Not only does the team at Balance deliver trigger point therapy but we also educate our clients about TrP therapy and how they can do it themselves using Trigger Point Performance kits and individual products.

The more we do it the better the results our clients can achieve for themselves and gain independence with the tools we recommend.

Here is just one comment directed at the TPT page on Facebook:

“Your Ultimate 6 kit helped get me through Boston [Marathon]. Sciatic pains for 2 weeks before. Ran pain free. Thank you!”

Having been at the TPT HQ in Austin Texas a couple of weeks back I have been able to pass on some additional teaching points to Kellie and Trevor (the Balance sports massage team) and Jason Progl (movement, strength and conditioning coach) so they can educate even more effectively the benefits to be had by their clients inducing trigger point release on themselves.

Trigger Point Performance HQ, Austin, Texas

To see the Trigger Point Performance Products online CLICK this underlined link TPT Kits.

for more info contact Jonathan Lewis via our contact page, Twitter, or feel free to look me up on facebook.

Balance Performance #Running Clinic info: http://bit.ly/cp1Oe5 our expertise goes beyond high quality rehab and the Alter-G, we do PBs too!

We have long catered for runners – from novice marathoners to elite and professional runners – but we have refocussed some of our existing services and changed the structure some to better cater for a runners requirements. Early feedback is very positive.

We hope London’s runners, triathletes and recreational marathoners will see that Balance is a place to get expert advice on getting personal bests not just high quality rehabilitation.

Click here for the Running Clinic page

BBC Science Reporter Victoria Gill’s article is linked to below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8483401.stm

It describes research that came to the obvious conclusion that if you give a human the chance to take the path of least resistance they will take it, even if the consequences are a down turn in long term efficiency. Well thats my interpretation, but to be true to the article here is the opening paragraph:

Wearing cushioned running shoes may have changed the way in which many of us run, new research suggests.

Using slow-motion footage, scientists have discovered that experienced barefoot runners land very differently from runners who wear shoes.

The researchers showed that runners who have trained barefoot tend to strike the ground with their forefoot or mid-foot, rather than their heel.

At Balance we often talk about taking a long term perspective and discourage our clients from looking for the short term quick fix  (whether to be pain free without concern for recurrence, getting fit, getting strong, losing weight, making money etc) but as with all aspects of life its a lot more complicated when you think it through. So once you have read this article dont throw your trainers in the bin and hit Battersea Park for a barefoot 10k using the pose running technique – at least not straight away. There are several more possibilities avaialable to you.

Have a read and if you’d like to share your opinion or ask ours  get in contact with one of the team Paula (author of Running Repairs ), Mick Habgood (podiatrist and running orthotic specialist), Raph (an experienced physio in international athletics and many a “minimal shoe” runner), Frances (triathlon specialist and G-trainer expert) or Sian (currently researching MBT footwear at clinics across London). You can also contact Jonathan (the blog writer) who will happily discuss evolution, sociology, the weakening of human kind and how to prevent it! Send an email by clicking this highlighted link: Contact Page

Mick and Paula will be adding their comments here soon.

Just read a well balanced article from the New York Times on self-massage products. The journalist has consulted a number of sources including sports massage consumers, foam roller users, a triathlon coach, an Ironman triathlete and chiropractor, author of “Self-Massage for Athletes” Rich Poley, and the founder and creator of Trigger Point Performance Therapy products Cassidy Phillips.

The article is based around the following: “Devices for self-massage have become more common as more people compete in endurance sports and, more recently, as the recession has made professional rubdowns look prohibitively expensive. Trainers usually recommend a massage every week or every other week for people who are training for a marathon or triathlon, but the costs do add up: according to the American Massage Therapy Association, the average price of a massage is $63 an hour.”

The article’s quote from TPT founder Cassidy Phillips puts self massage and going to see a professional masseur in the context of oral hygiene. “You brush away some plaque yourself,” he said, “but you still go to the dentist for a thorough cleaning.”

Here’s the article:  http://bit.ly/8lUYu2
click for the Self-massage and Trigger Point range from Balance.

Ultimate 6 package - part of Balance's range of self-massage products

The G-trainer challenges everyone in different ways, whether:

• elite Olympic runner (3 of the Worlds Best Runners have run on our treadmill),
• professional sports men (2 of the UKs best Rugby Clubs use Balance’s G-trainer week in week out)
• top or recreational IronMan and Woman triathletes (including Pro-VO2 tri club athletes and Pro Tristan Shipsides)
• or the 100’s of multisports enthusiasts with injuries who have rehabilitated from sports injuries using the G-trainer at our SW4 facility.

In the World Record Club the idea is to run a mile as fast as possible at either 75% or 85% of your bodyweight – members also get 50% off and a half hour run only costs £12.50.

For many the thing preventing faster running speed is aerobic/anearobic ability (lungs exploding, nausea rising) but not everyone…this is how Cj described his attempt to run faster and beat his personal best over the mile on the G-trainer treadmill running at 85% of his bodyweight:

“I didn’t find this attempt cardio-vascularly challenging as you will see from the video clip. It felt more neurological. Being able to turn over my legs at that speed, sustaining that cadence for that length of time was not easy. I could feel the impulses dampening, at times it felt as if I was tripping over my feet.

One thing is for certain, 4 minute miles is a serious pace, I have a new found respect for Roger Bannister who did it at 100% of his body weight. It highlighted to me that up to a certain point, running is more about skill then fitness. Economy and efficiency of movement. But more about this in part 2 of this post, as I, Cj, turn Chi / pose runner.”

To read the full blog click the link…

http://cjs-fitness.blogspot.com/2009/12/4-minute-mile-g-trainer-challenge-part.html

See the video footage (excuse the camerman he’s an amateur!!):

Saturday 19th December – 10am til 1pm

The World Record Club is looking for members to run their fastest miles on the G-trainer treadmill.

There are several categories to challenge yourself within:

• Mens 85% bodyweight
• Womens 85% bodyweight
• Mens 75% bodyweight
• Womens 85%
• plus Mens and Womens Masters Categories

If you havent run on this revolutionary piece of technology you can have a try out for free with us on Saturday and then if you are up for it take the challenge.

Its very simple…zip in, we’ll start it up, you run…fast…you say faster (you can say slower too of course!!)

• Discounts for G-trainer running sessions of 50% which means£12.50 for 30 minutes or £17.50 for 60 minutes

Apart from being healthy competition the benefits to running speed and overall performance are significant.

Thats why Manchester United bought one in the same week that Balance did.

Saturday 21st November – 10am and 2pm

The World Record Club is looking for members to run their fastest miles on the G-trainer treadmill.

There are several categories to challenge yourself within:

• Mens 85% bodyweight
• Womens 85% bodyweight
• Mens 75% bodyweight
• Womens 85%
• plus Mens and Womens Masters Categories

If you havent run on this revolutionary piece of technology you can have a try out for free with us on Saturday and then if you are up for it take the challenge.

Its very simple…zip in, we’ll start it up, you run…fast…you say faster (you can say slower too of course!!)

• Discounts for G-trainer running sessions of 50% which means £12.50 for 30 minutes or £17.50 for 60 minutes

Apart from being healthy competition the benefits to running speed and overall performance are significant.

Thats why Manchester United bought one in the same week that Balance did.

This a video I found on the Running Competitor website posted by a company promoting the G-trainer for weight loss and elite running performance. Forze like to say “Get Lean, Run Faster!”. Well produced piece of video and a nice explanation of how the G-trainer treadmill works.

Enjoy…

For some time we have sold Trigger Point Performance’s (TPT) “Quadballer” as it is a highly effective tool for removing the tension so many of our clients display in their quads, hip flexors, ITB (iliotibial band), hamstrings and low back. The quadballer allows you to roll through all of these areas whilst keeping your hands free and is used in positions that allow you to breathe, relax and focus on your intention (to become supple, pliable and extensible).

It is a great adjunct to sports massage and as part of your injury prevention regime or rehabilitation following sports injuries or surgery. More than a few of the professional tennis players we worked with at the Wimbledon Grand Slam this year took quadballers off our hands after they experienced it – also because of its size and portability.

For an independent review of the quadballer click here http://tinyurl.com/quadballer-review

Despite it’s superiority many of our clients have wanted cheaper alternatives so would go for foam rollers (we stock 15cm x 90cm foam rollers especially for upper back mobility and core work) but now TPT have saved us by producing the Grid.

It offers the effectiveness, size and portability of the Quadroller and we are offering it at a lower cost than our foam roller.

This is a summary of the Grids properties:

“Green” technology – Constructed with less foam than traditional foam rollers – Designed to withstand constant, heavy, and repeated use without breaking down – Built from EVA foam

Variable zones of density (they call them “the Matrix & Distrodensity™ Zones”!!) to allow for targeted massage with 3 areas described as “flat and wide; narrow firm and rigid; and targeted and precise” and allow for a more realistic massage experience.

As with foam roller producers TPT describe “Core body workout versatility” to “achieve a comprehensive core body workout”. I believe there are better approaches to producing trunk strength and control but it obviously gives some options.

Anyway we are pleased because the Grid now gives an extra option for our clients whether long distance runners, endurance athletes, yoga or kettlebell practitioners or anyone else who needs to work on their suppleness and recover from high training loads.

- Quadballer for a more intense and prolonged effect.
- Foam roller softer on lower limb but useful for upper back mobility and self-massage
- The Grid – economical version of quadballer but highly effective and also with 1 year warranty.

Climb in to the G-trainer Pro treadmill at Balance and discover gravity assisted speed- Sat August 8th 2009.

Climb in and experience why the G-trainer provides the ultimate Speed interval training session

WORLD RECORD CLUB
Gravity Assisted Speed

Presents:

Summer Speed Taster Session
* Experience NASA engineered technology
* Enhance leg speed through over-speed running
* Gain that extra edge this summer season
* Rehabilitate faster- run with reduced bodyweight

Saturday 8th August 10.00am at Balance Performance Physiotherapy,
113 Gauden Rd, London, SW4 6LE.

Entry £5.

To register interest and for more info please email:

frances @ balancephysio.com

Full registration for the G-Trainer Speed World Record Club and details regarding the forthcoming World Record Club Championships will be available on the day.

Contact Frances on 020 7627 2308 about the World Record Club and the 1 mile challenge. Only £5 but you need to book.