Growing up in the sport of Gymnastics I trained 28hr a week, but still somehow managed to spend many hours in many physio clinics over the years. My injuries includes a subluxated shoulder, Osgood schlatters, a crushed ligament in my lower back, torn hamstrings and cracked cartilage in my ribs, not to mention the jarring of many joints and various overuse injuries (or ‘overload’ injuries, as we call them at Precision). Injuries are accepted as a part of high-level gymnastics, but the one injury that was truly devastating to my career was crushing a ligament in my back. This injury sent me backwards in the sport and it became so difficult to regain the skills and confidence I’d once had. At the time I didn’t realise that this injury had been completely preventable. Looking back on my journey through gymnastics, if I had been put through a comprehensive movement examination, the physio would have been able to pinpoint the factors that were like a ticking time bomb – just waiting for my back injury to happen, and end my career. 
What I didn’t know then (but have since figured out) is that if I had had full mobility throughout my thoracic and lumbar spine regions, the loads through my spine during gymnastics would have been spread evenly throughout the joints in my spine: among other things, this was one of the major factors which led to my career-ending injury. Unfortunately, I didn’t have this knowledge at the time. I didn’t have a physiotherapist who had a mentality of preventive physiotherapy. What I absolutely love about Precision Physio is that the faults in our biomechanics are hunted down and addressed, stopping injuries before they happen. I believe that if I been treated at Precision Physio during my years as an athlete, it would have saved me a lot of pain, time, money and ultimately performance. Having a team of physiotherapists and exercise physiologists who deal with the underlying risk factors for injuries, rather than just the injury itself is crucial. Anyone who is looking to improve their performance, and to prevent injuries, will find the Precision Physio team will comprehensively evaluate your body so you can step into a higher level of health, well-being, performance and ultimately LIVE YOUNG! 
If you’d like to read more about me, or anyone else in the Concord team, check out our profiles. Harry Stacey, Gymnastics Coach, Concord
