I’ve played cricket for as long as I remember. I’m 56 now and can recall my first game of men’s cricket when I was 13. Throughout all of those years I’ve always tried to bowl fast, which takes its toll on the body.
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From around 1996/97 I have experienced ongoing problems with my achilles (both of them) and this is clearly associated with bowling. I tried numerous physiotherapists and podiatrists – the physios mainly did ultrasound and manipulation and the podiatrists made orthoses. Sometimes the orthoses gave me a few more weeks into the season before the pain started but it just seemed to delay the inevitable.
But because I love the sport so much, I would play through the pain and then struggle all week long – icing and trying to get ready for the next weekend.
At the end of each season I would rest and by about January I would be able to get down the stairs in the morning relatively pain free but then the cycle would start again at the beginning of the next season in April
The 2021 season was particularly painful and my thought was that I couldn’t do it any more. However, within the club some old mates came back to play and for that reason I wanted to try one more time to see if someone could solve my achilles pain. Just to see if I could get even one more season of playing sport with my mates.
I sent a mail to Back and Body Clinic explaining the saga of 20 odd years of pain and Luke Girvan gave me a call. We had a chat and I made an appointment in September last year. Broadly speaking Luke prescribed three things:
Strengthening exercises – most of which had never been prescribed to me before
Shockwave therapy
New orthoses (fitted by Kelly and based on results from walking on a pressure mat and some very fancy software)
I had several sessions with Luke over the winter and although I followed his instructions (regarding exercises) almost to the letter, I didn’t fully expect him to solve the problem, based on previous experiences elsewhere.
However, it’s now getting close to the end of the season and I’ve played and bowled without any achilles pain whatsoever for the first time since all these problems started. I’m sure Luke considers it to be first class physiotherapy based on good science and his knowledge of the subject. But from my perspective it almost seems like a miracle. I really thought I had a problem that couldn’t be cured.
So as you might expect, I wholeheartedly recommend Luke and Kelly at the Back and Body Clinic. I fully expect to play at least a couple more seasons before I hang up my boots whereas this time last year I thought it was all over.
But because I love the sport so much, I would play through the pain and then struggle all week long – icing and trying to get ready for the next weekend.
At the end of each season I would rest and by about January I would be able to get down the stairs in the morning relatively pain free but then the cycle would start again at the beginning of the next season in April
The 2021 season was particularly painful and my thought was that I couldn’t do it any more. However, within the club some old mates came back to play and for that reason I wanted to try one more time to see if someone could solve my achilles pain. Just to see if I could get even one more season of playing sport with my mates.
I sent a mail to Back and Body Clinic explaining the saga of 20 odd years of pain and Luke Girvan gave me a call. We had a chat and I made an appointment in September last year. Broadly speaking Luke prescribed three things:
Strengthening exercises – most of which had never been prescribed to me before
Shockwave therapy
New orthoses (fitted by Kelly and based on results from walking on a pressure mat and some very fancy software)
I had several sessions with Luke over the winter and although I followed his instructions (regarding exercises) almost to the letter, I didn’t fully expect him to solve the problem, based on previous experiences elsewhere.
However, it’s now getting close to the end of the season and I’ve played and bowled without any achilles pain whatsoever for the first time since all these problems started. I’m sure Luke considers it to be first class physiotherapy based on good science and his knowledge of the subject. But from my perspective it almost seems like a miracle. I really thought I had a problem that couldn’t be cured.
So as you might expect, I wholeheartedly recommend Luke and Kelly at the Back and Body Clinic. I fully expect to play at least a couple more seasons before I hang up my boots whereas this time last year I thought it was all over.
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