Nordic Walking is becoming a very popular form of exercise and suitable for any age group or ability.

Originating in Finland, Nordic Walking started it’s existence as an endurance technique used by cross country skiers to allow them to train in the

Leki Nordic Walking poles from Simply Hike

summer months.

Recent developments in materials and construction of walking poles revolutionised the technique and in the late 1990′s Nordic Walking was born, becoming a popular exercise regime for many.

Utilising our normal walking motion, Nordic Walking is much less stressful to the joints of the knees, hips and lower back than jogging or running.  When this walking motion is combined with the use of the poles, about 80% of the body’s muscles are exercised.

Nordic Walking is an excellent way to lose weight, 1 hour of brisk Nordic Walking can burn around 350 – 400 calories, double that of jogging and like all exercise, increases heart and lung function.

For all the family

Because Nordic Walking is suitable for all ages and abilities, it is a wonderful fun way for a family to keep fit and enjoy the great British outdoors together.

Nordic walking poles are easily adjustable, so lend themselves very well to introducing fitness to younger members of the family.

Inexpensive
The only equipment required for Nordic Walking, is a good pair of shock absorbing walking poles and suitable trainers or walking shoes. As long as appropriate clothing is worn, this sport can be undertaken anywhere, at any time of year by all ages and abilities.

Leki Nordic Walking Poles

Leki poles are renowned for their quality and durability and can be purchased securely via our affiliate link with Simply Hike.

The embedded video below shows the basic way to Nordic Walk, as well as some very useful information on pole adjustment.

Many videos show people striding out way past their normal range…we don’t advise this because;

• Too wide a stride results in a hard heel strike which transmits shock to the knee, hip and spine.
• The resting leg is often hyper extended, which means the knee joint is being locked backwards, resulting in excessive cartilage wear.

We advise a relaxed walking stance such as that adopted by Nate in the video, keeping the knees soft and slightly flexed.

Centurian Pilates is owned and run by Annie Duff. Trained in Injury and Special population work, Annie is our first choice for patients who require specialist rehabilitation or one to one pilates tuition.

Annie Duff has been teaching Pilates since 1999.

Improves posture, tone and core strength

Originally from a Fitness (Aerobics, Gym Instruction, Personal training) background. She “fell” into Pilates when struggling with knee and back pain.

Certified by Stott Pilates, in Matwork, Annie is one of the few teachers in the Carlisle indeed, cumbria area qualified to teach on all of the large apparatus and have a small studio with two reformers, a Cadillac, chair, and barrels.

She is also a certified Fletcher Towelwork instructor.

Annie teaches Matwork group classes in village halls using the more familiar, regular mat, swiss ball, foam roller and bands, and less familiar, spine corrector (balanced body Pilates arc), Rotational discs, and Fletcher towelwork.

Much of her Pilates teaching was in Abu Dhabi until moving back to the UK, in 2007. In the UAE Annie worked with many of the Sheikha’s (the women of the ruling family), where she would train them in their homes on  their own Pilates equipment. She also had a small studio, where she could teach one to one, and small group

Certified Fletcher Towelwork instructor

Mostly, Annie Duff runs progressive group matwork courses, where a skill is honed and perfected over a matter of weeks, allowing strength and flexibility to develop. She also runs Back care courses, and beginners courses depending on demand.

Annie will shortly be starting a Fusion group drop in class, with a half hour of circuits followed by a half hour of Pilates, to incorporate cardiovascular

Registered with REPs

(and fat burning) exercise.

The large equipment is suited to one to one/two.  At the beginning of a course of one to one, a posture analysis is done, to help identify areas of the body which need attention. Pilates works by lengthening short muscles and strengthening weak ones. It helps recreate balance within the body, and helps mobilise stiff areas .

Pilates is one of the safest forms of exercise, when performed correctly, and can be helpful in alleviating neck and back pain. It is also useful  in helping rebalance the body from sports such as Golf and Tennis which are very one sided (one directional).  Sports injuries often occur when a part of the body compensates for another that isn’t working correctly.

Age is no barrier.  Annie has worked with teenagers through to eighty plus year olds.

Available in the one to one/ two classes are the use of Cardio equipment such as treadmill, upright bike, and an eliptical trainer for those of you wanting to combine Pilates and Cardiovascular fitness, for general conditioning and toning, or weight loss.

Scotby is 2 miles from Carlisle city centre and located just 2 minutes off junction 43 of the M6 with ample free parking.

Certified by Stott Pilates

More information

Centurion Pilates website

The Sportsphysio.com provide custom built orthotics for your ski boots.

The majority of ski boots have a fairly neutral footbed but not everybody has a neutral foot.

Custom built ski orthotics can help you get the best from your boots

When your feet are correctly aligned within your ski-boots, you will be better able to regulate your balance, distribute your weight evenly and have greater control of your skis.  This can result in a dramatic improvement in your skiing.

Muscular or skeletal imbalances which may not be noticeable when walking, become amplified when skiing.  The smallest movement from a leg, pelvis or spine will have a great impact on the position of your skis, often requiring large corrections by the body, resulting in unnecessary and awkward movements from the torso, shoulders and arms in order to maintain balance.

Poor foot/ski alignment places greater strain on the ligaments of the knee, the hip and lower spine.  Correcting the alignment reduces this strain and reduces the risk of injury.  This is even more important in beginners who need to concentrate all of their efforts on technique.

Specific ski orthotics are designed to support the foot and control problems such as pronation and supination.

Why Ski orthotics?

People can be forgiven for thinking that if they wear orthotics in their every day shoes and trainers, these orthotics will just transfer to their ski boots.

Unfortunately this is not the case and doing so may cause more problems than you started with.

Normal orthotics or corrective insoles are designed for our  general, walking standing or running gait.  However, when we ski, the weight has to be perfectly balanced with the bulk of the body weight shifted to the midfoot.

Feet are fixed in one position on the skis and movement is now controlled by our body position, rather than through the foot.  The foot is a complex collection of joints which articulate in many directions to allow us to walk.  In skiing, this movement is superfluous and indeed annoying, as even the smallest motion becomes amplified when transmitted through the skis.

Ski orthotics can only be custom fitted, the wide variance in foot types combined with ski boots makes off the shelf orthotics useless for this application.

Other snow sports orthotics

The Sportsphysio.com can also custom fit specialist orthotics for snow boarders, ice hockey and ice skates.

The Sportsphysio.com Ski Boot Clinic - provides a skilled ski boot alignment service to help you avoid injury and get the best from your ski boots.

Gain better control of your skis and get more from your time on the slopes by visiting The Sportsphysio.com Ski boot clinic.

You invest a lot of money in your skis and boots. We can ensure you get the best from them

If you are one of the many who tolerate uncomfortable ski boots, experience pain when skiing or just find you are struggling to gain control, then it is likely that your feet are not correctly aligned with your ski boots.

Choosing ski boots is often driven more by fashion than fit and finding a good ski boot technician can be difficult.  No wonder many people find their ski boots uncomfortable.

Even the most expensive ski boots will have a neutral footbed.  This is done to allow a specialist to fit the boot to your foot with the use of specially made footbeds which mould to your foot, ensuring a good boot fit and greater control.

When your feet are correctly aligned within your ski-boots, you will be better able to regulate your balance, distribute your weight evenly and have greater control of your skis.  This can result in a dramatic improvement in your skiing.

Muscular or skeletal imbalances which may not be noticeable when walking, become amplified when skiing.  The smallest movement from a leg, pelvis or spine will have a great impact on the position of your skis, often requiring large corrections by the body, resulting in unnecessary and awkward movements from the torso, shoulders and arms in order to maintain balance.

Poor foot/ski alignment places greater strain on the ligaments of the knee, the hip and lower spine.  Correcting the alignment reduces this strain and reduces the risk of injury.  This is even more important in beginners who need to concentrate all of their efforts on technique.

Balancing on your skis

Slippery surfaces are very unforgiving of foot imperfections and most people do not have a neutral foot.  People who pronate or supinate, will transmit this position through their skis which cannot adapt.  For these people, it is necessary to have ski orthotics fitted and or canting of the ski boot carried out to correct the problem.

The canting screw

Oh dear, this is a greatly misunderstood piece of kit….’Canting’ refers to the alteration of the actual foot position on the ground and this can only be done by the use of correctly fitting footbeds or insoles and, or, shimming or grinding the sole of the ski boot.

The little “Canting” screw on the side of your ski boot, only aligns the upper cuff of the boot with your foot. This little widget will not help position your foot correctly on the skis and in fact can make matters much worse.

Having your skis aligned to your foot type must be carried out before anybody starts playing with these little ski boot screws.

Who should attend a ski boot clinic ?

• Anybody who skis occasionally, ie; two or three times a year.
• Anybody who has just purchased a new pair of ski boots.
• People who wear orthotics in their every day shoes or trainers.
• Those who are struggling with the comfort of their ski boots.
• Anybody who is experiencing technical difficulties with balance on their skis.
• People who start to experience pain or discomfort in the lower limbs, hips or spine when skiing.

Ski boot clinic

• We will assess your general posture, looking for any important muscle or skeletal imbalances.
• Your gait will be assessed with foot pressure measurements taken (in the skiing position).
• Foot alignment with your ski boots will be checked.
• Minor biomechanical imbalances may be remedied by specific exercises and these will be prescribed if needed.

This appointment takes about one hour, but allow yourself a little longer. (We like to be thorough).  At a cost of only £75, this is a worthwhile investment.

What to bring with you

Your own ski boots and ski socks.
Comfortable clothing (loose trousers or shorts) please as we need to view the knees.
A pair of well worn walking boots or trainers. (This helps us determine what your foot does when walking).
Any orthotics you have been using in the past or use in your regular footwear.
A list of any problems you face when skiing, including discomfort and technical problems.

The ski clinic on tour

The Sportsphysio.com holds talks and workshops on ski boot alignment at ski centres and schools.

Staff training – Ski boot retailers need technicians who are highly skilled and knowledgeable.  We can provide your technical staff with first class training in the fitting of ski boots and foot evaluation.

Contact us for more information

The Sportsphysio injury clinic specialises in gait analysis and biomechanics. Skilled thorough assessment is essential when treating gait problems, with every aspect of biomechanics taken into account from the foot to the spine.

The Foot Problem
As we walk, the foot strikes the ground slightly on the outer side of the heel.  Natural forces encourage the foot to roll inward slightly (pronate) before lifting off using the big toe as a lever. In effect, your foot acts like a spring.

In some feet, this leaning inward (pronation) of the midfoot and heel is excessive and causes strain to the joints and supporting ligaments of the foot.  Painful symptoms in the foot, lower leg and knee may develop with some of the worst cases causing pain in the lower back and loss of core stability. The “spring” effect of the foot is lost.

To prevent this from happening, the heel should remain vertical, the medial arch supported and pressure distributed evenly through the forefoot.

Of course, there are people who place too much pressure on the outside of the foot (Supination).  Although this is not as common, it can also cause foot pain and symptoms such as shin splints.

Many conditions such as heel pain, Metatarsalgia (pain under the toe joints) and Plantar Fasciitis are a sign that something may be wrong with the biomechanics of the foot.

The Solution
Sometimes the problem does not lie with the foot itself, so skillful analysis of your biomechanics, including foot, lower limb and back assessment is carried out.

Manipulation, adjustment and exercise programmes can help to rectify problems with the back or lower limb.

Core strength training can alter posture, leading to a more efficient gait (walking pattern).

Orthotics and specific exercises can be used to correct problems with the foot itself.

Prescriptive Orthotics
There are many types of orthotics (specially designed shoe inserts) on the market but where pain and dysfunction need to be rectified, the only solution is a custom build orthotic designed specifically for your foot.

We use high quality, state of the art materials which offer the opportunity to control foot posture and modify pressure distribution.

Orthotics can generally be custom built within a few days and you will be instructed as to their correct use to allow the body to adjust over a period of time.

Various type of orthotic are available depending on budget, from professionally tailored “ready to wear” right up to bespoke rightstride® D3D and RS devices, featuring the latest in EVA and  Co-polymer Carbon technology.

D3D Orthotics

D3D Sports/Active

The rightstride® D3D bespoke orthotics are produced in EVA.

This enables us to mix base and top material density creating support and comfort in one superb device.

These versatile devices have been PROVEN to remain effective in the harshest of environments as demonstrated by service men and women all over the world.

Neuropathic diabetic patients who require offloading of pressure also benefit from this unique orthotic with its amazing mix of material density.

RS Orthotics

Rs Marathon runner

The rightstride® RS bespoke orthotics are made in co-polymer carbon.

Ultra durable, with a blend of functional control and dynamic flexibility resulting in the shell flexing under loading while remaining semi rigid under normal load.

A solution to the most demanding fashion shoe is here in the fashion fit orthotic and rightstride® provide us with huge range of different devices from the classic to the summer and winter Sports activities.

RSscan Lab’s advanced foot scanning systems and foot plates give accurate gait analysis, foot pressure measurement that will help in foot pain treatment.