Sport Medicine & Back Pain

Hi Thank you for your question and its certainly something that Sports physicians get asked about quite often - what exercises are advised for someone who is overweight or obese? Running is an excellent form of exercise, which uses most of the major muscle groups in the body and which can help with improved cardiovascular fitness and weight loss. Indeed, any exercise is better than nothing and while running is a cheap and easy thing to do, it might not be recommended in the first instance if you are unaccustomed to exercise.

Thanks for your question - I won't repeat what Dr Henry has already mentioned in his excellent answer, but perhaps I can add to it. While I appreciate your concerns about a possible SLAP lesion, there are other potential issues that can happen around a shoulder that might cause ongoing pain. This includes a AC joint issue, tendinopathy, impingement, a tendon tear, a frozen shoulder, a nerve injury and so on.

Thanks for your question and well done for giving up smoking! Together with excessive alcohol intake, hypertension and poor fitness, smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for health. The only thing I would add to the excellent answers you have already received, it perhaps consider a CARDIO-PULMONARY EXERCISE TEST (CPET). This is either in the form of a cycle or running test and will essentially allow the physician who is looking after you to assess your physiology.

Thanks for your question - you have already been given an excellent answer by Dr Daniel so I will try to add to this. Your symptoms do sound suspiciously like piriformis syndrome, where the sciatic nerve is irritated by its close proximity to the piriformis muscle. In some situations, it can be due to muscle enlargement or entrapment. However, there are other potential diagnoses that must be considered, including 1. This pain might be originating from your spine - such as a disc bulge - in which case an MRI spine might be required. 2.

Thanks for your question and I am sorry to hear about your anxieties. In general exercise is a good preventative measure for many of the risk factors for cardiac disease such as hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and diabetes. It can help with the onset and limit the impact of these conditions. If you are concerned about your risk, might I suggest a pre-participation screening (PPS). This involves a thorough medical history, clinical examination and appropriate investigations.

Welcome to the over 30's club! I say this with personal experience of knee pain and a story similar to yours. Cartilage injury around the front of the knee can be quite painful and limit activity, particularly if you enjoy running and jumping sports. Seeing a physiotherapist is important in such situations as they can help identify specific muscle weaknesses.

Neuromuscular conditions are complex and varied in nature and can present as a primary condition or in association with other problems. Their symptoms can also be quite varied and difficult to elicit, but as they progress it can start with weaknesses in in big muscle groups initially before smaller ones such as your respiratory (breathing) muscles. Neuromuscular conditions are usually diagnosed through a mixture of clinical history/examination and investigations such as nerve conduction tests, muscle biopsies and imaging.

I’m sorry to hear about your symptoms/diagnosis. I imagine it can be quite frustrating. Firstly, it’s great to hear that you are on a disease modifying medication and hopefully this will control your symptoms/condition. From an overall health perspective I would fully advocate exercise as it can help your arthritis as well as your overall well-being. Exercise will help limit weight gain. In doing so, it should limit the pressure on your joint and hopefully the arthritis symptoms that you are experiencing.

It’s a common problem amongst runners. ITB related pain can be due to tightness, a busitis, snapping or flicking of the band. Often symptoms develop after you have been running for a certain distance. As Dr a Paul suggests, it would be worth being assessed, together with an ultrasound scan to look for a bursa or a gait analysis to check whether your running pattern might be contributing. In some patients, modifying this is all that is required, whereas for others, they might require a guided treatment. I hope this helps.

Wow - a tough one! Three questions spring to mind 1. What does your cardiologist say? 2. What level of exercise do you currently do? 3. Have you been for an exercise test? So for number one, your cardiologist will know how your heart is functioning - whether the echos are looking normal and so on. If there is any concern that you might be decompensating, then best to check with them. Number 2 - what exercise do you currently do? Triathlons take considerable training and it’s sensible to build upto this over a phased period.