Olton Health and Performance

01/06/2026

I enjoyed getting back to my roots with this article on treating combat sports injuries for MSK Magazine.

By Rosi Sexton

29/05/2026

27/05/2026

The Times ran a piece this week framing the rise in recreational running as a problem because of "knee injuries". I don't disagree that over-training can cause problems, or that some social media advice is unhelpful.

But as someone who treats these injuries for a living, I think the framing misses the bigger picture.

A grumpy knee from a new running routine is a temporary bump in the road—and in most cases a straightforward fix. Chronic health problems from a sedentary lifestyle are much harder to resolve.

If you've started running recently and pushed it a bit too hard, don't panic. Calm it down, build some strength, and adjust your training plan. We're here if you need a hand mapping out the recovery. 🏃‍♂️💨

22/05/2026

We'll mention no names, but a patient told me what another local clinic had charged them for a 12 treatment package recently, and I nearly fell off my chair.

17/05/2026

Many people we see have had treatment before without success, but tell us that our approach is different. We believe in treating all our patients as individuals - and that starts with taking the time to listen carefully.

16/05/2026

Great mental health care is when you get treated as a person, not just a patient. In Mental Health Awareness Week Grace explains why.

I’d just finished university and life felt uncertain. I knew I needed to speak to someone about my low mood, yet didn’t know what to do.

I felt like I needed advice from my doctor because I was really struggling, but I was worried about calling because of my previous experience with doctors.

I was so apprehensive about who I’d face on the other end of the phone and how they would treat me.

I’d recently read a BBC article that week headlined, ‘Life being stressful is not an illness' - GPs on mental health over-diagnosis’.

Of the 752 GPs who took part in the BBC’s research, 442 (or 59%) said they believed that mental health over-diagnosis is a concern.

Would the GP I’d speak to on the phone think the same?

I called.

His response was so unexpected, as I have faced a decade of pushback and dismissiveness from GPs when it comes to appointments about my mental health.

The GP was so empathetic; not just about my low mood but also about the uncertainty I felt over graduating and being between different things.

He told me that he also found it difficult when he finished university, understood why I needed more support, and reassured me that I’d done the right thing in reaching out to him.

I'd been so nervous to call the GP, but this time it felt like I was talking to a human over a professional. I felt supported rather than challenged.

I can’t tell you how much of a relief this was.

I understand GP practices are under resourced.

I understand it might not always be possible to give people the support they need.

But seeing people as a person, not a patient, and showing kindness, compassion and understanding, can have a huge impact on someone’s experience of reaching out for mental health support.

Like it did on mine

So, when I thanked my GP for his kindness,
I had in mind my 12-year-old self.

I hope that if another young person were to call him about their mental health for the first time, he would approach them with the same understanding he offered me.

Maybe then that young person would expect the best treatment, rather than the worst.

13/05/2026

"Flat feet and overpronation are not diagnoses" 👏 👏 👏

Had a really fantastic day at the KinetiX foot biomechanics workshop with . It was an excellent course, with lots of reference to modern research, and a focus on rehabilitation and using orthotics as a tool to modify loading. Gone are the bad old days of "propping up fallen arches" and other such outdated concepts!

Lots of parallels with the way that I've seen thinking change in other areas of osteopathy and physiotherapy research over the last 20 years. Lots of things that used to be treated as "disorders" are now considered to be perfectly normal variations; and most of what we do is really about helping people to move more easily and adapt to load.

12/05/2026

Unusual case last week from a family who I see regularly. S calls me up. "J has got a splinter in his hand from work. It's pretty large. We went to A&E, but they couldn't see anything on the x-ray, so they refused to do anything and sent him away - said they didn't believe there was anything there. He's in a lot of pain. Would you be able to see it on the ultrasound?"

This isn't my typical kind of scan, but they sound desperate. "I can't promise I'll be able to see anything, and if I don't then it doesn't mean it's not there. But I'll have a look."

Sure enough, there's something-or-other embedded in one of the thumb muscles (flexor pollicis brevis, for the anatomy geeks), and some painful looking swelling.

They're a bit reluctant to go back to A&E after their previous experience, but it definitely needs to come out and an infection could turn properly nasty. I sent him back with the images and this time they had him straight on IV antibiotics with a hand specialist on the way as soon as they saw them. Turned out to be a large-ish chunk of wood! (Finger for scale - not the original owner).

Thanks to for the debrief and encouragement, and to my sensible medic friends for fielding my random questions about foreign bodies and antibiotics on a Wednesday evening.