Sarcopenia is a specific term used where there is an involuntary loss of muscle mass and strength, usually occurring with advancing age. This is usually progressive, with a whopping 50% of muscle mass being lost by the time we hit our 80s.  This progressive loss of...

Is muscle soreness good? It’s more common to experience some muscle soreness especially when starting out with strength training, and it may be more noticeable within the first 48 hours. Initially you may find you’re more tired for 1-2 days, but then...

Strength training can provide a physiological reserve for times of stress; e.g. times of illness, times of inactivity, after surgery, being on a beach holiday etc. If we keep taking from those reserves e.g. by being sedentary, then we’re going to have an adverse...

We all get older. Our whole bodily systems age as well, including our muscles. The initial decline in strength is caused by denervation of the nerves that drive muscle i.e. this occurs at a brain level. There’s a preferential loss of fast twitch fibres which are...

I’m not kidding when I say strength saves lives! A lack of strength is highly correlated with limitations in daily living and chronic disease (Sharples et al, 2015), with movement being highly correlated to life expectancy. Muscle mass, i.e. being strong or...

Compression Fractures Osteoporotic fractures which occur in the spine are also known as wedge fractures, due to the shape changes associated with the fracture. The front portion of the vertebrae collapses whilst the posterior region which is made of harder bone,...

 Intro We’ve established that the shoulder has the largest range of motion of any joint in the human body, typically achieving 180 degrees of elevation The extensive range of motion requires the co-ordinated movement of the shoulder complex; the ACJ, SCJ, and scapula...

Intro The scapulothoracic articulation is not actually a ‘true’ joint, as there is no union of the bone ends via fibrous, cartilaginous or synovial tissue which is usually what’s required. Rather is ‘sits’ on the rob cage posteriorly and does not have any bone to bone...

Acromioclavicular Joint Commonly referred to as the ACJ, this is where the scapula and clavicle join via a tough fibrous capsule and ligaments The joint ends can vary from person to person, being flat, concave-convex, or convex-concave, and the angle of the joint ends...

Intro Commonly known as the shoulder blade, the scapula connects the upper arm bone (humerus) with the collar bone (clavicle), thereby connecting the arm to the trunk The bone is fairly flat, thin and roughly triangular in shape, with left and right scapulae (plural)...