulder to move in many different directions. Overuse of these muscles and tendons can lead to micro-damage within the tendons or small tears.

Rotator cuff injuries are often caused by excessive overhead serving, which occurs if you hold your arm at a 90 degree angle from your side whilst serving. If the angle is increased to ideally 135 degrees, your chance of rotator cuff injury is greatly reduced.

This injury is treated with rest, ice, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. If symptoms continue after a week of treatment or when you return to playing, it is important to see a therapist and modify your technique to help prevent recurrence.

Back pain

Although back injuries are very common in all sports, they can be common in tennis due to hard ground or volume of training/playing. The exaggerated arched posture for service strokes causes stress to the small joints and soft tissues of the spine, and is the cause of back pain. Strengthening the abdominal and back muscles can minimise back pain and increase flexibility.

Knee pain

Knee pain is common in tennis players, particularly front knee pain, due to either the softening of the cartilage of the patella, or tendinitis. Treatment for this involves the RICE method and then a progressive rehabilitation plan to start loading the tissue to return to sport.

Some people use braces on ankles and knees for the feeling of comfort and support. If you are unsure if this is appropriate for you please discuss with your Physiotherapist.

Ankle sprains

Risk of ankle sprains can be minimised by wearing appropriate shoes designed specifically for tennis that provide substantial support for the foot. The RICE method is used for 24 to 36 hours to treat ankle sprains, with an appropriate rehabilitation after the injury to make sure that the ankle returns to its pre-injured level and reduces any long term effects.

All injuries should be treated by a trained, registered professional. UCLan Physiotherapy Clinic can help if you are struggling with an injury or recurring pain. The Clinic is run by professionally registered physiotherapists and sports therapists and we is recognised by all major private health companies.

For more details please click here or Telephone 01772 894902.

UCLan students support charity strongman event

Four UCLan Sports Therapy students gained valuable industry experience as some of the UK's largest athletes battled to be crowned Blackpool's Strongest Man.

The quartet played a key role in offering soft tissue therapy support to competitors who had gathered in the resort to take part in a series of exciting challenges.

Lecturer Rob Hamilton said it was a fantastic opportunity to consolidate their hands-on therapy skills in a very unique environment.

"The event helped the students hone their handling skills and fine tune their techniques on a very different body type than they had previously encountered," said Rob.

"The feedback from the athletes was second to none, praising the benefits they experienced and how much it helped them to perform to their best ability."

Organised by the Lancashire-based Our Local Heroes Foundation charity, the event formed part of Blackpool's Armed Forces Week celebrations.

After a gruelling day of tests including a truck pull and a car deadlift, Dale Peters was crowned champion with Ryan England runner-up and Jon Bleach in third.

Student Nicole Benson said working at the event was an enjoyable experience: "Massaging such muscular athletes was a lot different to what I've done during my first year. It's given me more much more confidence in my skills and I was really pleased to receive positive feedback about my work."

Andrew Ball added: "The event was an excellent learning experience for me. I picked up different techniques from the other therapists and I feel this will be of big benefit to me when I progress onto my second year."

To view a selection of pictures from the event please click here.

Zambia trip a life-changing experience

Our programmes provide many opportunities for students to gain valuable work experience before they start their careers.

Sports Therapy student Sam Heap recently accompanied colleagues from various schools across the university to Africa as part of this year's UCLan Sport for Development Project trip.

Established in 2008 by Cliff Olsson, Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching & Development in the School of Sport, Tourism and The Outdoors, the project gives undergraduates the opportunity to study the global value and contribution sport can make towards supporting the Millennium Development Goals.

The scheme aims to actively support Sport for Development projects being delivered in some of the poorest parts of the world by agencies such as Sport in Action and Zambia-based Edusport.

Sam said the trip was an eye-opening experience: "HIV, AIDS and drug abuse is a massive issue in Africa. We had to teach and educate the children about these problems through the use of sport. It was challenging at first because of the language barrier, but with the help of other peer leaders we managed to overcome this.

"We spent the first week in a community school with three of us looking after over 200 children. Some of them were really badly behaved and it was very challenging. We later moved on to a government funded school which was more structured, but still testing.

"The trip was a big culture shock but also very life-changing for me. In the UK you can donate to charity, but to be able to actually go there and see what the problems are was an enlightening experience."

In the past few years UCLan students have raised over £10,000 towards buying basic sports equipment and supported the building of basketball courts in local rural schools in Zambia.

The project has also provided the opportunity for local voluntary sports leaders from Zambia to come to Preston and share their skills and knowledge with local community volunteers and children from local schools.

In addition to making a difference to people's lives, the trip offers students the chance to apply their skills in a different environment than they are normally exposed to. Sam said this would be a big help to her in the future.

"Going to Zambia has definitely opened my eyes to some of the opportunities that are open to me," said Sam. "Rather than just thinking I'd be working with adults, it's enhanced my skills so I can now consider working with children in sport or in other areas.

"I'd like to go back in 2016 to gain even more experience. I've been told I did well on this year's trip, so I'm hoping to return as a Team Leader. It would be great to see how the money we've raised has been spent and what changes have been made to the children's lives."

To view pictures from the trip please click here.

Stressed? Let our qualified staff help

Stress is a natural part of life that can be beneficial to your health and safety.

Stress can be triggered by numerous pressures related to everyday responsibilities, negative life events, physical illness, and traumatic stress such as disaster or a violent attack.

However, when we fail to recognise a build-up of stress in our lives and take on more than we can handle it can be detrimental to our health.

The body's natural reaction to stress

The body releases hormones and increases breathing and heart rates when reacting to stressful situation, leading to the brain receiving more oxygen and helping to cope with difficult situations in the short term.

Effects of stress on the body

Although we know that long term untreated stress can lead to anxiety and depression, stress also affects various systems within your body. Stress has a negative impact on your digestive system, muscular system, and respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Digestive

When you are stressed your liver produces extra blood sugar, which the body reabsorbs when unused. However, if you are constantly stressed, your body may not cope with the increase in blood sugar levels, leaving you at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You may also experience acid reflux and heartburn, nausea, vomiting, or a stomach ache.

Muscular

Muscle tension is a by-product of stress and can become problematic, as the muscles don't have the chance to relax when the body is stressed which can lead to headaches, back and shoulder pain, and body pain. These problems can be treated with pain relief medication but to avoid long term problems it is important they are treated with physiotherapy.

Respiratory and Cardiovascular

Stress can have a significant impact upon your cardiovascular and respiratory systems. When stressed you breathe faster to distribute oxygen and blood quickly to the body in order to relax. However, if you have a health problem such as asthma or emphysema the reaction to stress can worsen the condition.

As well as rapid breathing the heart also pumps faster when stressed. Blood vessels then constrict and increase blood pressure due to stress hormones, helping with the delivery of oxygen to the brain and heart to provide greater energy.

Although temporary stress can be beneficial in the short term, chronic stress can put too much pressure on your heart, increasing risk of hypertension and heart problems. It also leaves you at higher risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

According to reports 43% of all adults suffer from stress related health issues, whilst up to 90% of doctor's visits are for stress-related complaints.

Physiotherapy is great for relaxing the body, having many benefits:

• Reducing muscle tension
• Decreasing tiredness
• Improving concentration span
• Decreasing blood pressure
• Reducing risk of cardiovascular disease
• Reducing pain such as headaches and chronic pain syndromes

At the UCLan Physiotherapy Clinic your Chartered Physiotherapist will treat areas of muscle tension with massage and stretches, teach you the necessary relaxation techniques and give you appropriate advice.

Should you need more specialist help, your physiotherapist will liaise with your doctor to ensure that you are referred for appropriate counselling and treatment.

To begin your journey to a stress-free life please call 01772 894902 or email us for an appointment.