MH Sports Therapy: Meet Mike
Who am I and what do I actually do?
To start with, I'm Mike. I'm a qualified sports therapist (BSc (hons)) and member of the Society of Sports Therapists. I am fully insured and have been practicing for nearly 20 years now.
So the obvious question I get asked: What is a sports therapist?
Sports therapy is a specialised profession for the treatment and rehabilitation of sports injuries. It's a healthcare field focused on preventing, treating, and rehabilitating injuries from physical activity, helping athletes and active individuals return to optimal function, work, or sport by using exercise science, manual therapy, and biomechanical assessment to improve performance and prevent future issues.
What Sports Therapists Do
Injury Management: Treating sprains, strains, muscle tears, joint pain, and repetitive stress injuries.
Rehabilitation: Guiding individuals back to fitness and daily activities with customized exercise and therapy programs.
Performance Enhancement: Optimizing physical preparation and technique to improve athletic performance.
Injury Prevention: Developing strategies and exercises to reduce the risk of injury in training and competition.
Techniques Used: Includes sports massage, taping, stretching, strengthening exercises, postural analysis, and rehabilitative exercises.
What I Treat
In general, like many other professions (physios in particular), sports therapists specifically work on the musculoskeletal system. Here are some common things that I have treated over the years:
Foot and Ankle Pain
Ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis, Severs disease, Haglunds deformities, Mortons neuroma, Achilles tendonopathies, tib post dysfunction, shin splints to name a few.
Knee Pain
ACL, MCL, LCL, PCL strains and tears, muscle strains, tendonopathy, Osgood Schlatters, meniscal/cartilage tears/degeneration, bursitis, ITBFS (ITband friction syndrome) and much more.
Hip Pain
Muscle strains, gluteal tendonopathies, trochanteric bursitis, osteoarthritis and degeneration, FAI (femoroacetabular impingement), labral tears.
Lower Back and SI Joint Pain
Disc bulges and herniations, sciatica, facet joint pain, SI joint dysfunction, muscle strains, postural lower back pain from sitting, degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis.
Mid and Thoracic Back Pain
Rib pain, costochondritis, postural thoracic pain, muscle strains, desk-related upper back tension, breathing-related pain.
Upper Back and Neck Pain
Whiplash, cervical spine issues, tech neck, trapped nerves, headaches from neck tension, muscle strains, postural neck pain, cervical radiculopathy.
Shoulder Pain
Rotator cuff tears and strains, frozen shoulder, shoulder impingement, AC joint problems, bicep tendonitis, bursitis, labral tears, dislocations.
Elbow Pain
Tennis elbow, golfers elbow, tendonitis, bursitis, UCL injuries, referred pain from neck or shoulder.
Wrist and Hand Pain
Carpal tunnel syndrome, RSI, tendonitis, thumb problems, wrist sprains, arthritis, trigger finger.
Is It Always Sports People?
Often yes, but not always. Doesn't matter if you got tackled, or fell over at home, or if you sit at a desk all day and your shoulders ache - pain is pain. We all suffer it and we all need help.
Do I Treat a Specific Age or Gender?
Absolutely not. I have clients of all age categories, from children all the way through to the elderly. Male, female, it makes no difference. Again, we all have bodies, we all suffer pain and we shouldn't just assume that's ok.
Something many of my customers will hear me say regularly: "If you can feel a body part, something's not right". The body should exist without you knowing it's there. If you are aware you have a knee, then something's likely off.
Sports Massage - Prevention is Better Than Cure
Is it always injuries and pain? Absolutely not. I'm a big believer that prevention is better than cure. I'm a massive advocate of having regular sports massage to keep on top of an active lifestyle. I would say 60% of my week is taken up by "maintenance massage", and that's how it should be. You would service a car regularly, why not do the same for those hard working muscles?
Sports massage is something I'm passionate about. Whether you're training for a marathon, playing weekend football, or just trying to stay active, regular sports massage in Sutton Coldfield can make a huge difference. It helps with recovery, prevents injuries before they happen, and keeps your body functioning at its best. Deep tissue massage isn't just for athletes - anyone with an active lifestyle or even a desk job can benefit. Those tight shoulders from sitting at a computer all day? Sports massage can help with that too.
My Journey
I qualified in 2009 and started working for Body & Sole in Mere Green. Timing, as ever, is key. I poked my head in one Sunday afternoon as they were setting up the clinic for opening and I asked if I could have a job. A few weeks later, I started and that was the beginning. I was very fortunate that the owners took a chance on me and they have continued to help me throughout my career to this day, something I will be forever grateful for.
A year or so later I started at Footsteps treatment clinic in Tamworth. This was run by the same family. I worked between these 2 clinics for a number of years and had the pleasure of working with some incredibly talented and amazing people along the way, who I have learned an incredible amount from.
In 2014, I had the opportunity to set up my treatment room at Aston Wood Golf Club. I continued my time at Footsteps alongside this for several years, but moved on from Body and Sole to pursue it. The rest as they say is history. I now work full time at Aston Wood.
Serving the Local Community
I have treated people from all the surrounding areas: Four Oaks, Mere Green, Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, Streetly, Walmley, Aldridge, Fazeley, Tamworth, Lichfield to name a few. I have made some incredible contacts both in and out of the health and fitness industry and feel very lucky to have these contacts and so many people that recommend me to friends and family.
It's a strange thing, as you never really get the chance to thank people for it, and often, I don't find out that they recommended me for weeks, months, years, if at all sometimes. So I guess I'll take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to everyone that has and continues to do so. I'm very lucky that I don't really have to advertise, I go off referrals and am grateful for all those that do this.
My promise to you is that if you trust me with your friends and family, I will always treat them like my own and do everything I can to help them get back to full health/fitness.
When Conservative Treatment Isn't Enough
As in life, not everything has a quick fix, and some things are broken beyond conservative repair. In these instances I have a network of people and imaging services I can refer you on to, to get you started on the next stage.
Why Aston Wood?
I play golf. It's that simple. I grew up playing football and any other sport that I could. From a young age, my Grandad took me to the driving range and to play with him at Moor Hall Golf Club, where he was a member. It was something I enjoyed, but not enough to drag me away from football.
Fast forward 8 years, add in 10+ knee dislocations, sprinkle 5-6 dislocated shoulders and wrap it all in 4-5 surgeries, and you make the perfect storm for someone to realise that they need to stop clattering into people on pitches, and get into golf properly.
I joined Aston Wood at around 15 as they had a great junior section, and I already knew several friends there. I have played my golf here ever since. I have managed to maintain a handicap of 5 or less since I was 18ish, and still play regularly to this day.
Aston Wood is a very accessible and user friendly site. There is ample parking, disabled parking and access to me is all on ground level.
My Approach to Treatment
As this article may tell you, I'm happy to share and will always take interest in getting to know my customers. Good quality care continues way beyond poking at a knot in a muscle or mobilising a stiff joint. I always try to treat the person as well as the injury. Many of my customers will attest to that, and I'd like to hope that anyone who has ever been in with me thinks of me as caring, kind and someone who will go out his way to help.
If you're struggling with pain, an injury, or just want to keep your body in top condition, I'm here to help. Book your appointment today and let's get you back to doing what you love.