Sports and Dance Injuries

Sayer Clinics: London Sports injury and Performing Arts Medicine Clinics for Dancers, Musicians, Performers and Sportsmen and women

Sayer Clinics are London UK'S most experienced Chiropractic and Physical Therapy clinics treating running injuries, swimmers, football, tennis and rugby players as well professional boxers, weightlifters and track and field athletes from amateurs to world champions

Running, athletics, dance and competitive sports place extraordinary demands on an athlete’s feet, legs, spine and entire body.

Dr Ed Timings  -  AXAPPP, Aviva, WPA, BUPA UK & BUPA GLOBAL / International.

Dr Marek Gibson - AxaPPP, Aviva, Cigna, HSA, BUPA GLOBAL / International.

Our expert sports and dance injury specialists successfully treat acute or chronic injuries with postural rehabilitation.

Sayer Clinics Musculoskeletal Assessment for Femoral Acetabular Impingement (FAI)

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint and the hip socket is the acetabulum which is ringed by the labrum. Femoral acetabular impingement (FAI) occurs when bone spurs form around the femoral head and/or around the acetabulum so that the femoral head abnormally rubs and loses a full range of motion in the acetabular socket, causing articular cartilage or labral cartilage damage and hip osteoarthrosis. Femoral acetabular impingement typically affects hip joints in young and middle-aged adults.

The three types of FAI are: Pincer, Cam and Combined Impingement. 

PINCER FAI happens when excessive bone extends beyond the normal rim of the acetabulum due to repetitive asymmetrical pelvic, hip or knee torsional or twisting stresses and incorrect exercise or sports techniques. As a result, the labrum is repeatedly compressed under the rim of the acetabulum.

In CAM impingement, the femoral head is not sufficiently spheroid or round and so cannot rotate easily inside the acetabulum which forms a resultant bony growth on the edge of the femoral head which grinds the cartilage inside the acetabulum.

Combined impingement is when PINCER and CAM are both present.

Sayer Clinics Masters Physiotherapists assess the potential FAI hip pain patient, the pelvis and lumbo-sacral spine to accurately assess for leg-length difference, pelvic obliquity, torsion of the pelvis and other musculoskeletal or mechanical factors that can cause FAI cam, pincer or combined hip impingement. 

We then treat the patient to correct any leg-length and, over a course of skilled manipulation to correct pelvic torsion and regain normal mobility and function of the pelvis, sacroiliac joints and coccyx and minimally adjust exercise and sports techniques to perfect the high-level function of elite dancers and athletes.

We work very closely with our multidisciplinary team of Sayer Clinics Physical Therapists who work on lowback, hip and pelvic muscle soft tissue work, specific stretches and expert exercise rehabilitation to achieve symmetrical movement of the hip joints in synchronous relation and harmony with the knees and ankle joints below and the pelvis and lumbo-sacral spine above.

In some cases our treatment with expert Physical Therapy may reduce the symptoms to such an extent that surgery is no longer considered and the patient most importantly regains their sporting and physical exercise routines with only slight adjustments but without pain and without further long-term damage to their hip joints as well as their knees and lumbar spine.

Masters Physiotherapistsat Kensington W8 and West End W1 treat conditions affecting dancers, runners and all sports injuries including tendonitis, bursitis, shin splints, ankle and Achilles problems as well as groin strain, knee tendon, cartilage and ligament injuries, muscle / tendon insertion strains such as hamstring and calf tears, plantar fasciitis, sprained ankle ligaments and achilles tendonitis.

Our physiotherapists treat sports and dance injuries with soft tissue massage and rehabilitation including deep tissue remedial sports massage, myofascial trigger point therapy, specific exercises, ultrasound and laser treatment.

They are 'hands-on' experts for shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand injury physiotherapy as well as hip pain, knee pain and ankle pain with equally expert treatment for neck pain, middle back pain and low back pain.

Michael Durtnall (now retired) has been our mentor and leader in musculoskeletal diagnosis and spinal manipulation and has treated and advised dancers from the Royal Ballet, Ballet Rambert under Mark Baldwin, Royal Academy of Dancing under Susan Danby, Northern Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Russell Maliphant Dance Company and Riverdance for over twenty-five years. He has been consulted by dancers of all levels from students suffering knee, ankle, neck and back pain to professional leading dancers and choreographers.

Michael completed his Master of Science (MSc) specialising in Performing Arts Medicine at University College London UCL. His research involved Dancers from Ballet Rambert, Central Ballet School, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Dance and the Royal Ballet and musicians from the Royal Academy of Music.

Anne: Ex-ballet Dancer 

"Michael Durtnall is the most skilled practitioner I have ever met. As an ex-Ballet dancer with difficult joints I have seen many Chiropractors and Osteopaths in London in my life-time and Michael is by far the best. He has uniquely intuitive and sensitive manipulation skills allied to unsurpassed diagnostic knowledge and intelligence. I recommended him highly." 

Vanessa Fenton: Royal Ballet

"As a dancer with the Royal Ballet I suffer from many injuries due to the strenuous nature of my training and the way in which it is necessary to push my body physically. Not only has Michael Durtnall helped me with pain relief but also with alignment and postural problems. There is no one or clinic that I could recommend more highly."

Diagnosis and treatment

We offer efficient diagnosis, effective treatment and intelligent advice and use low-intensity laser, ultrasound and electrotherapy modalities as well as medical acupuncture, soft-tissue manipulation, mobilisation and massage techniques, as necessary, to achieve optimal results.

If indicated, we take digital Computed X-Rays at our Kensington W8 clinic for an immediate check for stress-fractures, underlying joint problems or bone disease.

Sayer Clinics provide rapid referral to leading orthopaedic surgical specialists if necessary.

Got any questions? Not sure what appointment to book?

We're always here to help from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays. Simply email mail@sayerclinics.com and Gen will assist you.

World-leading Sport and Dance Injuries Specialists