*Gift Vouchers Now Available!* Why not give somebody the gift of health this Christmas? Vouchers can be made out to any value and can be redeemed against any treatment (full or part payment) with Alex (Osteopathy, Acupuncture or Deep Tissue Massage). Please Message, email or pop in to enquire. Payments can be made by phone and vouchers can be posted for a small fee.

Congratulations to long time client and strongman, Christo Tsiknakis, who finished in second place at last weekends Manchesters strongest warrior 2017. He keeps his body well conditioned to compete at Alex Jones Osteopathy, allowing him to work as hard as he does in the gym!

Don't suffer in pain through the summer months. Stay active and keep on top of your aches and pains! Book online or by phone today; alexjonesosteopathy.co.uk 01709 532325

We are now open at the Brecks and taking bookings online and by phone. 01709 532325 www.alexjonesosteopathy.co.uk 2 Listerdale Shopping Centre, Bawtry Road, Rotherham, S65 3JA

Parker and Jones will officially open on Monday the 10th April! Offering osteopathy, physiotherapy and acupuncture. The new clinic is based at the Listerdale Shopping Centre at the Brecks. Please call 01709 532325 or visit alexjonesosteopathy.co.uk to make an appointment.

Hamstring Strains Hamstring strains are among the most common sporting injuries across sport including football and rugby in the UK. Along with high incidence rates, the reoccurrence of the injury is said to by around double that of all other types of injuries in sport, with professional football clubs reporting between 12 and 48% of all hamstring strains reoccurring in their players. These statistics highlight the importance of rehabilitation and how full management programs should be completed before returning to sport to avoid further set backs and damage. Long-term plans should be made (including sufficient warm ups before exercising) to minimise the chance of the injury occurring again. The severity of injury is graded between 1 and 3, with 1 being the least serious and 3 being a complete rupture of the muscle itself. Grade 1 injuries can take between 4 to 6 weeks to repair, grade 2 usually around 8-10 weeks and a grade 3 will usually need surgical intervention before improvement is seen. With any muscle injury, The POLICE protocol (https://tinyurl.com/z92fmyk) should be followed in the initial stages to promote healing and to prevent any further damage. This should be followed for around 2-4 days with the avoidance of any manual treatment or stretching being applied to the muscle. After the initial phase of the injury is complete (usually up to 4 days but can last longer), research suggests that hands on manual treatment and stretching should be applied to the affected area. A full management plan will include strengthening of the muscle before reintroduction to exercise; as imbalances in leg muscle strength has shown to be a contributing factor to their injury. A ratio of 3:2 should be aimed for, with quadriceps being the strongest. As well as hamstring specific exercises, other muscle groups such as hip flexors and trunk stabilizers should be targeted with stretching and strengthening respectively to avoid the injury from returning. Management plans will be discussed during treatment to make sure the recovery time is realistic and to get you back to sport as soon as possible!