Nordic hamstring exercise; can we trust the evidence and should we use it (?) with Rod Whiteley (Physiotherapist at Aspetar)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Rod Whiteley; he is a Specialist Sports Physiotherapist working as the Assistant Director of the Rehabilitation Department at Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital in Doha, Qatar. He previously worked as a Physiotherapist in elite rugby league, rugby union, and baseball. After gaining his PhD from the University of Sydney in 2009, he has since diversified his research interests to football, handball, and volleyball.

Rod gives us an overview on three main subjects; ACL injuries, the changing trends in how physiotherapists are learning new best practice, and the performance benefits and research surrounding Nordics. Rod has noticed how physios are finding their information, research and new techniques from places other than formal training and conferences, and seeks to understand how effective this is and its wider impact.

He combines this knowledge with some great advice on ACL injuries and training that will prevent occurrences, plus how to know when an athlete is ready to return to action. He also explains why Nordics are not always a part of every coach’s training programme. For all this and more, hit the play button now to hear all this outstanding insight from a physiotherapist with over 30 years’ experience in the industry.

On the podcast this week:

• Why ACL injuries are the biggest burden for Aspetar
• How a sports culture is being created in Qatar
• Why courses and conferences are no longer the leading method of learning in physiotherapy
• How physios are learning new best practice
• Rod’s research into different learning methods to audit their effectiveness
• What research is like around Nordics
• Performance benefits of Nordics, plus injury risk reduction
• Why Nordics are not part of training programmes as a matter of course
• The growing influence of social media ‘gurus’ as opposed to conference learning
• The improvements in sprint mechanics regarding hamstring injuries
• Decision criteria for returning to play following an ACL injury