Barefoot Blog

Why is it important? When getting back into an activity after injury or a flare up we want to go slow and steady! What we often see is a “boom-bust” cycle, where a person completes an activity at a higher level than what their body is currently capable of and then has an extended period of rest to recover. This can be short term (i.e doing 15km run straight from 5km walks) or long term (e.g. starting gym classes 5 ...
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As the year that was 2020 draws to a close, a few of us are settling into holiday mode to welcome in the new year. Christmas and new year time means different things to all of us but in some cases we do get a little bit of extra time on our hands to start a new project, try a different exercise, or set some new habits. I’m sure there are quite a number of people who already know what ...
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Years of full-time dance, hip surgery as a teenager and a semi-recent auto-immune diagnosis means that every so often my body goes a little bit haywire and throws out a variety of physical symptoms (a flare up) that impact my day to day activities. Yes, your physio can be sore too! The nature of our work means that we are physically and mentally active for the majority of the day. Which all adds to that accumulative strain we talk about ...
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At Barefoot Physiotherapy we love meeting new clients and helping kick start them of their health journey. For most clients it is important to be completing their own exercises and muscle releases between appointments to maintain improvements. In a session with a Barefoot Physio we will do a head-to-toe assessment to work out what muscles need to be released to help improve your movement quality and reduce muscle tension. Completing these muscle releases daily is ideal as this will help ...
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By Caitlin Sargent: As a physio I, along with many of my clients, expect I would rarely suffer injuries. As an elite athlete though it is kind of considered part of the deal. While it would be nice to always prevent all injuries, the nature of everyone’s lives is that at some point we are often going to accumulate too much strain and experience some degree of stiffness, pain or injury. It may be a slow gradual onset of tightness ...
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Our friends over at Sage and Sound in Woolloongabba are a Psychology and Coaching clinic. They have shared with us some tips for self care. The five building blocks that underpin optimum mental health are to eat well, sleep enough, exercise, social interaction and do something just for you, on a daily basis. Most people have a good idea of what the first four tasks involve, even if they find them difficult to do consistently. But the fifth (known to psychologists ...
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As Donate Life week is at the end of this month we'd like to share a Barefooter story of Lara who is an organ recipient to raise awareness of the awesomeness of Organ Donation. We usually write a little intro but I think I'll leave it to Lara to introduce herself. Questions by Sal Lara! You superstar – could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your health history? How much time do you have? So, I was ...
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Written by Catherine - Yoga Physio As both a physio and a yoga teacher I can honestly say one of the best things you can do for your yoga practice is to use props!  It’s a legitimate game changer. It’s common for teachers to make suggestions of using a block or bolster throughout a yoga class, but often it’s a bit more difficult to work out exactly how or why you should be using them, especially as we have more ...
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We love people to move well and feel great. As our communities adapt to a new way of life, which finds us all spending the majority of our time at home, a lot of us have decided it is the perfect time to pick up our old tools, bring out the vacuum cleaner or refine our green thumbs while re-landscaping our backyards. Whilst all these activities are great things to be doing to keep ourselves busy, they like any physical ...
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The link between Physical and Mental Health The importance of mental wellbeing for overall physical health is very clear. In our increasingly busy and sometimes uncertain modern world, it is particularly important for us to give our mental health the care and attention it deserves. As physios, we have often seen the impact anxiety, depression and stress can have on the physical body (did you just feel yourself relax your shoulders and unclench your jaw as you read that??). What ...
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More time for running With gyms closed and exercise options somewhat reduced compared to normal, a lot of people are turning to running for their endorphin dose. Running is a great form of exercise, with the added bonus of getting some vitamin D and some seeing some fresh scenery. However, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. A sudden rise in running volume can lead to injuries, so I’ve put together my suggestions for how ...
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More time at home can mean more time for hobbies With many of us spending more time at home, we’re seeing people able to engage more with their hobbies (or even taking up new ones). It’s great to see creativity and passion being nourished like this. While the brain loves being engaged in an activity to the point of losing track of time, often the body feels otherwise. Awkward positions and long periods of sitting are just some of the ...
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Shellie is a superstar - an incredible human who brings laughter and fun to everywhere she is. We have always admired her and even more after watching her learn to take care of herself fully over the last year and becoming an advocate for true self care. Here's to recharging batteries! Questions by Caitlin You have travelled to some interesting and stunning places. Tell us more about some of your favourite destinations and where to next! Choosing my favourite destination ...
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So what is a return to walking program? We have great evidence to support gentle activity/movement being beneficial to our bodies. And the current recommendations are 30min x 5 days a week + 2 strength based sessions. So what if you can’t physically manage to walk 30min most days of the week? And you’d like to? Now if you can play a soccer game or run 10km this may not interest you… BUT you may know someone that you can ...
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I'm getting into exercise, but I haven’t exercised before. Where do I begin? Our Barefoot plan brings our clients to step 10 which is ‘Living your Barefoot Lifestyle’, this includes being able to start new activities and try new things! You can also bring this up with us at any other step in the plan. Exercise can be anything that you find enjoyable, that is the first step. Let’s find out what it is you like to do! That way, ...
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Running Injury Prevention Hi everyone... Caitlin... As the weather cools off and ‘fun run’ season starts, we naturally see more people out hitting the roads and treadmill. Running is a great all round exercise. It helps us get outside and to clear your mind, however people often underestimate the load it places on the body. To avoid injury and keep the running joy, here are our top tips for running injury prevention: Take a gradual approach As with any new ...
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Hi all – Catherine here! I’ve been lucky enough to spend a few weekends recently camping in some beautiful locations!  While the weather has been hit and miss – I wanted to share a few tips I’ve picked up along the way. Get a good night’s sleep! Camping can conjure the image of roughing it on a super thin mat and a pillowcase stuffed with jackets and scarves. It’s so worth saving that extra car space so that you can ...
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Out of your long list of hobbies, the one I knew least about was flyball racing! Give us the run down of what that entails and how you’re involved. Travel has always been a topic of conversation during our sessions, where has been your favorite place in the last year? Where would you go next if you could fly off tomorrow? Another thing keeping you busy is your grandkids! How do you normally like to spend time with them? You ...
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Hi everyone! It's me, Caitlin. Those who know me well, know that I really enjoy cooking. As an athlete, nutrition is a key part of my training and preparation – ensuring that I recover well and fuel myself optimally. However, as a physio, I am even more concerned by posture in the kitchen and how to take care of your body while cooking! Here are some of my hot tips for looking after yourself in the kitchen Chopping/food prepping Often ...
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Join our team Join our team and make a difference for yourself and your clients. Barefoot Physiotherapy is a small Private Clinic located very conveniently to Brisbane's major south-side traffic corridor. We have fantastic clients that live the barefoot lifestyle.  You can read more about us here:  Develop and manage your own clients, but enjoy shared targets along with a collaborative approach with our other Physiotherapists in relation to client care. Be part of a happy and trusted team of ...
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Hi all, Sal here. For those of you that know the team at Barefoot you know one of our highest values is Inclusion. And in alignment with that is the belief that all bodies are deserving of equal professional care. We do not jump to conclusions or make any assumptions based on weight or body size. Recently we had an inservice with Non-Diet Dietitian Kate Gough (who spoke at our Summit last year) covering Health at Every Size (HAES) so ...
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Hey everyone, Hannah here again.  I thought I'd put a blog together to give people the idea on how we can help out with training and getting your body fully prepared for your training or sport.  You might not know, but I'm a very passionate and competitive Soccer player, among the other fitness things I do.  For this reason, I love to treat sporty people, especially when I can help them with injury prevention, performance enhancement, or simply repairing wear ...
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What drew you to dentistry in the first place? And what really interests you in the dentistry field? I stumbled into dentistry. Back in Year 12 when I was submitting preferences for university, all I knew was that I didn’t want to be stuck in a boring desk job for the rest of my life. I always thought health sciences would be interesting. Dentistry definitely took some time to grow on me and it’s only in the last few years ...
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Hi all, Sal here – physio and avid paddler. No, not the K1 or K2 kayaks and not those crazy river rapid ones either. The type of kayaking I do is relaxed, non-competitive and something everyone can have a go at if they’re keen. I have been kayaking/surf skiing since I was 10 and have managed to accumulate a few water toys over the years to share with friends and family. So how much do kayaks weigh? And can you ...
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Katie Abbott recently started telling us about what she got up to in her spare time.  When we started to dig a little deeper, we found a very Proud Dog Mum who has the most incredible little guy Nero who does the most amazing things.  On top of this, Katie is also quite an avid mountain-biker, which she came to a bit by accident.  So we asked a few more questions and then couldn't help but put this article together ...
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It's all happened to us, even from the most innocuous of activities: picking up my keys. Does our body really start to fall apart as we age? I just jumped in my car, and as I went to grab the door handle with keys in hand, I dropped my keys.  While seated, I twisted and bent over to pick them up - then I felt it - a tiny twinge in my lower spine. Not enough to hurt, but just ...
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Do you suffer Fat Ankles from Flying? With both domestic and international flights having become cheaper over the years, more and more of us are flying. Sometimes these trips can be longer than 2 hours, reaching 13 hours for a long-haul flight, which also might be followed by even more flying.  Prolonged sitting, lack of movement, dehydration, pressure on the hips and hamstrings can all contribute to fat ankles from flying. Sometimes no matter how much you try and move ...
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A love for anything health and fitness brought Tristan Forbes into an industry he absolutely loves.  Recently starting both Witness the Fitness and Breathing Space, read what brought Tristan on this adventure into keeping people healthy and fit. What brought you into the health industry in the first place? As most health professionals, I had a love for anything health and fitness. Mainly sports but I did get into the 'aesthetic gym scene' during high-school due to being a rather ...
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Dan Ludgater recently moved to Medellin, Colombia to pursue the Digital Nomad lifestyle. His Colombian Adventure so far is something most of us would love to do. So you’ve been living in Medillin, Colombia for the last 2 months. How does it compare to life in Brisbane? Well, everyone speaks Spanish... except for me lol. It's actually been fun learning a new language and doing our best to navigate situations. My "food ordering Espanol" is pretty good now, and as ...
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You competed at your first strongman competition in February this year, how was the experience for you? It was my first strength event – so I was quite nervous leading up to it and unsure of what to expect – it’s a big change moving from Ironman triathlons where you’re on your own for hours versus having a coach right beside you all day. It was really fun! Much tougher on my body than I had anticipated – I was ...
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