Why Neck & Scapula Pain Often Come Together

• Aching or burning between the shoulder blades after long stretches of sitting
• Stiffness and reduced rotation looking over your shoulder
• Headaches referred from the neck (cervicogenic headache)
• Pain or tension radiating towards the shoulder or arm
• Weakness or "fatigue" around the shoulder blades when lifting or carrying

The Posture Story — Slightly Rewritten

What Helps — and What Doesn't

• Regular movement breaks — change position every 30–45 minutes
• Progressive strength work for the neck, upper back and scapula muscles
• Building tolerance for the positions and tasks your day demands
• Managing stress and sleep where possible
• Hands-on treatment for short-term relief, alongside an active plan

• Chasing a single "perfect posture"
• Relying only on passive treatment (massage, heat) without strengthening
• Avoiding movement out of fear of "making it worse"

How We Assess & Treat It at Physio Tullamore

1. Full assessment — neck joints, muscles, nerves, scapula movement and your work/training demands, ruling out anything requiring referral.
2. Manual therapy where useful for short-term relief of stiffness and pain.
3. Individualised strengthening — deep neck flexors, upper back mobility and scapula strengthening (rows, retractions, serratus work) progressed to match your goals.
4. Ergonomic & lifestyle advice — practical changes to your desk setup, driving position and daily routine.
5. Headache management — cervicogenic headaches often respond well to targeted neck treatment and exercise.

When to Get Checked

What Are Shin Splints?

Common Causes & Risk Factors

• Too much, too soon — rapid increases in running volume, intensity, or hills
• Hard or unforgiving surfaces and abrupt changes in terrain
• Lower limb weakness — particularly the calves and hip muscles
• Footwear wear-out or a sudden change of shoe
• Biomechanics — training load combined with how you move matters; gait assessment can be revealing
• Low energy availability — under-fuelling is a significant risk factor for bone stress problems in athletes

Why You Shouldn't Just Run Through It

How We Treat Shin Splints

1. Assessment & diagnosis — confirming it's shin splints and ruling out stress reaction/fracture, compartment syndrome or referred pain.
2. Load modification — adjusting running volume, intensity and surfaces to keep symptoms tolerable while training continues where possible (cross-training keeps fitness up).
3. Strength & capacity building — calf, soleus and hip strengthening to improve shock absorption and load tolerance.
4. Gait analysis & orthotics — where movement patterns or foot posture are contributing, we assess and address them properly.
5. Graded return-to-running plan — structured progression with clear criteria rather than guesswork.

Return to Running: The Rough Timeline

Prevention Tips

• Increase weekly running volume gradually (roughly 10% as a guide, not a rigid rule)
• Keep calves and hips strong year-round
• Rotate shoes and replace worn-out pairs
• Mix surfaces — don't do every mile on the same hard road
• Fuel properly for your training load

What Counts as "Chronic" Back Pain?

Common Myths That Keep Back Pain Going

• "Something is out of place." The spine is an incredibly robust structure — it doesn't slip in and out of place. Most persistent pain isn't caused by a structural fault that needs "putting back".
• "I need a scan to find the problem." Scans often show age-related changes (disc wear, facet changes) that are equally common in people with no pain at all. Imaging is useful for specific presentations, not as a routine first step.
• "I should rest until it settles." Prolonged rest weakens the very muscles and tissues that need to support your back.
• "Bending is dangerous." Your back is designed to bend and lift. Graded, progressive exposure to those movements is usually part of the solution.

What Actually Helps

1. Understanding your pain — reducing fear and uncertainty is often the first step to moving better.
2. Staying active — walking, swimming, cycling; whatever you can tolerate, kept within a tolerable level of symptoms.
3. Progressive strengthening — building capacity in the trunk, hips and legs so your back has more support and tolerance for daily load.
4. Graded return to the things you've avoided — lifting, bending, work tasks, sport.
5. Addressing the wider picture — sleep, stress, workload and general health all influence persistent pain.

How We Assess Back Pain at Physio Tullamore

When to Seek Help Sooner

Take the First Step

What Is Achilles Tendinopathy?

• Mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy — pain in the middle of the tendon, 2–6cm above the heel. The most common type, especially in runners.
• Insertional Achilles tendinopathy — pain right where the tendon attaches to the heel bone, often aggravated by compression at the end of range (e.g. hill running, stairs, deep calf stretches).

Typical Symptoms

• Morning stiffness in the Achilles or heel that eases after a few minutes of movement
• Pain that's worse at the start of a run or walk, may "warm up", and often flares afterwards
• Tenderness when the tendon is squeezed or loaded
• Reduced spring — hopping, jumping and push-off feel weak or painful

Why Rest Alone Doesn't Fix It

How We Treat It at Physio Tullamore

1. Clinical assessment — confirming the diagnosis, excluding other causes of heel pain, and identifying the training or load errors driving the problem.
2. Pain and load management — modifying, not necessarily stopping, activity so the tendon stays within tolerable load.
3. Progressive strengthening — heavy slow resistance work (calf raises, weighted calves, isometrics through to fast plyometric loading) to rebuild tendon capacity.
4. Objective testing — where useful, we use objective strength and capacity testing to measure your progress and guide your return to running or sport.
5. Return-to-sport planning — a graded plan back to running, gym training or competition, rather than a "hope it holds up" approach.

How Long Does Recovery Take?

When to Get Assessed