Gemma Viney

Gemma graduated from St Mary’s University in Twickenham and became a full member of the British Association of Sports Rehabilitators and trainers (BASRaT) and is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Gemma has also gone on to study Pilates with the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates institute (APPI) and is qualified Matwork level 2 class instructor.

After graduating, Gemma started working within the fields of athletics and rugby, working with the local rugby club and the south east women’s rugby u14’s to seniors teams. Gemma has a particular interest in athletics having staring running at the age of eight and going on to represent club, county, university and national regional teams. Gemma is a member of Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletics Club, where since 2005 has had the privilege of working closely with their young athletes and junior teams, traveling with them to competitions both nationally and internationally to the European Club Cup Championships.

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Sports Rehabilitation

As a Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Specialist, Gemma provides a holistic approach to helping people suffering from pain, injury or illness involving the musculoskeletal system. She helps people of all ages and all backgrounds to maintain their health and fitness, recover from and prevent injury and reduce pain by focusing on manual therapy, muscle re-education, biomechanics and exercise rehabilitation. With her understanding of sporting injuries and as an athlete herself, Gemma has the ability to empathise with the annoyance injury brings to the individual, transferring her knowledge of injury rehabilitation by tailoring a unique individual treatment plan. The aim being to restore normal function and bring a safe return back to and allowing continued optimal health, fitness and participation in their chosen activity, whatever their ability, achieving their personal goals as well as reducing injury risk… from the city worker, average jogger to the professional athlete.

In addition to the treatment of injuries, Gemma can carry out pre-session checks on athletes to identify, treat and strengthen any weak areas before injuries occur, and also conduct regular check-ups to maintain optimum performance.

Common problems and injuries Sports Rehabilitation can help with are;

• Back, neck and spine pain – lower back pain, sciatica, disc problems and more
• Pains and sprains in ankles, knees, shoulder, neck, groin, hip etc
• Post-operative rehabilitation - (spinal, shoulder and knee surgery, joint replacements)
• Total knee replacement rehabilitation
• Achilles Tendinopathy
• Cruciate ligament rehabilitation
• Tennis elbow
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Bursitis
• Injuries with an uncertain diagnosis
• Post spinal surgery
• Post trauma, including fractures
• Chronic pain
• Repetitive strain injuries
• Muscle imbalances
• Previous injuries
• Poor balance
• Hyper mobility
• Inflexibility

General muscular aches and pains can all be exacerbated by taking up a new activity, which may hinder your participation or progression and increases your risk of injury. Gemma as a Sports Rehabilitation and massage therapist can help.

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Sports Massage

As a Sports rehabilitator, Gemma is qualified in Sports Massage which is a deep form of soft tissue mobilisation which can help relieve muscular tension, break down adhesion's, mobilise soft tissues and reduce pain. Gemma uses Massage Therapy techniques for general relaxation of the muscular skeletal system as well as directing towards any problems areas.

The benefits of regular Sports Massage are:

• Reduced Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
• Improves recovery between training session and helping to maximise performance.
• Increases muscle flexibility by increasing circulation and stretching tissue fibres
• Prevents/breaks down fibrous adhesions
• Releases muscle tension
• Can reduce muscular pain
• Stress relief
• Lymphatic drainage
• Potential injury areas can be identified before they have a chance to develop and helping to prevent injury
• Improves self-awareness and induces relaxation

Pre & post event massage can help enhance performance and aid recovery. It is the most effective treatment for many soft tissue injuries and assists rehabilitation after injury.