Claire Callaghan Physiotherapy

What are the best exercises for women? And how much protein do we really need? Masterclass recording here
https://www.clairecallaghan.com/masterclasses/move-nourish-thrive

Move Nourish Thrive - a movement and nutrition guide for active midlife women — Claire Callaghan Move Nourish Thrive Masterclass and guides for active midlife women. Focusing on interplay between diet and exercise for optimal health of our muscles and bones. How much exercise is enough? Should you do squats or hill sprints? What are the best exercises for women in their 40s and 50s? Do I need

For the health and exercise professionals - hope you enjoy

🎙CHEWING IT OVER🎙

Today with Claire Callaghan Physiotherapy - Claire speaks to host Felicity Thow about what MSK clinicians should know about the .

Listen wherever you download your podcasts or watch here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-145952474?r=7o7jm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Tennis weekend - a lovely gathering junior county event last night,
watching an Aussie 🇦🇺 in the final of the in Birmingham today. A great girls day out with family and friends 🎾
All finalists today were amazing, a privilege to watch it up close.

Blogs on common tennis injuries, strength and conditioning and what joint and muscle issues to watch out for in female juniors and seniors on my new website shortly and in my July newsletter

Sometimes it’s so hard being a female solo freelancer. After years of doing my website alone, I needed help! I’ve enlisted the wonderful Katie from so that my website can reflect where I am now - sharing the latest credible information on women’s physical health and wellbeing in a simple, stylish and authentic way. 💻

Thanks so much Katie! If moving well and feeling better are essential for you and your family, do check it out. My website is simply my name. Link to the website in my bio.

And while on the subject of collaborations - I’m teaming up with Laura .dietitian for my next masterclass - Move, Nourish, Thrive - next Friday 28th June (recording available). If you really want to know the truth about midlife nourishment to support yourself and managing your metabolism, she is your girl ❤️🥗

♥️

A fresh new change - I've just launched my new website with the help of the brilliant Katie from Edie and Chalk. Do check it out

Claire Callaghan Health, wellbeing and performance expert for women. Claire Callaghan is a Chartered Physiotherapist with 25 years of experience specialising in Sport, Exercise and Women's Health. She supports women through speaking events, masterclasses, written pieces and 1:1 consultations, helping them stay pain

What exercise do we really need to do? And what about protein - do you need more in midlife?

Pause Power Hours - Perimenopause Workshop Discover how to harmonise with your hormones and thrive through your 40’s and perimenopause. No gimmicks, no fluff, just credible science.

Great day and a Mini Masterclass on physical wellbeing for . Nice timing as it’s mental health awareness week and the theme - moving more for mental health - tied in nicely with our discussion. It’s great to stay fit, but sitting less, finding moments to move outside in the day and connect with others is so vital. Thanks for having me!

Great to be part of The Bristol Running Show. Really recommend it if you enjoy running and are around when it's on next year

By most of my measures, the 3rd Bristol Running Show was a success. Lots of room for improvements but we seem to be heading in the right direction.
My gratitude to the team, Rose Hayes, Tom Basett from All Aspect Fitness. Oils and Supplements Michelle Day, Garga Chamberlain, , Ena Morris, Suswara Payne, Emma from North Bristol Triathlon Club and Faye Dicker who introduced one of our super speakers, Claire Callaghan Physiotherapy.
Michelle is the founder/admin of the Facebook group, another helpful resource for the community.

We need a few more team members. If you would like to help us put together next year's show or help out on the day then please get in touch. We can figure out some kind of energy exchange.

Many thanks to all the exhibitors, speakers coach's and personal trainers as well as the staff at the BAWA Leisure centre.
And of course thanks to all the @400 visitors that came. We hope you took something meaningful and helpful away with you and we look forward to 2025.

Abichal

Joint pain in midlife? Hormones play a role, but other factors make it worse (or better) too. Knowledge is power in taking control of pain.

A recent research review in the Lancet looked at how s*x hormones affect pain and arthritis and the impact of hormones on pain and joint disease.
Major influences on women’s midlife joint pain:

Age
Genetics
Pressure through joints
Pain sensitivity
Stress, anxiety and depression
Poor sleep
Fatigue

The effects of hormones on bones and cartilage are well known, but the emerging science on links between hormones and pain perception and sensitivity is fascinating.

We can lessen the pressure through our joints through varying exercise (cross training) and maintaining broader health. Sleep and keeping energy levels from dipping also helps joint pain and perception.

Do your knees creak a bit more when walking up stairs? Are your hands stiffer and more sore now you’re in your 40s or 50s?

Swipe for more ➡️
For the reference, see Gulati et al 2023 doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(23)00060-7

Great day . So appreciate the opportunity to share information with runners and see so many familiar faces

Just 3 days away...

Perimenopause and joint pain - what women need to know Online, recorded. Many women suffer joint pain and stiffness in their 40s and 50s. This Masterclass covers why this happens and how to help.

Foot fractures, bunions, flat feet and foot pain - are any of these a problem for you? Stay nimble with some 'foot core' https://www.clairecallaghan.com/post/foot-core

Foot fractures, bunions, flat feet and foot pain - are any of these a problem for you? Stay nimble with some 'foot core'

Foot core Like our middles, the feet need maintenance. Literally the foundation on which we stand, they give vital stability and sensory information when we stand and move. Women are more likely than men to have dropped arches and bunions in midlife. Heel pain is also common, and weakness and changes in the a...

Waking with joint pain, or getting stiffer and sorer after exercise? Is it perimenopause or something else?

Perimenopause and joint pain - what women need to know Online, recorded. Many women suffer joint pain and stiffness in their 40s and 50s. This Masterclass covers why this happens and how to help.

Joint pain? Is it hormones, or is something else going on?
New Masterclass - Perimenopause and joint pain – what women need to know. Wednesday 20th March, 1pm. Online, recording sent to all registrants.

Early bird now! £9.50

Perimenopause and joint pain - what women need to know Online, recorded. Many women suffer joint pain and stiffness in their 40s and 50s. This Masterclass covers why this happens and how to help.

More post exercise muscle outer hip, achilles, heel, shoulder or elbow pain now you’re hitting your 40s and 50s? Why? Does HRT help?

Women after ask, naturally assuming that it might come with the territory as they hit midlife and menopause.

The truth is that women are complex, all leading different, multifaceted lives. It’s not just age and the menopause, our strength and how we move play a part (can’t blame it all on hormones!).

That said, our tendons and connective tissues do change. Oestrogen levels fluctuate up and down in menopause and drop post menopause. Collagen in tendons helps give them strength. Lower oestrogen and getting older means the collagen building, repair and remodelling slows, so there’s a higher chance of pain and weakness if the tendon is under pressure, and it can take longer to recover from injury.

WE CAN’T SAY HRT IS THE ANSWER…but studies are underway. For those wanting to dive into the science, see the GLoBE Trial (ref below), which found that HRT + education + exercise did help women with outer hip tendon pain, especially for those in the healthy body mass index range.

What we know for sure:
Tendons strengthen with
• Weight bearing exercise
• Resisted exercises- eg free weights
• Moving at different speeds in different directions (think aerobics, dance, tennis, hockey, netball, trail running)

And of course, Physios also have specialised exercises for specific tendon problems to help!

Swipe for more ➡️

doi: 10.1177/03635465211061142

Runner's Stomach: 6 Reasons You Feel So Sick after Running Plus, what you can do about it

Women's Running - nutrition essentials, energy and peak performance Learn how to fuel your body for long runs and reach your peak performance at our women's distance running and nutrition event.

International Women’s Day! This year’s theme, , could not be more relevant for midlife women. Right now, many of the studies we base our knowledge of how our joints, muscles, brain and nerves work and response to injuries have been done on predominantly male participants. Women are not small men. A very recent article that sport and exercise research led by and others revealed that in sport and exercise research, midlife women account for only 9% of participants. Interesting given that women between 40 and 59 years make up over a quarter of the UK female population.
If we want to give women the answers to physical health problems and empower to take proactive steps for wellbeing, inclusion is essential.
On a positive note, it’s great to be part of a global community of women celebrating positive changes in narratives around women’s health


Refs:
https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-107165
https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/demographics/age-groups/latest

Back pain at work? My thoughts in Bristol.Live. From the archives

How to prevent back pain at work Over half a million workers suffered from joint and muscle problems in 2016/17

For international women's day next Friday, I'm going to this event. Any women are welcome - sign up here https://www.freelancemum.co.uk/event/brave-bold-bonkers-an-international-womens-day-celebration/?fbclid=IwAR3CSlSauMc14e9-eUaph1RWSlKxVy_CzurJsc6xCm_pHa0W_1VF_AClOvE

Brave, Bold & Bonkers - an International Women's Day celebration - Freelance Mum Brave, Bold and Bonkers', we hear from three amazing women, each sharing their journey, in celebration of .

Collagen, connective tissue and oestrogen.

You might have seen recent press about female footballers, netballers and ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury, or teen girls and ligament injuries. ⚽️🏀

It’s a hot topic as injuries are hitting high profile players (Sam Kerr, Beth Mead) are on the rise. Issues are complex, understanding and prevention does help.

Oestrogen is an important female hormone, and teen girls and women have oestrogen receptors in their joints, ligaments and tendons. Ligaments and tendons are primarily of collagen, which gives them strength.

Injury risk can increase when oestrogen is high, such as during mid cycle or during pregnancy.
This can also affect joint pain if girls or women are very hypermobile (where joints are extremely flexible).

If you notice that joint pain follows a cyclical pattern, or play high impact sports, you might want to monitor it and think about doing less high risk, high impact training at these times.

Strengthening, dynamic exercise, supportive footwear and balance work are, of course, essential too.

Swipe ➡️ for more

For women, all exercise is not equal. The UK Chief Medical Officer’s guidance shows that the most beneficial for our muscle strength, bone density and balance are those which are

multidirectional
multi joint
high impact
dynamic
weight bearing

Women’s capacity to heal injured bones, maintain bone density and good muscle strength and recover from muscle injuries lessens not only with age, but with the drop in oestrogen through menopause. Grip strength and our ability to bound and jump up correlates with menopausal status.

Proven ways to counteract this:

resistance training (heavy and challenging weights or resistance band work)
racket sports (eg tennis, badminton, padel)
ball games (eg hockey, netball)
aerobics(back to the ‘80s)
running and dancing

See the second slide for the difference between taking doing challenging exercise and not doing it (Also from the CMO guidelines, 2019).

Hopefully this reassures you that you are on the right track, and that adding a bit of impact, challenging your balance or being that bit quicker is worth it. Also vital for Physios to make your exercises that bit more challenging.

Note this is not an exclusive list, just what we have proof of.

(UK CMO Physical Activity Guidance 2019, Bondarev 2019 and 2021).

Struggling to get back on your feet after an injury?

Sometimes it’s the mental as well as the physical barriers that hold us back. A recent research article looked at the psychological aspects affecting return to sport after injury. It identified unique stressors women face, including body image concerns, energy levels, hormones and family pressures.

It outlines how a holistic approach, positive outlook and a belief that your actions are have an impact (internal locus of control) will help recovery.

Women and clinicians are encouraged to ask themselves:

How are you dealing with your injury from an emotional standpoint?

What can you control to help you get better?

Do you have the physical and mental skills to get better? Seeking help for any aspect of holistic health may help e.g. guidance on nutrition, strength, technique, emotional health, physical health 🥗💪🏃‍♀️🏸🧠👩‍⚕️

Some questions to ponder…

Swipe for more ➡️