The First One

Welcome to my first-ever newsletter, which seems crazy to say considering I've been blogging and writing for over 10 years but have never actually sent out a regular newsletter via email before.

Anyway, how often I will do these is not clear to me yet, but I think it will likely be once a month, maybe a little more, if you and I are interested.

What I plan to do with these newsletters is break down the topics of physio, rehab, and strength and conditioning into bite-sized, easy-to-understand pieces, as well as review some recent research on these areas to help us keep as up-to-date as possible.

So, whether you're a health or fitness professional or simply curious about these topics, I hope there will be something for everyone!

So first, let's start by taking a quick review of what physio, rehab and S&C actually are.

What is Physiotherapy?

Every time I hear someone saying, "I had some physio", I die a little inside because this is no different to saying, "I had some doctoring".

You go to a doctor to get an assessment and some treatment. You go to a physio to also get an assessment and some treatment.

Physiotherapy is NOT a treatment but a profession that assesses, diagnoses and uses a range of treatments (admittedly some more effective and evidence-based than others) to reduce pain and disability.

Physiotherapy is fundamentally about improving and maintaining a persons independence and physical ability in the presence of pain and pathology mostly through active rehabilitation.

What is Rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation is a broad range of treatments designed to facilitate the process of recovery from injury, illness, or disease to as normal a condition as possible.

It's mostly about movement as well as enabling and supporting individuals to recover or adjust to achieve their maximal potential and live full and active lives.

Good rehabilitation, in my opinion, is focused on three core principles. 1) helping people understand their issues, 2) getting people moving, and 3) building their resilience, which can be done in several ways, but I think one of the best is through strength and conditioning.

What is Strength and Conditioning?

Strength and Conditioning (S&C) is so much more than just lifting weights like many assume - it encompasses the development of an entire person to improve their function, health and wellness.

S&C includes building and nurturing BOTH physiological AND psychological readiness for many different tasks and challenges. S&C also encompasses coaching and support for those trying to do this.

S&C is both a scientific skill and art in developing another human being to become robust and resilient.

So that's it, and how most of these newsletters are going to be... short and sweet, as time is precious and attention spans are really short these days.

I hope you will stick around and read these from time to time, and if you have any feedback or suggestions on topics then please let me know

All the best... and remember... you cant go wrong getting strong!

Adam