Screening

What is physiotherapy screening?

Working as a team of Physios, we can provide a comprehensive assessment of all factors related to your injuries, including those caused by swimming, running, golf, and cycling.

We may use video motor analysis to look at your patterns of movements in your sport, then we can explain the biomechanics and assess any muscle imbalances in length or strength that may lead to trauma or overuse injuries.

Musculoskeletal screening is a process whereby the sporting person is assessed using specific standardised tests and procedures to gain information on several areas of the patient’s physical makeup.

These will cover:

Joint range of motion
Flexibility
Core strength
Functional strength (sports specific)

The purpose of the screening is to highlight any previous injury and its effects on performance and conditioning, it also aims to highlight areas within the 4 categories above where the patient demonstrates inefficiency which could be a pre determining factor to injury.

It is therefore very much a tool for improving physical health and performance, as well as a tool for injury prevention.

The screening is divided into 3:

First, we carry out a detailed questionnaire looking at your history of injuries to relate the screening to those areas. We will question your activities and sporting habits from the equipment you use to your preparation and cooldown activities.
Next, we carry out the screening which will take between 30-45 minutes.
Finally, we advise you on a set of exercises to help address any issues found during the screening process.

Anyone can receive a screening assessment, from amateur to professional sports people, to someone who has been injury prone or out of sport or activity for some time and wants to get back to sport safely.

Musculoskeletal screening is a safe effective way of assessing the body for areas that can be improved. So if you are trying to shave time off your PB on your bike, improve your marathon time or you want to return or take up a new sport, screening could benefit you.

The Big Six Sports Injuries

Running

The high rate of running injuries makes focusing on prevention key. If you can prevent injuries, you’ll be able to run more consistently, reach a higher weekly mileage, do more challenging workouts – and ultimately, race a lot faster for longer.

Skiing

There’s no doubt about it, snow sports are fun. Whether you’re hurtling down the side of a mountain at 40 mph, or exploring backcountry terrain; snow sports always involve excitement, adventure and exhilaration.

Golf

Basic cardiovascular fitness is essential. Regular walking, running or cross-training on a stair machine, elliptical trainer, swimming, and cycling are all ways to improve general fitness.

Tennis

The sun is shining, the strawberries are ripening and the tennis season is upon us! The tournaments held at the Queen’s Club and The All England Club in London are just around the corner, inspiring many of you to get back out on the court.

Cycling

There are two main types of cycling injury, those caused by falling off (which we don’t discuss below) and the issues caused by overtraining, biomechanical stresses, often due to muscle imbalances, and incorrect bike set-up.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the most popular sports in the world. We swim in the sea, pools, lakes, streams, rivers and even ponds. And given that 70% of the Earth’s surface is water, we’re not short of opportunities.