Out of 12,000 runners we even made it onto the local Cheltenham BBC news – although we haven’t seen it, a number of patients have told us we were spotted crossing the finishing line (in one piece and smiling – apparently!)

The first eight miles were a breeze, and up until 11 miles all was good, but the last two were a struggle to say the very least!  But I didn’t break into a walk!  Surprisingly, I feel pretty good today (we did do a lot of post race stretching), so let’s hope the stiffness doesn’t kick in tomorrow?

I did make sure I booked in for a sports massage with Matt on Wednesday, as despite feeling OK today, I know he has plenty to work on with my legs, glutes, lower back and shoulders/neck – I definitely need (and I think deserve) a massage, if not two or three to sort me out!

Fru

If it is a more convenient clinic for you to travel to, then please feel free to make an appointment to see him there.

Appointments available Fridays 2pm-6pm

To book, please call Emma on 01242 246552 or email emma.taylor@nuffieldhealth.com

Heavy school bags are often blamed for causing back pain, but Rob also highlights the danger of a ‘new media’ filled lifestyle putting unnecessary stresses on our children’s backs and necks.  He says; “Not only are children bent over their desks for a large part of the day, but in their spare time they are hunched over items such as smart phones, games consoles and iPads.  These activities intensify the daily stress already put on our children’s backs. Moving is key, taking a regular break from a bent over posture to sit up or stand up will ease the pressures put through the spine.  Even better would be to get up and walk around.”

Children and students often get stuck into their work, and can be hunched over a desk for many hours.  Likewise, outside of studying it is easy to sit on the phone (talking, texting and emailing), gaming or watching TV, with little concept of time.  All these activities promote poor posture, for example; leaning your head towards a phone handset or bending over a hand held device.   Rob continues, “Our backs and necks are designed to flex in various directions, but being held for a length of time in any one position (especially when bent or twisted) is potentially damaging. Excess pressure is put through the spinal joints and extra stress placed on the muscles.  Over time, the accumulation of this stress and pressure can result in an injury.”

Rob urges children and students to think about their posture and take regular breaks from these various activities to sit up, stand up and generally straighten up (every 20-30 minutes).   If nothing else, simply sitting up in the chair and rolling their shoulders a number of times and gently stretching the neck before bending over again will help. Parents of smaller children should be aware of these issues and try to limit the time little ones spend slouching or sitting awkwardly.

Day one and the ride started from the east end of London to Harwich, in rather cold and windy conditions. The ferry was boarded that evening and we continued the following day in Holland under beautiful blue skies along smooth picturesque cycle paths.  As competitive Rob, I couldn’t help myself and took part in the 2km time trial along the route and came forth (which I’m over the moon about…. although lost to a girl by 2 seconds!!).

Amsterdam, night two, became more of a stag do than an athletic challenge!  This made for a rather tricky 3rd day to Belgium following very long, flat, straight roads for well over 100 miles, which REALLY hurt by bum!!

This day ended (finally) with some well deserved Belgium beers and a relatively early night.  Day four and the big push to Brussels, I was feeling fit and decided to try and keep up with the front (elite) cyclists for the final day. It’s very tough trying to keep a conversation going with phenomenally fit people at speed on a bike, but managed an extraordinary day of fast/hilly cycling!

Finally in Brussels, challenge complete and our night in consisted of a quick shower and straight out to the Gran Plas for yet another evening of beer, but for once, with no cycle the following morning!

This was a tough challenge and thank goodness I put the hours in training for it (not drinking but cycling).

The Action Medical Research team organised this fantastic challenge and of course do an amazing job researching and helping children with so many ailments.

For those who have sponsored me, I’m sorry I’m not managing to thank each of you personally for your generous contributions to this charity, so please accept this email as my THANK YOU; and if any of you wish to support Action Medical Research and sponsor me post bike ride, please go to http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/robgrace

Best wishes,

Rob

PS You’ll be happy to hear my bum has molded back into its normal shape!!

Action Medical Research is a charity dedicated to saving and changing children’s lives.  Running for almost 60 years, they find and fund the very best medical research to help stop the suffering of babies and children caused by disease and disability.

If you’d like to sponsor my (slightly crazy) challenge and support this fantastic charity, please go to http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/robgrace

To help avoid getting it for the first time or it returning this summer if you’ve suffered in the past, start your tennis playing gently, play a few games and progress to a 3 set match.  Stretch your forearm daily, and before /after playing (by holding your arm straight and bending your wrist downwards).  Also, it is worth looking at your technique to check the way you hold your racket and the grip size.  When a racket is held incorrectly the racket speed and force is likely to be generated by the elbow and forearm, rather than the shoulder as it should be.  This puts additional stretch and stress on the muscles and tendons, especially from the impact of the ball.    Likewise if the grip size is too big or small, you will end up gripping harder than necessary and again stressing the muscles and tendons.

If you feel tightness or a niggle of any sort in the forearm, rest for a few days rather than risking the injury taking hold.  If it does persist, look to get treatment as soon as possible to nip it in the bud, both Chiropractic and Physiotherapy (including the use of acupuncture) will help.

It is should be pointed out, that tennis elbow is not only caused by tennis, but by general over use or stress on the forearm through gripping and lifting (eg heaving bags, baby car seats etc, even repetitive mouse clicking).

If you do decide to continue playing golf through any form of pain and injury, you should be aware of the more long-term issues. The body is designed to protect an injury and will place more stress on another area of the body to compensate.  For example if you have pain in your low back, you will put more strain through the upper half of you body trying to complete a swing, despite protecting the low back, this can potentially result in damage to the currently healthy ribs and shoulders.  If you suffer from stiff hips which don’t turn properly, the body will apply more rotation through the low back.  This means that while the hips are protected, but the low back is taking a lot more stress and is likely to become injured too.  A vicious circle occurs.

In short, by not looking after one area properly means another area will may well become affected.  So if you have a stiffness or injury in any area of your body, which is affecting your natural golf swing, I’d advise getting it looked and treated, before inadvertadly damaging another area.

• Recline your seat to between 110-120 degrees
• Press your lower back into the base of the seat and if you don’t have lumbar support perhaps use a rolled towel to give you more support
• Tilt your head rest forward to maintain contact and support
• Position your seat at a distance so that your arms are slightly flexed holding the steering wheel
• Don’t let your left leg flop out to the side when inactive
• Take regular breaks, at least every two hours (if not hourly)
• Try to relax while driving, to reduce muscle tension in the back
• If you’re stuck in traffic, try to do some simple exercises, such as clenching your buttocks, side bends and shoulder shrugs and rolls