Physio Mechanics

11/07/2025

Stacy & Alison are both delighted to be representing Shetland at Orkney Island Games 2025 playing golf next week ⛳️

Good luck to the rest of Team Shetland 💙

Big team, big photo 🤗 Here's Team Shetland 2025 🙌💙

This year's Island Games team includes ten archers, twenty-two athletes, nine badminton competitors, three cyclists, forty footballers - men and women, eight golfers, six gymnasts, eleven bowlers, four sailors, eight squash competitors, sixteen swimmers, ten triathletes, plus coaches, managers and a medical team - a total of 174 of Shetland's best sportsmen and sportswomen 🏹🏃🏸🤸‍♀️🚴⛳️🎳⚽️⛵️🏊‍♀️🥰

Most of the Team will leave Shetland on Friday, on the ferry to Kirkwall arriving late on Friday evening, ahead of the Opening Ceremony on Saturday afternoon 🥳

We're all looking forward to the Orkney Island Games 2025 for a fantastic week of island sport with friends from near and far 🤩

Huge thanks to our Overall Team Sponsor Malakoff Limited and our other sponsors SSEN Transmission, Cooke Scotland and supporters Harper Macleod in Shetland and Enquest 😍

Special thanks to NorthLink Ferries for sponsoring our travel and for all their assistance with our travel planning ⛴ and to INTERSPORT Shetland and Erreà Sport for dressing us so well! 👕🤩

Thanks also to Ben Mullay Photography for arranging all of us in this big pic! 📸👏👏👏

24/12/2021

🎄 Merry Christmas from Physio Mechanics! 🎄

2021 has been another very busy year.

It has been such a pleasure helping our patients get rid of pain and learn to move better. Seeing patients learn how to keep it that way is another bonus.

But it's you, our patients, who do the hard work 👏 we're just the guides. We're grateful to have such committed patients, putting in the work and practice. This makes our work a joy.

Best wishes for 2022!

23/02/2021

After getting the Return to Running Plan 🏃 onto paper a couple of weeks ago, we've now put together a Prep Plan.

This one is better suited for our patients before they're ready to run. I've taken out all the running session information to avoid temptation before being ready to run. And I've added a bit more space for the things that make each and every rehab journey unique.

We outline the stages needed to prove that you're ready for your first run. And who doesn't love checkboxes? You can keep track of where you're at, prove the progress you've made and see exactly where we're going.

These plans are the work of 10 years of study 📖 and experience. They're taken from the world of professional sport and top level athletes. In the clinic, it's the plan that's been proven successful with all levels of runners. Some are on their first few days or weeks after an injury but others haven't run for years! We also use this for getting back to sport - football players ⚽ badminton players🏸 and even Island Games athletes🥇 on a ‘tighter than you’d like’ deadline.

And I have no doubt that our plans will continue to evolve with time. Our runners will have access to each future update we make. So they can be confident that they're always working off the most current best practice.

02/02/2021

My lunchtime project today - tidying this up for our runners! 🏃

We've had a lot of runners working with us over the last few weeks and months. Which has given me the push to put our plan on paper.

There's few things a runner hates more than not being able to run! One exception is maybe being advised not to run... I honestly limit my use of that dreaded phrase as much as I can!

So this is the exciting bit. The thing we've been working for.

Some of our recent patients were on their first injury that's stopped them running. But others have come to us after YEARS of issues and been round the houses.

Sometimes that issue might have been an off and on one... good for a while but then needing weeks or months off at a time to rest and let things settle down.

But the surprising thing for a lot of patients? It's only when things are working well that they realise the issue was 'on' for most of that time. Even when they thought they were good.

You might have been that runner itching to get back to it after an injury? Or maybe you've been unsure, not certain if it's the right time to throw in that first run back and give it a go?

The best bit about our plan to get you back to running is you'll just know. We take you through all the stages you need to feel good, move well and have confidence.

You'll be telling me you're ready. That you've nailed your movement plan. You’ll know you're all set, why that's the case and you can prove it! And THAT kind of confidence is key! 🤩

05/01/2021

We're still open.

Physiotherapy, as a health provider, is exempt from closure - even in a 'full' lockdown.

But that doesn't mean we're being reckless about staying open. Every session is risk assessed based on each individual patient's circumstances. As we have done since reopening. The potential benefits of a session in person must be greater than the risk of virus transmission.

We're still taking every step possible to reduce the risk of virus transmission in the clinic. As a solo physio clinic, we have the luxury of each patient being in and out in isolation. Alison wears the recommended PPE and we clean thoroughly after every appointment.

If a session in person is not in your best interest right now, an online appointment is a great option. We find online appointments are very effective. Matching the results we expect in the clinic at reducing pain and improving movement.

An online session eliminates any chance of virus transmission. And it lets you keep up your progress. We can make sure the exercises and movements you're doing are making the most of your time.

So don’t put off getting in touch if you have any aches or pains. The best time to start getting things better is always now.

22/12/2020

🎄 Merry Christmas from Physio Mechanics! 🎄

2020 certainly brought its challenges but also our busiest year yet.

It has been a privilege to help so many patients get rid of their pain and improve their movement over the year. We help steer you in the right direction but you've done the hard work 👏

Best wishes for 2021!

15/12/2020

Check out our new website!

We've been working hard behind the scenes trying to make our site clearer about what we do. And instead of the little update we intended, it now looks like a whole new site.

It's the first big update in 3 years and once we started, it was amazing to see how many changes there were.

The way we work has always been so different to the physiotherapy most will think of or have had in the past.

Even over the last 3 years our approach has progressed. Our system is being refined all the time as we continually learn and develop what we do.

We've even added a page for checking the balance of our new Gift Cards.

Click here to have a look at our website: www.physiomechanics.uk

There's still a few updates in progress and we'll gradually add some extra pages. But as it is we're delighted with how it looks.

Let us know what you think :)

07/12/2020

🎄We have new Gift Cards available!🎄

They've just arrived, and we're delighted with how they look.

Our eco-plastic cards come ready to go with a card and envelope. And they can be set for any amount or number of sessions of your choosing.

We even have an eGift Card option available in case you'd prefer to send your gift by email.

To buy a Gift Card or eGift Card, give us a call on 07388 692765

24/11/2020

A simple 'exercise' to help reduce back pain.

Last week we shared Denise's story.

I'm privileged to be able to help my patients get out of pain. Whether they've been sore for a week or for years.

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to help people become pain free because it's what I do every day.

When we share stories like Denise's, I'm reminded that not everyone has this experience. Never mind seeing it on a day to day basis.

Here's the first exercise that I taught Denise to help reduce her pain.

And it's so simple:
1️⃣ Take a slow breath in through your nose
2️⃣ Sigh all the way out and let your back muscles relax

It might take a few goes. Try to sigh out further each time.

Then try slowing down the breath inwards even more. So slow that the air is silent as it goes through your nose.

Do you feel your back muscles relaxing?

The beauty of this exercise is that it's so simple. It’s something you can try anywhere.

Give it a go and let us know how it feels.

17/11/2020

When Denise first came to see us she'd lived for months with a lot of pain. She was struggling to sleep and sitting at work was agony.

She was relying on painkillers for some relief. And we weren't the first professionals she'd visited for help.

At the worst of her pain, just out of hospital and really struggling, we were able to see Denise online 💻 This meant she could stay at home and avoid spending unnecessary time in the car.

And in this one online session, we found ways for Denise to help ease her pain. And it made a massive difference. She could sleep. She could move. She could sit in the car.

Then we worked out WHY her back and hip were working too hard. Which showed us why her sciatic nerve was unhappy.

We did some hands on treatments to help. But Denise did the work.

She worked on specific movements that helped her body trust the areas it was avoiding. All the while helping her lower back and hip feel better so her sciatic nerve could settle.

6 weeks from hospital to pain free.

But not just pain free... Moving better, moving well.
Moving in ways that helps stop things from coming back.

✅ Back at work
✅ Painkiller free
✅ Sleeping well
✅ Moving well

09/11/2020

Help your body deal with uncertainty...

Uncertainty can affect us both emotionally and physically.

It can give us a background list of thoughts and questions. Can I see my family or friends? Will I be stuck in the house? What about schools? Christmas? There’s shopping to do…

The physical side can change our breathing. We might breathe quicker and shallower, increasing the tension in our diaphragm muscle. Our back might get tight and stiff. Necks and shoulders might get the brunt of it.

You might even notice you’re not sleeping as well as you’d like. Or find yourself waking up feeling as tired as yesterday.

The questions themselves are unlikely to be answered straight away. But we can help minimise how they might be affecting us physically.

How does it feel when you breathe all the way out?
- Try breathing out further than you just did.
- Keep breathing out for another couple of seconds after you feel like you’ve run out of air.
- Can you keep your breath back in really slow?
- You might be ok breathing all the way out but find it impossible not to gasp air straight back in again?

To me, that’s a sign of a very tight diaphragm. A system on guard.

The great news is this test can become an exercise. If you found the test tricky, try a few breaths. All the way out and gradually try to slow the air as it comes back back in. You‘ll hopefully find you can breathe out a little further with time.

But this can take practice. Try just 2 or 3 breaths anytime you notice that list of questions building up. Or even try it while you’re reading or watching the news.

We’re in uncertain times and a feeling of stress or fatigue is understandable. But there’s always ways we can help guard our health from the effects.

A focus on our breathing to help unwind our diaphragm muscle is a great start.

But sometimes we need to look a bit closer to understand why your system is reluctant to get out of fight and flight. If you’re having bother with this breathing tip or you’re feeling aches and pains that aren’t settling, just let us know.

12/09/2020

We love helping patients get pain relief like this 🤩 But quick wins don’t mean success.

The success here is that it’s more than 6 months since we last saw her. And she’s still doing well 👏

Yes, we used some hands on treatment to help settle down the initial pain. This helped her sleep comfortably and not need to take painkillers (two of her main goals ✅).

But more importantly the first thing we did was figure out the reasons why she was in pain. The reasons why her arm couldn’t move the way it should. Our answers to these questions were where we spent the majority of our time and effort.

She did the work, with my guidance. Some directed hands on treatment just helped a bit along the way.

The hands on work only helped her body learn to trust the movements we were asking of it a little faster. She would have got there anyway with the (pain free) exercises she was doing.

And that’s what builds success:
✅ The right questions
✅ The right answers
✅ The right plan
✅ Doing the work