Watch our Clinic Tour

We have made a video about Leeds Physiotherapy Clinic.

Sarah Field takes you for a tour of Leeds Physiotherapy Clinic whilst detailing all that we have done to make the clinic safe for visitors during the pandemic.

We’re Open

Good News!

We are proud to announce that from Monday 29th June, we will be re-opening the Clinic to our regular business hours.

Please ring the clinic number to speak to one of our Physios or send us an email to book an appointment.

We have missed seeing all of our clients in the clinic and look forward to welcoming you back, with reasonable adjustments in place to ensure we are operating safely and adhering to guidelines from the Government.

The Leeds Physio Clinic Team

Coronavirus Update

In order to reassure all existing and future clients, we would like to make you aware that whilst we remain open, we have been taking additional, rigorous hygiene precautions within the clinic to limit the spread of coronavirus.

We ask of course that should you present with any symptoms such as a continuous cough and/or and high temperature, have returned from abroad in the last 14 days, or live with somebody that has, that you do not attend the clinic.

Should you have any questions about our procedures, please do give us a call on 0113 245 7800.

We intend to keep in touch with our clients and we will let you know in due course as to what are planning.

Try acupuncture!

Why Yoga. Why Not.

How many times have you been told yoga is good for you? Countless I’m sure.

Really though, the benefits of yoga shouldn’t be underestimated. It is a safe and effective way to increase physical activity, especially strength, flexibility and balance.

So why don’t people want to do it (or even try it).

Yoga is for women!

Ok. I can see what you mean. When I think of yoga I think of the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria clad in their yoga pants and armed with their yoga mats. It’s natural to have those images. But what I doubt you have ever thought of is major sportspeople doing yoga as part of their training like the New Zealand All Blacks, who play in arguably the most manly (I say this only for the connotations of the word). And might I add that when Shaquille O’Neal retired from the NBA he took up yoga to keep himself in shape.

Yoga doesn’t build muscle, it just tones.

You can build muscle with yoga, but maybe not at the same rate as you would with weight training. With each yoga pose you are carrying your own body weight, so there is weight involved. The benefit to yoga however is that you build your muscular endurance as each pose is held for a long period of time. It also helps you activate muscles that may otherwise be forgotten, this is important because these muscles help to stabilise you.

Yoga isn’t challenging enough/Yoga is too hard.

It may surprise some but like learning to ride a bike, yoga will be challenging at first, as is learning any new skill. Whether its syncing your breath to your movements or getting your forehead to the floor in Child’s Pose, it won’t all come naturally. Once you master these skills, there are always new ways to challenge yourself by trying harder variations of each pose, allowing yourself into a deeper stretch or holding the pose much longer than you are used to.

If the pace is too slow for you, why not try Vinyasa yoga where you repeat a series of poses at a faster pace with the intention to raise body heat and increase muscle strength.

Yoga is super expensive.

Time to debunk this theory. Yoga is much more accessible than you think. In Leeds, classes are around £6-£9 a session with many offering member rates. The Yoga Space currently offer a trial of 5 classes for £20 which would give you a chance to try yoga practices and find which suits you best. Other places in Leeds that provide yoga are Yoga Kula (Chapel Allerton), Yoga Hero (Leeds Dock) and not forgetting that your gym/leisure centre may offer yoga classes as part of their weekly timetable.

Another way to do yoga inexpensively is online. There are many YouTube accounts such as Yoga With AdrieneYoga With Kassandra,  and Yoga With Tim. Each of these accounts have several videos that take you through different practices, you can pick and choose what suits you best based on how much time you have or how your feeling. The great thing about using YouTube for yoga is that you can do it from the comfort of you own home at a time that suits you and it’s inexpensive. You can grab a yoga mat online or at your local sports retailer for less than a tenner, throw on something comfy and get going. The only negative to doing home yoga would be that you don’t have teacher in the room with you to make corrections but as you get more familiar wit the moves and the practices, you may be able to feel what is right and what isn’t.

Another place to get your yoga fix is the NHS Fitness Studio which has videos for not only yoga, but pilates, and other core workouts.

 


Health Benefits of Yoga

Regular yoga practice has been shown to be beneficial for people with high blood pressure, heart disease, aches and pains. It not only helps with these physical ailments but has been shown to lower stress and depression in some individuals.

Due to it’s role in increasing strength balance and coordination it can decrease the risk of falls in older people.

Yoga and mindfulness based exercise has been proven to be an effective intervention for a number of common conditions that are present in residents living with dementia such as: anxiety, depression, co-ordination and balance problems (McCall, 2007).


Have we sparked an interest?

Read the 10 most shared articles on Yoga here

To Ice or Not To Ice

That is the question.

Often people ask for advice as to whether they should use ice after injury of not. At schools, pupils are educated on the RICE principle – Rest Ice Compression Elevation – but what should you really be doing.


When to use ice?

Apply ice for 15-20 minutes every 2-3 hours within the first 48-72 hours following the [soft-tissue] injury

– NICE Guidelines 2016

Why use it?

  • Ice can alleviate pain
  • It also reduces swelling

When to be cautious?

If you suffer from a peripheral vascular disease or Raynauds it would be best to seek advice as to whether you should use ice as a treatment for your injury.

You should also take precautions to avoid frostbite, such as wrapping the ice-pack in a tea towel. Also avoid applying ice to an open wound.

Never Too Late

Many adults aged 65 and over spend, on average, 10 hours or more each day sitting or lying down, making them the most sedentary age group (NHS).

As we get older, it becomes much more important to remain active with studies suggesting from 30 years of age, we begin losing 3-5 percent of muscle per year. When our muscles are weak, we are more susceptible to falls and ill-health so to avoid frailty we need to do something.

Guidelines recommend strengthening your bones and muscles at least twice a week but this needn’t be as hard as it seems. Activity can be found in everything that we do, from carrying the shopping to putting out the washing, each movement can help you build strength.

Think about how these activities integrate into your daily life, and when they become easy challenge yourself. Our bodies are terrific instruments and they adapt quickly to what we want them to do. If you begin to find going shopping easier, why not use a basket rather than pushing a trolley for smaller shops : when gardening, once you’re used to kneeling with your bottom on your heels try kneeling on your knees for a while. Every small change you make will help your muscles retain some of their strength and help you avoid injury and illness.


Aside from making daily activities harder, there are many other ways you can keep yourself moving.

Other activities with the most benefit to you and your strength:

– Ball Games

Ever heard of walking football? It’s a great alternative to the ordinary game

As we get older, many of us struggle with our balance, strength, stamina, weight and worst of all confidence and self-esteem levels but walking football has the potential to make a significant impact in all these areas, building body strength, improving muscles, core stability and hopefully losing some of the weight usually gained during the ageing process.

The Walking Football Association.  

– Racket Sports

Many parks in Leeds have open tennis courts that you can reserve for free such as Chapel Allerton, Meanwood and Roundhay. Take a friend or family member and have a gentle game.

– Nordic Walking

Nordic walking is a total body version of walking which uses walking poles similar to ski poles to decrease the load and strain on the lower body. It helps tone upper arms, shoulders and back muscles whilst helping you to develop core strength and stability. You can book a taster session here.

– Resistance Training

If this is more your type of exercise why not start with some body weight exercise that you can do in your home or garden.

    • Squats
    • Lunges
    • Push-ups (against the wall, on your knees, or on your toes)
    • Dips
    • Shoulder presses (reaching your hands in the air or with water bottles)
    • Step-ups
    • Bicycle crunches (two to three sets of ten to 15 reps three times a week)

 

Going Green

On January 6th 2020, Leeds City Council will be introducing the Clean Air Zone which, although directly related to commercial vehicles coming in and out of the city, has led us to think about how clean we are as a small business.

It is hard to avoid the desperate need to live ethically in a world threatened by climate change and so we thought we should share with you how we try to do our bit.

If you have visited our clinic, you may have noticed the couch roll we use for each patient. Each of these couch rolls, and in fact each of our hand towels, are made from recycled paper. Once used they are recycled to be given yet another lease of life. We are very particular about where our waste goes and by everything separate we can ensure that nothing ends up in landfill that could otherwise be repurposed or recycled.

Electricity is something that we need in the modern world to be able to run a business smoothly and effectively but electricity is also a major contributor to the increase in greenhouse gases which in turn are leading to global warming. But, without electricity, we wouldn’t be able to get much done in the clinic, especially being a basement building where we don’t get much natural light. We know that our demand for electricity can’t be avoided and so we have found an energy provider that sources 100% of its energy from renewable sources (such as solar power, wind power, biomass & landfill gas and hydropower). By providing natural soaps which are effective at low temperatures we can further reduce our energy consummation as we can achieve the same level of cleanliness without having to heat our water to high temperatures. All our uniforms are washed at low temperatures with eco-friendly soaps. This means that we can lower our carbon footprint.

With being in the centre of Leeds, it gives us many options of travel into work, with some of us opting to cycle into the city centre, park and ride using the local buses and take the train into Leeds station.

Some of these products and changes we have made are more expensive than the standard but we believe that they are a better option for us. They help us to do better for our climate without drastically changing the way in which we go about our daily tasks. As we become more aware of swaps that we can make, we reduce our landfill pile more and more.

Can you suggest any more ways we can lower our carbon footprint?

PwC Ride the Nation

With the Tour de France coming to an end I thought there would be no better time than to reflect on  PwC Ride the Nation (#PwCRtN), PwC’s charity cycle event with which Mike, Sarah and John helped out.

Starting in Birmingham, a team of just five riders attempted to cover a distance of around 2,000 miles in just 28 days, joined by colleagues from offices across the country who took part in daily sportifs or local rides and activities. PwC have run this event in previous years and gained the support of over 700 employees, either saddling up, or helping in other fundraising activities. So far, this event has helped raise over £300,000 for all the PwC Foundation Charities.

Mike prepping for the riders arrival

As the riders made their journey from Thirsk to Manchester, they made a pit stop in Leeds, home to Leeds Physio Clinic, where Sarah, John and Mike were armed with massage beds and lotion ready to spring some life into tired legs. It was amazing to see how enthusiastic each of the riders were as they pulled into Leeds, especially once they were told a massage awaited them. As they departed, their smiles strong and ever present.

Here at Leeds Physio, we commend the strength and resilience of those who took part in this event. The weather was horrendous, with all hopes for a sunny June lost. The task they had to complete was not the easiest, but they put their heads down and pedalled their

John refreshing some tired legs

hearts out to support these fantastic charities.

Well done once again, and thank you PwC Leeds for letting us be part of such a wonderful and beneficial event. We hope that our hands-on treatments and our words of wisdom and encouragement helped you all continue your journey cross-country.

If you have an event you’d like us to help out with get in touch with us either by phone or by email to discuss this firther.

-Leeds Physio Team