Sadly most triathletes are accustomed to injury; whether it be a sprained ankle on a training run, a frustrating ‘over use’ injury, or the return of a nagging old injury that re-emerges season after season.

All of these scenarios can put a frustrating dampener on training and may even jeopardise the chances of completing your target race. In light of this, here at TCUK, we are delighted to introduce our latest addition to the team: former Harley Street-physiotherapist and TCUK triathlete, Sarah Crisp (pictured below).

As a physiotherapist and triathlete, Sarah has the advantage of having a thorough understanding of the physical and psychological demands of triathlon, plus the injuries that occur within the three disciplines. Having experienced set backs in training through injury herself, she has enormous empathy with those whose training is hampered due to injury and understands the need to get athletes back on track as quickly as possible. It is for this reason that she believes very strongly in PREVENTION AS WELL AS REHABILITATION.

“As triathletes, if we can prevent injuries occurring, we can train more consistently. If we can train more consistently we stand a better chance of enjoying our training, achieving our goals each season, and becoming a better triathlete year-on-year (not to mention sparing our friends, relatives and work colleagues of having to tolerate a triathlete who is unable to train!)”

Sarah is now providing both preventative and rehabilitative physiotherapy to TCUK athletes. This may consist of anything from a one-off session for an assessment and advice, through to a series of sessions over several months.

Sarah will initially ask lots of questions to gain an understanding of any existing injuries that you may have alongside your present training load and goals for the season ahead. During the assessment she will take a look at key performance components such as flexibility, strength and biomechanics. If appropriate she will perform a video running gait analysis or arrange for a video swim analysis. Following the assessment, you will be provided the details of the assessment findings and a treatment plan will be formulated on an individual basis.

Sarah will liaise closely with your coach to provide advice on any modifications to training that may need to be made to expedite injury recovery or prevent injury occurrence in the first instance.

“Managing training load is something that is key in managing all musculoskeletal injuries i.e. making sure you’re not doing too much too soon”.

She will show you some specific strength & conditioning exercises that can be integrated into your weekly strength & conditioning programme, plus will liaise with your coach regarding specific areas of the body that may require additional work during your S&C sessions. Other treatment may consist of hands-on joint mobilisations, taping, acupuncture, soft tissue work...the list goes on.

Pre-season (i.e. now!) is the ideal time to be proactive in undertaking some injury prevention work as once spring arrives, the demands of training increase resulting in increased stress and load on the body. If not taken care of, those small, niggly injuries that you are experiencing now can become big game changers later on in the season.

In conjunction with the TCUK athlete assessment days for premium subscribers, we are offering physiotherapy assessment and treatment sessions for ALL TCUK athletes from Abbeydale Sports Centre in Sheffield on Sunday 12^th November and Sunday 26^th November. Having Sarah, Matt and James present under the same roof provides the ideal opportunity to integrate the knowledge and experience from both a physiotherapy and coach’s perspective to provide a truly tailored service.

If you are interested in booking, please contact sarah@reactive-physio.co.uk. Appointments for physiotherapy at other times (weekday/weekend/evenings) are also available to athletes local to the Sheffield area upon request. Please email for further information.