The Health and Sport Show

In this episode we talk about how a non-league football club managed to save a players life by having the foresight to equip their club with a defibrillator.  During the second half of the match between Dunstable Town FC and Hertford Town FC a Hertford player suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. Thanks to the great work by the match day physiotherapists and a fellow player administering CPR, an...

Whenever we get injured, it’s completely natural to wonder what went wrong….. you haven’t necessarily done anything different today, yet here you are in pain and unable to do the things you want to do..  If we drop a heavy object on our foot, or get hit by a fast moving object it’s easy to know what caused our injury. As long as we don’t do that again, we won’t get that same problem again.  Unfort...

The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical performance is being increasingly recognised as a key consideration for women’s sport, and rightly being called out as an important area for further research. This was further backed up by Dina Asher-Smith’s withdrawal from the 100m at the European championships due to menstrual issues’ and called for more studies to help female athletes fully understa...

We continue our series on concussion and head injuries in sport.  Today we talk about treatment options, whether complete rest helps or harms progress, and the 6 important stages of the graduated return to play protocol to make sure athletes return to sport safely and reduce the risk of second impact syndrome, mental health issues resulting from concussion, and the development of chronic traumatic...

In this episode we talk through the basics of concussion and we take a look at two fantastic free resources for medical professionals and non-medically trained people to help them be more aware of concussion, how to identify, and how to deal with a potentially concussed player, and when they should call the emergency services.  It's estimated that 1/3 sports related concussions go unreported for a...

Hello everybody and welcome, welcome welcome to the health and sport show. My name is Tom Butterfield and I’m your host….   On 11th November 2002, coroner Andrew Haigh recorded a verdict of "death by industrial disease”. At the time it was groundbreaking, the first time this ruling had ever occurred in the UK… because it regarded a professional sportsperson….. an ex international footballer, Jeff...

Today we have a little rant about some of the worrying trends that have exploded on some social media platforms.  To the uninformed it looks spectacular, to those with knowledge of the human body and clinical experience these are worrying times that could potentially change the course of a life in order to get a few more likes, views, shares or subscriptions to their channels.  We've all taken the...

Today we just pressed record and vented a few frustrations from the day. It frustrates me that clinicians can be so sloppy and careless with the language and words they use.  Clients are coming to us in a vulnerable position looking for help, and it's our duty to do out upmost top make sure they're looked after and made to feel like their problem matters. Unfortunately, at times we forget that we'...

Today we answer a very common question we get asked in our clinic day to day.  How Does Chiropractic Treatment Work?  We provide the answer thanks to a video from our very own YouTube channel. Most people own a car, so they can relate to what it's like when you're driving down the motorway and all of a sudden the engine management computer tells you that something is wrong.... But you didn't do an...

Hello everybody and welcome, welcome, welcome to the health and sport show! My name’s Tom Butterfield and in this episode we're going to talk about the three most common causes of neck pain and the best ways to manage them. I've been spending some time looking through and answering questions in a variety of different Facebook groups and it became clear to me that a lot of people are confused, frus...

Today we’re going to make you aware of the different types of habit that can shape our day, and how we can use this understanding to transform our day from chaotic and busy, to calm and productive.  Hello everybody and welcome, welcome, welcome to the health and sport show! My name’s Tom Butterfield and i’ll be your host as always to take you through the interesting world of...

Summer is on its way, and with it will be a tidal wave of people looking to get active…… which is great! But on the flip side, it’s also a time when we see a lot of injuries due to simple training mistakes…  Today we’re going to talk through how you can make progress and do it safely at the same time.  Hello everybody and welcome, welcome, welcome to the...

Have you ever tried to get a new healthy habit into your life? Only to start well, but after a couple of months find yourself losing motivation, momentum and progress eventually falling all the way back to square one? You’re not alone!    Today we’re going to unlock a simple secret that will help you maintain progress and enthusiasm even when you just can’t be bothered!...

We sat down at our meeting to run through the questions i’d been sent a few days earlier. I’d spent a lot of time answering them, and thinking about how they’d impact my next 12 months.  Question 1 was ‘What do you want to achieve this year? My answer was that I wanted to improve my clinical skills in order to be able to offer a more complete service to my clients. I&r...

Introduction Before we talk jet lag we’ll talk briefly about our circadian rhythm.  Circa = Around, Dian (comes from Diem) = Day. It gets its name because research has proven that our circadian rhythm is actually longer than 24 hours……. So its called our ‘Around a day’ rhythm.  Ever heard the phrase ‘a night owl?’ Or ‘I’m a morning...

Hello everybody and Welcome, Welcome, Welcome to the Health and Sport Show!! Today we’re going to talk about 10 ways in which we can deepen that connection and make those relationships even stronger.  1) Take responsibility and give credit – humility goes a long way. Take the hit when its not going well, and be quick to give credit to others when it is going well – it is not...

KEY TAKEAWAYS It's important to get a solid diagnosis so we know exactly what we're dealing with. Stop using the word 'Tendonitis'. The main cause of achilles tendinopathy is a relatively fast increase in exercise frequency, duration or intensity.... It could be any or all of these! Medical Imaging can be useful to provide more information, but not vital for diagnosis. Don't think by getting a pic...

When we are in social situations we can often meet characters that can easily trigger our insecurities. However, our behaviour can change and is dependent on different factors. What steps can we take to not let our own and others insecurities dominate our behaviour especially in social situations?   KEY TAKEAWAYS Personality traits such as arrogance and criticising, people pleasing and requir...

If you are in a position of leadership or considering one in your future, Tom talks about what is required to excel in the top position. In the context of his own experiences he explains the five levels of leadership as borrowed from expert John Maxwell (link below). They denote the level of expertise, trust, personal knowledge and achievement you will need to have with your client to inspire and...

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, but why do some of us get more of our intended plans completed in that time, while others see the time flit away under-utilised? Tom gets to the bottom of motivation and helps you beat the curse of procrastination.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Immediate tasks and interests tend to override plans or less immediate jobs so many things get shelved and put off for anoth...

Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? How many of us deserve the berating we receive when people find out we skipped breakfast? What should we be eating at breakfast to fuel our day? How much of the advice we are given by our trusted sources on when and how often we should be eating can be trusted? Tom untangles the morass of conflicting information the headlines fling at us and...

Tom completes his core strength and lumbar spine stability trilogy.  He details a number of exercises that will achieve core strength suitable for all upper body based tasks, including most standing sporting activities.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Vertical lumbar spine stability is the ability of the spine to remain stable under vertical forces enabling the upper and lower body a solid surface...

Are you the sort of person who keeps picking up injuries? Tom is going to let you in on a secret that not only helps you to improve your fitness and gets you closer to your goals, but also helps to reduce your risk of injury too.     KEY TAKEAWAYS The more experienced players know not to push themselves to the point of injury. Stretching your limits to the breaking point is unsustai...

It’s not uncommon for Tom to have a client turn up and say “I’m going on holiday in three days. I’d like you to sort it out for me. Right now.” One way of getting better faster is to know what the problem is in the first place.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Sometimes a diagnosis can be incorrect. Increase diagnostic certainty by taking your time and systematically checki...

Tom creates his sequel to all you need to know about your microbiome by looking at what can cause disruption to your gut health.     KEY TAKEAWAYS Poor diet is the main problem for healthy gut flora. It means we are not getting sufficient vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) to keep our body in good condition, and also these foods can harm the microbiome and the structures of the...