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You either love it or hate it. But do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?
Many runners wouldn’t dream of stepping out the door without their mp3 player and powersong playlist to run with. For them it’s an essential piece of running gear.

Some runners however, prefer to ‘run naked‘; in other words, gadget-free, with the only the sounds of nature as their music. Is there a right or a wrong way?  Can running with music really increase your performance, or is it just a personal (and potentially hazardous) preference?

ADVANTAGES

Music can sometimes make running feel easier. Studies find that music reduces your perception of how hard you are running by about 10 percent. An external stimulus such as music can actually block some of the internal stimuli trying to reach the brain—such as fatigue-related messages from muscles and organs. When these messages are blocked, this reduces a runner’s perception of effort, so you feel like you can run farther, faster. (The exception is at higher levels of effort—the brain involuntarily switches its attention from the external to the internal.) Music also elevates positive aspects of mood such as excitement and happiness, and reduces negative aspects such as tension, fatigue, and confusion, so it can be used pre-performance to get runners into an optimal mind-set.

DISADVANTAGES

One big problem is that listening to music can remove you from the other sounds that running produces, such as breathing and footstrike, which are essential cues. They give you feedback on your effort. Running while listening to music also removes you from the environment you’re in, which can be unsafe. You may not hear a car or person behind you.  And in races, it makes you oblivious of other runners and you can’t hear the directions being given by officials. You can become dependent on music. Eventually, you can lose a sense of what might be truly motivating to you, such as the energized feeling you get on the run.

Dom Cadden, an Australian National Champion Powerlifter, knows all about the performance potential of music.

“In powerlifting, all your intensity goes into something that might take a matter of seconds, so you need music that’s highly agitative. When you’re running, you want to keep your mind distracted, but when you’re lifting, you want music to get your adrenaline pumping,” he said.

But the latest research shows that not all music tracks are created equal, and by sticking to their tried and tested exercise playlists, athletes could be missing out on powerful performance benefits. Read more about this research here.

It truly comes down to personality, preference, and environment.  Do you like the solitary aspect of running, to free your mind and thoughts?  Or do you find running quite difficult and need every ounce of help to keep you going?  Do you have a riverside running path which is traffic-free, or do you have to weave through obstacles on the city streets?

In any case, it is an individual choice based on personal preferences.  Whatever studies prove may sway your decision, but most runners have already decided which camp they are in.  It’s just a case of being wise about it, if you’re not in the ‘naked’ camp that is.

How about you?  Which camp are you in? Let us know by commenting below or tweet us @runningods

Dear friends,

The marylebone crew has been busy once again this weekend and sacrificed
some truly stunning autumn days for a highly interesting ‘integrated
performance workshop’ at W10 performance in Notting Hill.

You probably think we’re mad, but to be taught by the current Team GB
Basketball and English Institute of Sport strength and conditioning coach
Nick Grantham was an opportunity not to be missed.  

The great thing was that Nick’s approach to training was one that matched
our current  rehabilitation principles at the practice. Amongst plenty of
inspiring ideas to come out of this weekend, it was also reassuring to hear
that what we are already providing is in line with principles applied in UK
high performance centres. 

Key messages from these weekend to share with you:

- get the client moving in 3 dimensions.

- prioritise the rehab programme based on identified  ‘weak links’ in the
clients kinetic chain

- stick with the basic movement patterns,  keep things simple and remember
that you do not need fancy equipment to work hard.

- everybody can train like an athlete!

- strength and speed training should be the key components for any endurance
athlete

- Injuries are opportunities to get better and for the client to come back
stronger than before!

and the list goes on……

Can’t wait for Monday and put all of these new ideas into practice.

See ya,

Seb
Marylebone Physiotherapist

Bryonie and Amy are now half way through the netball competition and the enthusiasm for turning up each Tuesday night in Pimlico is still as high as ever, despite the flood lights, rain, wind and wintry nights we are now having. Unfortunately the season has so far been dogged with team changes and illness so we are having the least successful season so far, but the team is starting to gel, the fitness is improving, and the goals are starting to rock in. We make up part of the defence team so with Bryonie’s fast feet and Amy’s height we are trying to stop the ball from getting to the opponents hoop, and the matches are fought hard each Tuesday. We are currently sitting mid table (feels uncomfortable as we are normally top of the table!!!) and the next few matches will be critical as to the success of the season… COME ON THE DAZZLERS!!!

If you are keen on playing netball check out www.onenetball.com – you can join as a single player or a whole team and it is a fab way to keep active (and competitive!)

Followers of our blog may remember that back in September our sunshine girl, Miss Amy Glasgow, posted a blog explaining about the upcoming charity walk she was participating in for the Astro Fund and why she held the charity so dearly to her heart.

Well here’s how she got on…

‘With some doubt over the weather, a good group of school friends and families turned out to walk 10 miles to raise money for the Astro Fund and to walk in memory of our gorgeous Gemma ‘Gemstar’ Barrett who sadly lost her fight with a brain tumour in November last year.

It was a typical North Norfolk October day with a bracing wind and constant threat of rain, but the enormously generous sponsorship we had received spurred us on our way and a few warm jumpers, and a few hours of gossiping later we were crossing the finish line outside Holkham Hall itself. Merlot, our black lab mascot for the day was certainly out for the count later that day.

A MASSIVE thank you to all who sponsored us to raise a whopping £3103.75 for Astro Fund which will be wisely spent in the fight against brain tumours.

The sponsorship page is still open until Christmas and is listed below if there are any pennies floating around in need of a good cause J

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/norwichgirls

Amy x

We at Marylebone Physio have always been big on client education. In fact,
we are making it a priority for our clients to understand the complexities
of their condition and show them a way out. We aim to give you ,the client,
control back over your life and accompany you along the journey to
recovery.

We do this by discussing your diagnosis, explain what we can do for you,
demonstrate what you can do for yourself and develop a realistic and timed
treatment plan to return to previous functional abilities…or better!

However in some circumstances it becomes a bit more complicated to go
through this process,especially when we talk about people with persistent
pain.

At the clinic we help people understand the complexities of chronic pain by
using the highly acclaimed “explaining pain” book by Dr. Lorimer Moseley and
his NOI group, which can be rented out from us here at the clinic. His group have demonstrated through research that a simple explanation of pain biology reduced the area of activity in the brain responsible for eliciting pain.

In other words if you understand pain mechanisms you are more likely to understand
why you can have pain without an actual tissue damage, why you can pain can
flare ups much later or at night, why pacing your activities is so important
and most importantly understand how negative beliefs and thoughts can drive
the pain even further.

Here is a great video we came across that clearly illustrates our message of
“explaining pain”. Its short, animated and packed with important information
to understand the complexity of pain and how to deal with it .

We have now added this video to our education section on the website to
refer patients to when needed.

Enjoy,
Seb
Marylebone physio team

Here at Marylebone Physio, whatever your goal, it is our aim to help get you back on your feet, back to work and back in the game. And there is nothing more wonderful than hearing the success story of a patient. Especially on  a Monday morning!

Today, we received a gorgeous email from Patrick Walsh and, with his permission, we wanted to share it with you:

‘At the start of this year I began to see Seb in order to help me recover from surgery following a ruptured tendon in my right leg which I suffered whilst running the Chicago Marathon. This saw me end up in a leg cast and then a leg brace and the prospects of me running such distances again seemed very far off then.

But Seb obviously did a fantastic job, as I have managed to run the BUPA Great North Run in September this year, and have recently just got back from Chicago where I exorcised my demons of the marathon last year and completed it in once piece!

I just thought Seb may be interested to know.

Below is living proof that the leg has obviously held up!

Many thanks

Patrick’

What an incredible story!

Huge congratulations Patrick on such an astonishing achievement. The whole team at Marylebone  are immensely proud of you. And thank you so very much for getting in touch with us and sharing your story.

If you’ve been inspired by Patrick’s story,  why not have a quick read of a few testimonials from our fantastic clients.

And if you’ve been a patient at Marylebone Physio, and you would also like to share your experience please contact us.

It is another beautiful day here in sierra Nevada Spain and as I am writing this I am sitting poolside with some of the Aussie athletes. We are at CAR which is a centre for altitude training at 2340m in Spain, where I am doing some work with a group of australian swimmers as part of their Olympic preparation for 2012. It is a tough place to have to come and work with beautiful views over the mountain ranges and crisp clear days, although that can change in an instant up here!

Altitude training has been used by many athletes over the years as a tool to enhance the bodies use of oxygen and improve their haemoglobin levels. It is tough going! It takes the body many days to adapt to the reduced levels of oxygen, even climbing stairs at this level you notice you are panting at the top! Over a sustained period of time athletes can use this to their advantage as their body can adapt to the conditions and make improvements in their performance back down at sea level.

My job is a lot of maintenance work. We are trying to prevent injuries from happening and screen the athletes and track them to ensure those tight tissues and tight shoulders don’t end up becoming more of a problem. Fatigue at this level altitude is a big problem and it is imperative that we try to optimise the body and ensure we stay on top of things to avoid any missed training down the line.

The athletes have incredibly punishing regimes and keeping their weight up and maintaining hydration levels is a battle. This is imperative to their bodies staying in good shape and managing the demands this sort of training places on their physiology.

View from my room:

Stay tuned for some further updates!

..the mice will play. And play they did!

Last Thursday, all the gang here at Marylebone Physio were invited to get our glad rags on and join the team at the London London Orthopaedic Clinic for a very special evening of champagne, music and entertainment to celebrate their new premises on Wimpole Street. And boy did they get their glad rags on and party…

A gorgeous evening was had by all and huge thanks go to all at the London Orthopaedic, espeically Sarah and Sandra who worked so hard to organise it all. The night provided a wonderful opportunity for celebration for us too at Marylebone Physio as we were able to introduce to the newest member of our Clinic Angel team… ALLY (the blonde bombshell sandwiched here between Seb and Ash!)

Now for those of you who have had the delights of speaking to Ally in the clinic, you may have detected a familiar sounding accent buzzing round the room…that’s right patients, she’s a Shelia!! And as this is going to be her first winter away from Oz, she’s going to need all the warmth you can bring!

True story of a success tempered by humility and transparency. Great and awesome for a great man yet so down to earth.

Steve Jobs – You will be sorely missed x Rest in Peacex

What a beautiful day it was on Sunday the 25th of September at the O2 Arena. Perfect for chilling in a park, with your shades on enjoying a picnic…. But this is not what we were doing this fine morning, No, Clinic Angel Eloise and I, chose to spend our Sunday pushing ourselves up some unexpected hills, with less training behind us than preferred!

At 9:45 the first purple shirted runners left their pens:

Eloise and I chose to leave IPods behind and though we could `chat’ and `soak up the atmosphere’…ERROR! In hindsight we see the error in our ways! After the 3rd ‘last trip’ to the bathrooms we made our way to your designated pen (the fastest one of course- ok so that’s a lie) The atmosphere was awesome at the start line, and the chat was in full force, then we hit hill No 1, banter and smiles was paused for only a moment then went back to our happy fresh outlook! What we didn’t release is that hill 1 was the least of our worries as the course continued to either be on a brief flat or incline for the next 13km. To be fair Greenwich is said to have some of the most beautiful views of London, which does require a bit of height!

Working in a Physio practice one would expect a certain level of `responsible athleticism’ if there is such a thing, however both Eloise and myself took to running 21km with niggling injuries, and a far less desirable level of fitness! Or maybe I just speak for myself there, as Eloise seemed to power through like it was no big deal, dragging me along, at the beginning – really grateful for her incredible spirit and drive, towards the end – not sure if I wanted to hug or punch her for dancing around me saying ‘Yes Robinson, come on, you can do it’!

After a last push from my partner in crime at the end we crossed the finish line in 1:59.00, which for a first half marathon for Eloise was an incredible achievement

You can see the story of our run, where we were strong (the beginning!), where we dug deep, (can’t say I remember that section!) and where we broke for home (the thought of frozen margaritas pushing us through!) here: Eloise and Ash

Looking back at the day, I’m not sure the races course was the most aesthetically pleasing, nor particularly interesting! But the last stretch through Greenwich Park, was beautiful and accompanied by some supporters doings some inspirational drumming, it seemed it worth it! As for the beat part of the `run to the beat’ when you were close enough to any of the 7 set up stages the music was great however, other than the portion of each 7 songs you were lucky enough to hear, it was a pretty quite race. Where the only beat audible was the sound of your own heart thumbing against your chests and your feet against the tarmac! Note to self – Always take your own music!!!

And huge congratulations to our patient Jodie Smallcombe who absolutely STORMED the run, completing the 13.1 mile course is an astonishing time of 1:43:31 – Incredible!

Needless to say, Jodie was feeling a little sore from Sunday (infact, I’m pretty sure I still saw some smoke rising from her trainers as she entered the clinic!) and treated herself to a well deserved massage.  Hope I was able to ease some of those aches and pains for you Jodie!

All in all had a great day, and was left feeling inspired to take on more challenges! Topped off by Mexican and frozen margaritas to celebrate!
Thank you to Nike for a well organised event and to Eloise for pushing my but through it!

Ash x