The Perform Prevent Recover Podcast

Episode 11: Running Shoe Selection: How Do You Select The Running Shoe that Is Right For You?

You know the feeling when you walk into Bunnings for white paint: and you're faced with a whole wall of different shades of white, and don't know where to start!
Sometimes buying shoes for sport and recreation can feel similar - you walk into the retail store, and there in front of you is a mass of different colours, shapes, sizes, brands, categories ... along with a junior retail assistant ready to advise you on how best to part with your $250!
For anyone that is even just half serious about their footwear, you've probably heard of some of the following terms that relate to shoe selection and technological advancements: lasts, pronation and supination, motion control, maximalism and minimalism, barefoot running, rocker bottoms, stacks, pitches and drops, and the list goes on!
For this episode we have invited one of the most qualified people around to be able to be able to wade through the minefield that is shoes and footwear for sport: podiatrist Rick Osler has been a Director of Sportspods at Lifecare Prahran Sports Medicine for 21 years, Podiatrist at St Kilda FC in the AFL for 9 years, Founder & Director of Active Feet Retail Shoe Stores for 13 years, and podiatrist here at SSPC for 4 years. And to boot, he's used a few pairs of runners himself whilst training and competing in 12 ironman triathlon events. Plus, for his podiatry role, the footwear companies supply Rick  with all the latest versions of runners to personally test!
Rick knows shoes inside out, and he goes through all the technology, all the developments in shoe manufacturing over the years, tells us what works and what doesn't, and most importantly gives us a guide on how to walk into a retail shoe store and find a shoes that is right for you and your sport!
Before you purchase your next pair of runners, take a listen to an expert in the footwear field!

Episode 10: AFL Recruiting - behind the scenes with Melbourne Football Club National Recruiting Manager Jason Taylor

Ever wondered how the AFL recruiting system works and how recruiters choose from the tens of thousands of young hopefuls around the land? 
Take a listen to our latest podcast featuring Jason Taylor, National Recruiting Manager for Melbourne Football Club, as he gives us a rarely heard, behind the scenes understanding of the critical work that goes in to trying to get your club their next premiership!
In this episode we look at the incredible pathway that took Jason from Air Conditioning installer all the way to the top recruiting position at an AFL club.
And he explains what recruiters look for in young footballers, the draft system, the camps, the points, the trades, and more.
The depth that recruiters go to in their quest to find the best players in the country is quite amazing, and it's not just football skill that takes their attention and time.
Enjoy the listen.

Episode 9: Athlete Feature - Nikki Wynd: Winner Badwater 135, 2015, the world's toughest foot race!

Welcome to Episode 9 where we have the pleasure of interviewing one of Australia's best ultra distance runners - Nikki Wynd.
Nikki's resume is incredible, with wins around the world in distances ranging from 42km up to 343km, participating in not only the infamous Badwater 135 ultramarathon three times (winning it in 2015), but also completing arguably Australia's toughest ultramarathon three times, Coast to Koscioszko 240km, with second and third placings.
In this episode we chat to Nikki about Badwater 135 - the preparation, the race itself, the heat and terrain, recovery, and why she went back three times.
It's not often you get to delve into the mind of such a world class athlete, and find out what drives them to such great achievements. And Nikki explains how she trains for these incredible events whilst also holding down a full time job, being a wife and mum, and running an online business.
For anyone looking for inspiration with their running, or thinking about trying some ultra distance marathons, there's a lot to learn from listening to Nikki!

COVID, Sport Lockdowns, and Injury Risk.

Welcome to Episode 8 where SSPC Physio's Anthony Lance and Rob O'Donnell sit and talk about the dramatic effect COVID-19 has had on sport, activity levels, rehabilitation programs, and reductions in normal sporting loads.
In particular, Anthony and Rob look at the difficulty that faces all athletes and sports participants as they prepare to return to sport in a relatively short period of time now that COVID restrictions are lifting.
Spikes in training loads, injury risk, deconditioning, optimal time frames for return to sport are all topics that are discussed. 
Sports Scientist Tim Gabbett's great concept of "Basement, Floor, Ceiling" is also explained, along with amazing statistics from clubs that have come out of sporting lockdowns.
So for coaches and anyone returning to competitive sport following a long layoff, this is a "must listen" podcast to discover what you can do to minimise the risk of injury.
The principles here do not only apply to the recent lockdown caused by COVID 19, but also apply to anyone who is returning from injury layoffs, illness, injury, or even just time away from your sport.
There are two excellent sources referred to in this podcast, which we strongly recommend are read in conjunction with listening to this episode:
AIS White paper: "Prescription of training load in relation to loading and unloading phases of training"
SSPC Blog: Measuring Exercise/Training Loads To Avoid Injury
When you have limited time to get yourself right, you need to know how to utilise every minute to your advantage, and this episode will help you get it right!

Stretching for Athletic Performance: What Does 150 Years of Physio Experience Tell Us?

Where does stretching fit into athletic performance and injury prevention? As a follow up to Episode 6, where we outlined all the evidence (or lack of) surrounding static stretching in particular, in this episode we "go to the grass roots" and ask the physio's themselves.
We are lucky at Southern Suburbs Physiotherapy Centre to have an incredible staff list of physio's. This created a unique opportunity to hear the views of own physio's whose experience in the field totals almost 150 years! And if you include their own personal sporting careers, nearly all at elite level, Episode 7 brings you not only the 150 years of practical physio experience, but nearly the same amount of years in personal athletic experience.
Without doubt, when a physio has a long personal career in a particular sport and follows it up with a professional career in the same sport, they are in an excellent position to be able to bring you not only the science, but the practical application! 
Listen in and you will hear our physio's relate stretching to endurance running, dance and ballet, football, strength training, and gymnastics.
As far as we know, there is no other podcast that shares this amount of personal and professional experience on one topic - so enjoy!
And change your stretching ideas!

Stretching for Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention: worth it, or a waste of time?

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Perform Prevent Recover Podcast series and in this episode we take a look at the topic that probably has the most controversy surrounding it in the sports world - stretching!
Stretching has been around for decades, and has always formed just an accepted component of the athlete's world, be it as part of a warm up, or warm down, or part of the training program to help increase flexibility.
But so many questions are now being asked of stretching: Does it work? Can we actually increase flexibility with stretching? Do we even need more flexibility? Is there any potential harm in stretching?
This podcast delves deep into the purpose and goals that so many people give when justifying why they stretch, including:
1. Stretching to increase flexibility
2. Stretching to warm up
3. Stretching for injury prevention
4. Stretching to prevent exercise soreness
5. Stretching to treat and manage injuries
6. Stretching for performance enhancement
7. Stretching for muscle tightness and trigger points
8. Stretching to feel good
We will go through each and every one of these reasons, explain the research and evidence available to us, and give you all some food for thought regarding stretching in sport.
By the end of it, any of you that do a lot of stretching, may just find you can free up a lot of time for other more important and more beneficial performance enhancers!

Managing Injuries With Ice - Have We Reached Melting Point?

For years, putting ice on sporting injuries has been the widely accepted method of managing acute damage, maximising healing times, and ensuring return to play happened as quickly as possible.
Even now, the RICE regime is one of the first things taught in a First Aid or Sports Trainers Course. Nearly everyone knows what the RICE acronym means:Rest - Ice - Compress - Elevate
But we're starting to hear a few grumbles about ice, and questions on whether it is doing what we think it is! 
- Does ice help stop bleeding after an injury?
- Is swelling and inflammation reduced if we apply ice as soon as the damage occurs?
- Will ice application speed up the healing process, or inhibit it?
- Should we not apply ice at all?
What a massive question this is for not not only all the athletes and sporting participants, but all coaches, physio's, doctors, and health professionals who routinely prescribe ice for many injuries and conditions - falls, strains, post operative etc.
To understand why there are questions around ice, and to be able to make up your own mind, you need to first understand the physiology behind healing. What happens in the healing process, and will ice potentially contribute or impede this healing process? SSPC Physiotherapist Anthony Lance will take your through the four phases of healing as listed below, with particular emphasis on the Bleeding and Inflammatory phases:
(Image Credit: Watson, 2006; Electrotherapy & Tissue Repair)
Listen to Anthony explain in detail these healing phases, and compare this to what ice application actually does. Anthony will look at what other health professionals are saying and explain a new acronym that may well replace the RICE acronym we are so accustomed to!
By the end of this podcast, there should be enough information to have you thinking seriously about how long you will use ice for after an injury, or if in fact you will use ice at all!

Recovery Strategies - What does the research tell us?

Recovery! Almost every athlete has their own strategy. We know that recovery is critical - good recovery allows us to return to our next training session ready to train hard again, or ready to compete at our maximum possible potential!
But what works and what doesn't? In this episode we chat to Physiotherapist and athlete Emily McLean and ask her what recovery methods she advises in her Physiotherapy role, and what recovery methods she uses herself in her athletics world.
In particular, we delve into the research project on Recovery she completed on Recovery, and discuss what the evidence suggests we should do. Emily chats about
- Cold Water Immersion Therapy
- Contrast Water Therapy
- Compression Garments
- Massage Therapy
- Overtraining and Undertraining
- Periodisation of Recovery
- Sleep and Nutrition
and a whole lot more.
Hear a general overview of recovery techniques as a preparation for our next few episodes which will dissect the modalities of stretching and ice, and look even more specifically into these two popular recovery methods.

Athlete Feature: Donna Urquhart, Ultra-Distance Runner, Australian Representative, Physiotherapist

During my 30 years working as Physiotherapist I've had the privilege to work with many great athletes, but possibly none as inspirational and humble as Donna Urquhart.
Beginning jogging in her late teens just to take a brain break from her heavy Physiotherapy undergraduate studies, Donna progressed quickly to triathlons, completing arguably in the pinnacle of triathlon events - the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii - then to outdoor endurance adventure racing and finally to ultra distance running, where the distances have increased from 50km events, to 100km, and now to 24 hour ultra events.
What makes Donna's story so fascinating (and relevant for so many other people) is the fact that her running began as a pastime, not an obsession, and has always been fitted in between studies, her important work as a Physiotherapy researcher at Monash University, and her number one role as wife and mother.
In this podcast, I delve into Donna's amazing progression, not only through different sports, but also in becoming an Australian representative in ultra distance running so soon after becoming serious about the sport. Many topics are discussed, including:
the many races she has completed and difficulties encountered along the way in each race.
"The Trail Beyond" race concept initiated by Donna: 4 Australian women, the 4 toughest ultra marathons in the Asia Pacific region, in 4 months.
her battle with injuries and amazing ability to turn negatives into positives.
an average weekly training schedule
mental strategies for coping with in-race hurdles and dark times.
race strategies for 24 hour endurance events.
the research she has completed on pain tolerance in ultra distance runners...  and a whole lot more!
In this episode you will hear Donna talk about all the highs and lows, the lessons learnt, the mottos she lives by, and her next plan - competing in a "Last Man Standing" event. There are so many "take home" messages from listening to Donna, regardless of what you do in life.
If you haven't already, make sure you hit the SUBSCRIBE button to ensure you receive all our future episodes first. And don't forget to leave any comments or questions!
 

How Kipchoge, Sport Science & Nike Combined To Break The Magical 2 Hour Marathon Barrier

What happens when a great athlete combines with sports science and technology, and has an assault on a previously unattainable barrier - success...and controversy!
There has been a huge buzz in athletics world as Nike, in partnership with Eliud Kipchoge, planned an assault not only on on the marathon World Record, but also the previously unbreakable 2 hour marathon barrier. Kipchoge held the official world record time of 2:01: 39 seconds, set at Berlin in 2018, but this was just an all out attempt to break 2 hours.
In the first attempt, Nike's "Breaking2" project at Monza Italy, the world's greatest current (and maybe all time) marathon runner missed by only 25 seconds.
On 12th October 2019 in Vienna, when Kipchoge managed to succeed on this second attempt, he did so in arguably the most orchestrated and controlled running event ever held. Reaction has ranged from joy and amazement at a truly incredible athlete, to despair at how so many variables, other than Kipchoges pure ability, were responsible for his performance.
Perhaps the most overwhelming reaction and talk amongst the running packs surrounds the shoes that Kipchoge wore, and that’s what this podcast delves into – has technology and science overcome raw human capability and performance?
In this episode we hear from multiple Australian National and State Cross Country champion, Rob O'Donnell, and discuss everything that went in to the second attempt to enable Kipchoge to go under the 2 hour mark. And Rob is uniquely qualified to comment on these topics, being not only a former elite level runner, but being a Physiotherapist for almost 30 years and now treating many of Australia's great distance runners.
Whilst the focus of the podcast is the Nike Alphafly that Kipchoge wore, Rob also discusses the course, the timing, the pacers, the assistance, and the great man Kipchoge himself!
Enjoy!