The Barefoot Therapist

💚KAIZEN💚

There's a Japanese practice with no real English word for it. Kaizen. The closest translation is "good change," but what it actually means is improvement so small it's almost embarrassing to mention.

It came out of factories rebuilding after the war, when there was no money for dramatic overhauls. So instead of chasing one giant leap, they asked every worker for one tiny improvement. Move a bin six inches closer. Save four seconds. Nothing you'd brag about. But thousands of four-second improvements, compounding for decades, built some of the most efficient companies on earth. The tortoise didn't just beat the hare. The tortoise built Toyota.

We've been taught the opposite. Go big or go home. New year, new you. Overhaul everything Monday. And it fails for everyone, every time, because giant change requires giant willpower, and willpower is the one fuel that always runs out.

A ten-minute walk is embarrassingly small. So is one extra glass of water, or one vegetable, or going to bed fifteen minutes earlier. That's the point. It's so small your resistance can't find anything to fight. And small, repeated ten thousand times, is how actual bodies actually change.

Stop trying to change your life. Try to change the next ten minutes.

Thanks Dr. Laurie Marbas for the reminder 👌🫶

The best calf stretch ever! PLUS the bonus of helping the plantar fascia of your foot get a stretch to!
Simple things, take moments, big gains! 👌💪👣

The Best Calf Stretch Ever!! Rehab on the run

💕🏃‍♀️💕🏃‍♀️💕🧜‍♀️💕🧜‍♀️💕

Social Connections.......

You meant to text her three weeks ago.
You typed half a message, deleted it, and told yourself you'd call instead.
You never called.

It's not that you don't care.
It's that your brain is predicting awkwardness that won't actually happen.

Here's what the research found. Scientists asked people to write genuine appreciation letters to someone who had mattered to them. Before sending, the writers predicted how awkward and how positive the whole exchange would feel. Then researchers asked the actual recipients.

Senders consistently underestimated how good the recipient would feel. And they consistently overestimated the awkwardness. The wording nobody obsessed over the wording except the person writing it.

That prediction error is why most of us under-connect. Not because we lack time. Because we misjudge the landing.

And that misjudgment has a real cost. A meta-analysis of over 308,000 people found that stronger social connections were associated with a 50% greater likelihood of being alive at follow-up compared to those without. The risk of disconnection rivaled smoking and high blood pressure as a measured effect.

The smallest fix? Send one specific, genuine appreciation text today. Clumsy and heartfelt lands better than polished and unsent.

Thank you Dr. Laurie Marbas for the reminder 👌👍👏💖

Nb those social group connections are helpful too. Whether it's running, sea dipping, walking, craft or fitness groups, keep them going, small habits keep those connections going. 🏃‍♀️💕🧜‍♀️🌊

𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
——
👉In rehab, we can divide interventions into two distinct categories: passive versus active.

💆🏻Passive interventions involve treatments that are done to you and are usually performed by a practitioner. Common examples include massage, joint mobilisations, manipulations and adjustments, acupuncture and thermal and electrical modalities.

🏋🏼‍♂️Active interventions involve techniques and methods where the patient participates in the treatment and typically revolve around movement and exercise.

🧠Although passive interventions have been shown to help reduce pain in the short-term, we really want to place prioritisation on active interventions when considering how we can reduce pain in the long-term.

✅Interestingly, research (see citation below) has shown that the type of exercise doesn’t matter much when treating pain as both interventions that target a specific body region (i.e. core exercises for back pain) and whole-body strategies (aerobic exercise, yoga, etc) can both be helpful in terms of reducing pain. The key is to find an exercise type that you ENJOY🤸‍♀️ and can do REGULARLY. 👌

✅️Whether it's running, walking, swimming, cycling, hiking or gym and classes, find what works for you with your Therapists or PTs ( Danny Garbett Jim Chater or Ollie Goulden ) guidance on the rehab 👌

📚Reference: Belavy DL, et al. Pain sensitivity is reduced by exercise training: Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021

📷 courtesy of Danny Garbett 👌👏🤗

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Today is about
"A pain in the butt!! 😳😬😓

A some point in your running lifetime you will probably experience hamstring or glute injuries or niggles....sad BUT true. Especially after an event or race...and it's that time of year, whether training for, or recovering post , Beachy Head Marathon Weekend and so on...👣

See below for an in-depth article about how these muscle groups work, and more importantly how to and get back to running again....... 🙏👣🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

SydSnippets

If only we had four legs and could run like SydSnippets 🐈💪😁

Click here ⤵️ https://www.physio-pedia.com/Proximal_Hamstring_Tendinopathy

🚸Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis ⏬️

Please Stop Telling People That High-Impact Causes Arthritis To Worsen.

It seems intuitive that high impact will severely affect joints. I’ve been saying the opposite after close observation of patients in the office for more than a decade.

For decades, many influencers, professionals, physios, and doctors have told people with hip or knee osteoarthritis to stick to low-impact activities and avoid high-impact exercise. It seemed like logical advice… but it was wrong.

A new study out of the GLA:D registry in Denmark just gave us another reason to rethink that advice. Researchers followed 17,661 people with hip or knee OA and examined who needed a joint replacement within a year.

The people doing high-impact activity, running, jumping, the things some out there usually warn arthritic joints away from, had 36 to 48 percent LOWER odds of needing a hip replacement.
The risk of knee replacement didn't budge either way. And when the researchers tried to figure out why, pain levels and fear of damaging the joint didn't explain the protective effect. 🤔

The one issue that did matter was functional capacity… meaning the strength and control to actually get up out of a chair and move well.🪑💪

We've been so afraid of load that we may have been withholding the very thing that keeps a joint resilient. 😬

This doesn't mean everyone with hip OA should start sprinting tomorrow, but it does mean the blanket advice to avoid impact deserves a second look. If you enjoy high-impact activity and have osteoarthritis, it appears that the activity will protect you.

Thanks for the reminder Dr. Howard Luks 💪👌👏



Published link below➡️➡️➡️➡️ ⤵️
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42414085/?fbclid=IwVERDUAS9SWlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR4uezbK1PUDclyRAgT2MDwvoF0LyIlnn6cFmjfaLB_4MW3ta-kiYU7lebkufA_aem_vHArUh6xHtYMW_O3mQmX5A

*Knee Strengthening* 🦵🦿

These knee-strengthening exercises will help with your running, strengthen the muscles around the knee and prevent knee pain.

The exercises strengthen all the muscles supporting the knee and stretch out the iliotibial band, known as the ITB, which runs down the outside of the thigh.

They can be done as part of your warm-up before a run or as a cool-down routine after a run, outside or indoors, or whenever is most convenient.

✅ The gain is you can still kneel to do up your laces on your trainers, or position your phone to take a photo in the middle of the Seven Sisters! 😉👟📷

Great guidance from the 👏👏👏

🙏

Click here ⤵️ https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/knee-exercises-for-runners/

🟢 Hips, Balance and Stability 🟢

Balance and stability exercises are foundational for safe movement, especially in older adults and anyone recovering from injury. They train the body to control position, posture, and movement under both static and dynamic conditions.

Benefits of balance and stability exercises

1. Reduces fall risk
Improves the body’s ability to correct itself during slips, trips, or uneven surfaces—one of the most important benefits in older adults.

2. Strengthens core and postural muscles
Activates deep stabilizers in the abdomen, hips, and spine, helping maintain upright posture and spinal alignment.

3. Improves joint control and coordination
Enhances proprioception (your body’s awareness in space), leading to smoother and more controlled movements.

4. Increases confidence in movement
Better stability reduces fear of falling, which often leads to more active and independent living.

5. Supports functional daily activities
Makes everyday tasks easier and safer—walking, climbing stairs, standing from a chair, and turning.

6. Enhances athletic performance and agility
For active individuals, it improves reaction time, directional changes, and movement efficiency.

7. Helps prevent injuries
Better stability reduces stress on joints and lowers the risk of sprains, strains, and overuse injuries.



Thanks Dr. Howard Luks for the reminders 👌🫶👏

Thank you Kate for the 📽 assistance 👌🫶👏

#Hips #Tips and #Balance Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

A great article and well written👍

⚠️ Stress Fractures of the Foot and Ankle👣🏃‍♀️

➡️ A stress fracture is a small crack in a bone, or severe bruising within a bone. Most stress fractures are caused by overuse and repetitive activity, and are common in runners and athletes who participate in running sports, such as football and basketball.
➡️ Stress fractures usually occur when people change their activities — such as by trying a new exercise, suddenly increasing the intensity of their workouts, or changing the workout surface (jogging on a treadmill vs. jogging outdoors). In addition, if osteoporosis or other disease has weakened the bones, just doing everyday activities may result in a stress fracture.
➡️ The weight-bearing bones of the foot and lower leg are especially vulnerable to stress fractures because of the repetitive forces they must absorb during activities like walking, running, and jumping.
Refraining from high impact activities for an adequate period of time is key to recovering from a stress fracture in the foot or ankle. Returning to activity too quickly can not only delay the healing process but also increase the risk for a complete fracture. Should a complete fracture occur, it will take far longer to recover and return to activities.

Click here to read the full article ⤵️ https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/stress-fractures-of-the-foot-and-ankle

Or avoid the risks, and just have paws like Syd! 🐾🐈 SydSnippets