Five steps to living your Barefoot Lifestyle

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Ever get that feeling like life is just passing by? Like you want to be out on the field playing but you’re hanging on the sideline ? Are you wondering what it would look like if you were living your “Barefoot Lifestyle”?

You know you enjoy being fully part of it, in fact maybe you used to be a key player but it now feels like you’ve forgotten the moves?

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We get it, your life can get busy and it’s very easy to let the things that are important to you slip down the list of priorities in the midst of your day to day.

Our Barefoot Lifestyle Guide is a reflection tool to help you think… think through the things in your life that are important to you… remind yourself of the things that you enjoy…  so you can include more of these in your days and get your life back on track.

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the mundane and forget about the bigger picture. You know, that bigger picture where you know how you make this world a better place, where you have passions and drive and talk about them. Why is it important to focus on that bigger picture and live it rather than dream it? I think we would all agree this leads to a more fulfilled life for yourself and the people around you.

In no way is the Barefoot Lifestyle Guide telling you how to live your life… it’s a way to get you thinking about how you want to live on your terms and helping you to go out and do it!

We all have the resources within us that we need to make our lives even more enjoyable. It’s amazing how much you can discover about yourself when you just ask the right questions.

The Barefoot Lifestyle looks at areas that we believe are important to living a fulfilled happy life
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  1. Staying active
  2. Taking care of your body and mind
  3. Friends and family
  4. Your vocation
  5. Doing your bit to change the world

What you will create by completing the Guide are immediately actionable steps as part of our ‘Barefoot Choose-to’ list. Here you can come up with a list of things you choose to do (or do more of) that really satisfies the inner you.

It’s a great feeling completing the guide knowing you’ve delved a little deeper. And reminded yourself of those enjoyable crazy things you love to do!

So, if you can spare 30min today, download the lifestyle guide and complete the action steps on your ‘Choose-to’ list. Even just one step a day, is enough to transform your life, and get your SOUL (as well as you body) feeling like it is on holiday everyday!

To download the lifestyle guide, click here.

The Barefoot Physiotherapy Plan

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Discuss your Problems:

Our holistic therapy approach is based on a partnership between you and us. This starts by us truly knowing and understanding your story and why you have come to Barefoot for help.

We then use specific nerve and orthopaedic tests to determine our initial hands on treatment that starts you on the road to recovery, be it back pain physiotherapy or posture training.

As you progress we utilise our full body assessment and testing to determine the root cause of your problem. We then treat it, teach you how to treat it and teach you how to take care of it for now and the future.

Throughout this process we will incorporate postural retraining, strength work and individualised education to ensure you understand what is best for your body.

What You Need and Require:

Treatment doesn’t begin and end within the four walls of our clinic.

If you need us to assess your posture at your workplace, we’ll be there.   If you’d like us to collaborate with your personal trainer on which specific exercises to focus on (and avoid), we’re happy to help.

Working in with your broader “support team” is one of the best ways in which we can support you back to optimum health.

And if for any reason you’re not getting results, we’ll work with you to find alternatives. We’ll closely monitor your progress, with the goal of getting you out of pain and back doing what you love. Our success is measured by your results, nothing else.

We’ll Create a Treatment Plan for Current Pain and Underlying Cause

From the thorough assessment we compile a list of significant findings in your body. These findings relate to your joints, muscles and movements which can be linked to your nerves, thoughts and worries.

From the list, you and your therapist will prioritise which key findings to test first. These findings are tested by performing TDTs (Treatment-Direction-Tests) to the limited movements in your body. Most of the time, we find that that the underlying cause is not exactly where you are feeling your symptoms. We discuss this with you during your session or you can have a read about it on our website in more detail.

We’ll Teach You to Take Care of Your Body to Avoid Reoccurrence of the Pain

Once we confirm the underlying cause we will treat it to reduce its impact on the rest of your body. We continually reassess your movements, muscles and joints to measure the improvements from your treatment. This confirms we are on the right track, and on the way to help you reach your goals.

Our focus is to prevent build-up of strain to the primary cause of your condition. We do this by:

  1. A) Teaching you to treat the structure yourself or how someone else can help you treat it (e.g. partner, family member, friend)
  2. B) Teaching you how to use your body in a way to prevent build-up of strain on that area. This can be by changing your posture at work or strengthening a specific muscle group.

We understand this is different for everyone, so we tailor it to you! If you have particular posture or performance questions, feel free to ask the physio during your session and we will address this when appropriate.

We’ll Craft a Plan for Health Maintenance to Ensure Your Body Stays Happy

To ensure your body stays in optimal shape and you prevent future injury, it is important that you check in with us at increasing intervals for “tune up” sessions. In these sessions we focus on prevention, to help you to continue living your Barefoot lifestyle.

As well as continuing treatment to the primary cause of your condition, we may also need to treat some secondary areas in your body. These secondary areas are findings that make some improvements to one or two things in your body (not as significant as the primary cause), but play an important role in keeping your body functioning at it’s highest level.

Our goal is to empower you to confidently live the life you choose!

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Snapping hip syndrome

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Common knee injuries and how to treat them

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Knee ligaments and injury

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The knee is vital for everyday functions, yet it is often poorly understood. There are many misconceptions about what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for knees and exactly what is going on inside the joint.

The knee is identified as a hinge joint, meaning it primarily moves in one direction (ie bending and straightening). It is made up of the femur (thigh bone), tibia (shin bone) and patella (knee cap). These bones are all held in place by a number of ligaments. The ‘joint surfaces’ (parts of the bone that glide on one another) are covered in articular cartilage to absorb shock and reduce friction in the joint. The joint capsule and ligaments serve to provide stability to the knee, whilst allowing it the necessary movement.

high knees

The main knee ligaments are summarised below:

  • Medial collateral ligament: sits outside the joint capsule and runs between the tibia and femur (inside of the leg) to provide resistance to forces pushing the knee inwards
  • Lateral collateral ligament: sits outside the joint capsule and runs between the tibia and femur (outside of the leg) to provide resistance to forces pushing the knee outwards
  • Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL): is within the knee joint and runs from the front of the tibia to the back of the femur
  • Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL): runs from the front of the femur to the back of the tibia (also within the joint)
  • Patellar ligament: sits outside the joint capsule and runs from the patella (kneecap) to the front of the shin

The meniscus is another key structure in the knee joint. It is a fibrocartilaginous disc that sits between the tibia and femur to help absorb shock and improve load-bearing of the knee (twisting and stretching).

Common knee injuries

While we see a lot of pain that is a result of a build-up of accumulated strain, there are also a number of injuries that are caused by sudden trauma. These can include a rugby tackle, poor landing in netball, falling over skiing and even your form during rock climbing.
Knee pain

While accumulative strain injuries are usually the result of tight or weak muscles and stiff joints, traumatic injuries may involve structural damage to the knee joint.

Stay tuned for next weeks blog post, where we will discuss common knee injures, what causes them and most importantly, how to treat them.

If you would like to learn more, or visit one of our physio’s click here!

Training, perseverance and knowledge!

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Ever wondered what the training regime was like for an athlete? We recently sat down with Nick Fadden to hear about his training regime and what he does to ensure his body is able to perform at the highest level.

Nick Fadden 4Interview with Nick Fadden:

Q: You have previously competed in 800m, 400m and 400m hurdles but have recently made the switch to the decathlon, competing in 10 events over 2 days. Tell us what your training schedule looks like and what inspired you to change events.

A: My training schedule is a bit of a funny one with work. My day starts with a 7am gym session 3-4 times a week. This incorporates programs that work my entire body due to such a variety in my events. I will try and squeeze in a quick 5-7km run at lunch time every day, I like to keep the pace for the overall run below 4min per km, it help flush my legs from gym in the morning. In the afternoon I have two track sessions during the work week and one on the weekend, so Monday will be my toughest session for the week with heavy lactic session – long reps up around 300-400m per rep at a high intensity. Wednesday will generally be my speed session for the week and can be 60m -200m reps looking to really sit at the 90-95% effort range (favourite session because it’s shorter). Wednesday usually includes hurdles depending on how the legs are feeling. Tuesday is plyometrics, shot put and high jump, I can be at training until 9pm if I really working on particular aspects of shot put or high jump. Thursday is pole vault and long jump with another long run. I like to do it in an interval fashion that my mate showed me: 90secs on 60 off, 60 on 30 off, 30 on 15 off 15 on etc. It’s great for my technique do this. I get Friday off track so I love to go rock climbing as a bit of cross training with a quick plyometric session. Saturday is my biggest day with high jump, shot put, javelin, discus, pole vault, and my last track session which is a longer one. My bread and butter (training involves) either 10x200m or 10x400m, they are all about maintaining my pace through the entire set. Sunday is a long jog and my day to go do some more adventurous sports.

So welcome to my silly training week!

Q: What lead you to switch to Decathalon?

A: My inspiration to do the switch to decathlon was my good friend and training partner Cedric Dubler and coach, Eric. After watching Cedric qualify for the Rio Olympics I thought it’d be fun to switch up what I was doing and my coach thought Cedric would need more training partners for all of the events.

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Q: Outside of athletics, you are regularly chasing adrenaline in some other way. Tell us more about your other favourite activities and why you’re passionate about them.

A: My favourite sports outside of athletics would have to be climbing, white-water kayaking, snow skiing, surfing, wake boarding, sailing and cycling (road and MTB). Each of these give me new challenges and an escape from normal training and work. With such a busy training schedule I’m always looking for something different which I can go to new places to experiences. I get to meet lots people who are passionate about the same sports and guidance on how to really get the most out of each of the sports.

Q: You are almost finished studying your musculoskeletal therapy degree – how does this help you take care of your body with all the full-on activities you put it through?

A: Having learnt about the body it has allowed me to understand when my body has had enough and how to make the most of it when I’m training (although I still push it to its limits). I’ve learnt how to increase my range of movements and decrease any restrictions that I may have from prior injuries and from training. This allows me to do such a different range of activities. From studying this degree it allows me to understand and appreciate the treatment, advice and homework I get from sessions with Barefoot Physiotherapy and other health practitioners I see.

If you would like to learn more or book in an appointment with one of our physio’s click here!

Getting Swim Fit

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Have you been itching to get back in the water after years of dry feet? Are you new to swimming and just don’t know where to start? Have you signed up for a triathlon and need to get back into the pool for those fun squad sessions?

The most incredible thing about swimming is that it is for every walk of life. It doesn’t matter what you look like, how old you are, how fit you are, or how big you are, swimming covers everyone’s wants and needs. Regardless of your ability, technique or experience, everyone can swim. Swimming is a low impact, aerobic exercise that everyone benefits from.

Element Swimming’s Head Coach, Ben Geard, has given us a few helpful tips below on how to get back into the pool and incorporate swimming into you fitness routine.

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  1. Grab some gear. It may sound a little silly, but before you get ready to take your first dive, ensure you have the correct equipment to help you along. Ideally you will have swimwear that fits correctly so you aren’t needing to pull everything back into place after your first dive. Once you have that covered, invest in some goggles and a swim cap (especially for those with lots of hair). Then you have the option of handy equipment for your swim that can help mix your laps up a bit, such as fins, a kick board and a pull-buoy.
  2. Start slow. If you haven’t been swimming for a while, be sure to start out slow and steady. Swim fitness is easy to gain, but also easy to lose. If it’s been a good chunk of time since your last swim, be sure you take it easy so you don’t scare yourself out of your next swim before you’re even out of the pool the first time round. Start off by swimming some easy laps with plenty of rest in between. Don’t forget about your fins, kickboard and pull-buoy. These will help give you a bit of variety throughout each swim while working on different parts of your body. Don’t forget about breaststroke, backstroke and the all-time favourite butterfly to keep things interesting.
  3. Build your routine. Don’t overdo it by setting your expectations of swim training for every day of the week. Start with just once or twice times a week, and if you feel you need more, then gradually add the extra days in over time.
  4. Swimming Fitness South BrisbaneSet realistic goals. Don’t discourage yourself by setting unrealistic goals. There are plenty of different targets to set in swimming that don’t just include how fast you can go. Think about mastering your technique and efficiency, or how many laps you can do without taking a break. Make sure you avoid increasing your weekly distance by more than 10%. This will not only give you a good indication of your improvement, but it will also help avoid injury.
  5. Join a Squad. Now this is what makes swimming fun and social. Find a swim pool with a great coach, fun group of like-minded people and times that suit your schedule. This can truly help with your motivation and personal accountability. This is a great way to further improve your technique, fitness and meet some new people.

Don’t forget to stretch and release. Before and after each session make sure you prioritise stretching, and be sure to do regular releases in between your sessions. This is great recovery and will help in preventing you getting tight, especially in the neck, shoulders and back.

Barefooter Aidan has his ABC’s down pat – Ambos, Bikes and Coffee

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Healthy Lifestyle PhysiotherapyAidan Jeffes is a true Barefooter. He leans in to all areas of his life; be it his passion for motorbike riding, perfecting latte art or becoming a paramedic. Not to mention he spends almost as much time at the Red Brick House as we do! He is always early to his appointments to allow lots of chill out time in the Lounge Room. Aidan is continually improving his bike, his life and the lives of those around him. We sat down with him, to learn more about what makes this Barefooter tick.

  1. You have spent time as part of the St John’s Ambulance service and have also just been accepted into Paramedics and Nursing course. Tell us more about your adventures with St John’s and what you are most looking forward to in your new degree?
    I’ve been part of the volunteer first aid side of St. John since about the middle of 2013. At the time I didn’t really have an interest in the health field, and my friend convinced me it would be a fun, fulfilling, and interesting hobby. She was 110% correct.Aidan Jeffes 4On one occasion, I was doing first aid with St. John at the annual army cadet camp up in Tin Can Bay. While they were shooting, they asked us to be there just in case something happened. As my colleague and I were sitting there watching we were debating if we should ask to have a go, at that exact point the detachment commander came up and asked if we wanted to shoot. So we did. I scored pretty high, 93/100, and my colleague scored 78/100 from memory.After about the first year with St Johns, I decided I wanted to pursue a career in the health field, particularly Paramedicine and Emergency Nursing. In December 2016 I finally received an offer to study the dual degree. I think I am most looking forward to the challenge that can be presented by this field, especially because every patient I will see will be different. I also look forward to meeting so many new people and hearing about what drew them into the health field.
  2. Most weekends you can be found motorbike riding all over Queensland. Tell us about some of your favourite rides and what it is you love about getting out on the bike?Aidan Jeffes 2Just about every weekend I can be found out in the Gold Coast Hinterland riding with my neighbour. Our usual Sunday route is up Tambourine Mountain, then along Beechmont, then out towards Natural Bridge. The final part towards Natural Bridge is my favourite riding road that I’ve come across so far. I think my other favourite ride is a big day long adventure I had with my friend a few months ago, it was basically all off road all through D’Aguilar National Park, it was hard work, but so much fun exploring, and the scenery was just incredible too. The thing that draws me to motorcycling is the freedom. There is nothing between you and the outside world and you get to experience everything about every journey (Even if it means getting wet in the rain… NOT FUN!), and I also find it a really good stress relief because it focuses your mind on one thing, riding.
  3. You currently work at Starbucks- what is your favourite order to make and your favourite order to drink and why?I actually really enjoy making lattes, there is just something about getting the perfect milk texture combined with really well poured shots that is just so satisfying. Plus then you get to do some fancy latte art, which in my case is usually just a heart because I don’t know how to do anything else yet. My personal favourite drink to have myself is super specific, it is a Iced Quad Ristretto half Single Origin roast, half Normal Espresso, Hazelnut Latte. Needless to say I usually just make it myself.Aidan Jeffes 3

Race day ready!

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Running Race Ready Most people put a lot of time and effort into preparing their body for a goal race. This is great, however not having a plan for race day can mean you don’t run to your full potential and may end up feeling disappointed. That’s where these ‘top tips’ come in handy! As an eight-time Australian representative runner, I have done my fair share of ‘race-day’ preparation and have compiled my thoughts on how to have your best race possible. These are written from my perspective as a 400m runner, however they are applicable from shorter track races up to marathon.

  • TaperYou need to ‘taper’. This means that the week leading into your race, your training should be lighter than normal. Depending on how much running you normally do and how far your goal race is, will determine how many days out you start your taper and how much you run during your taperDon’t do too little though. Just as a taper is important, doing nothing for a few days leading upto your race can make your legs feel ‘heavy’. It is often best to head out 1-2 days before your race and do a short, easy run (about 5 minutes if doing a 5km race), some gentle stretching and 3-5 x 50-100m runs just a bit faster than your intended racing pace
  • NutritionWhile we have all heard of ‘carb loading’, it is often not necessary for races shorter than a half marathon, so no need to binge on pasta. If you think a carb loading is necessary for your race, it is best to consult a sport dietician to establish a protocol that is appropriate for you.What is more important, is eating healthy balanced meals for the week leading into your race. This continual input of nutrients will help your body be at its best come race day, and also minimise any negative effects if you are too nervous to eat on the day of competing. Most road races start early in the morning, so it is ideal to eat a good balanced meal the night before, with slightly more carbohydrates than usual. It is also a good idea to steer clear of any particularly strong flavours (eg garlic, chilli, curry) as these can upset the stomach with the added nerves of racing or be on your breathe the next morning which is not very pleasant!

    On race day morning it is best to have a light meal that is predominantly carbohydrates as this is more quickly digested by the body and less likely to upset your stomach. Some suggestions are cereal with milk, toast with jam or honey or fruit with a small amount of yoghurt. If you are doing a half marathon or longer, it is likely you will need to take some fuel on board during your race. It is best to consult a sports dietician a few months beforehand regarding this.

    Most of my races are in the afternoon or evening, so I generally have a chicken and salad sandwich on wholemeal bread 4 hours before racing and then a small serve of yoghurt and berries 2 hours before go-time.

  • Race Ready 3Hydration
    As with nutrition, it is important to be consciously hydrating for the week leading into your race as this will optimise your body’s function come race day and also avoid ‘over-hydrating’ the day before and spending all night in the bathroom. For 5km runs, it is often not necessary to take on fluid during your race. If you think you will need to drink during your race, it is a good idea to practice this in the lead up to ensure your stomach is comfortable with it
  • Sleep
    Most people can get nervous in the lead up to a race and it is very normal not to sleep well the night before. There is a lot of evidence that a few nights of poor sleep does not negatively impact on performance, so long as you don’t get stressed about it! Trying to sleep well for the week leading up to your race will also help limit any negative effects of a poor night sleepRunning Race Ready
  • Getting ready!
    I usually find it is best to set out my race outfit, race number with safety pins and pre-packed bag (towel, music, warm clothes etc) the night before racing. This helps me stay calm as I am confident everything is already prepared. Then it is a matter of working my time backwards. Know what time your race starts and decide how much before it you want to get there, how long will it take to get there (including any road closures occurring for the course), how long will it take you to get ready and how long beforehand do you want to eat. This helps create an easy timeline for when you need to wake up, eat and leave to minimise stress.I suggest arriving at the race start at least half an hour before. Allow extra time if it is unfamiliar environment, you need to park or you are dropping your bag off to the baggage tent (check beforehand that your race has this option!)
  • Warm up
    I recommend doing a warm up similar to the light session a few days before racing. A short, easy jog (only 1-2 minutes if doing a 5km), some gentle dynamic stretches and a few 50m runs at a faster pace. Give yourself time to do this (10-15 minutes), then 5 minutes to get to the start line ready to race!
  • Racing!
    Racing should be fun! Even if your goal is just to finish- know that you have worked hard to get to that point and deserve to enjoy the experience. Smile and appreciate all the other people around you who are also working hard to accomplish their goals. Be proud of yourself, regardless of the outcome

If you would like my help or have specific race day preparation questions, feel free to book a session or send me an email