My Physio News

Lydia Lassila – An Injury Case Study

As part of “The Will To Fly” movie night extravaganza, My Physio hosted a workshop for physiotherapists in our GESAC clinic. Olympic and Specialist Sports Physiotherapist Trish Wisbey-Roth (founder of the Bounce Back spinal strength and stability system) lead us through a case study of Olympic champion Lydia Lassila. Trish Wisbey-Roth is known for her expertise in the management and treatment of musculoskeletal problems in which she has an emphasis on spinal stabilisation (cervical and low-back) and functional progression of core stability. 

Twelve months out from the defence of her 2010 Winter Olympic Gold medal at the 2014 Sochi games, Lydia’s Olympic campaign and career was at a crisis point due to debilitating low back pain. It was at this point that she turned to Trish for help.

In Lydia’s words: “I had just returned from 3 months on the Aerial Skiing World Cup circuit in a world of pain and on the brink of quitting my 2014 Olympic campaign. I had a couple of prolapsed discs in my back which I jumped with and endured all season. I had lost all confidence; the pain had withered away the supporting muscles in my back and core not to mention my spirit. Living with pain (in any part of your body) destroys the soul….or at least it did mine. I felt helpless. I felt small. It was totally depressing. Our team physio had heard of Trish and suggested if anyone could help me, it would be her.”

Trish conducted a thorough and expert interview, examination of Lydia’s spine and movement patterns, and analysis of aerial skiing demands. She found that after undergoing 2 knee reconstructions, and the birth of her first child, Lydia had developed some unhelpful adaptive movement patterns, and had poor activation and strength of the stabilizing muscles that support the spine. Lydia’s pelvic and gluteal muscles were also weakened and sluggish to fire. Lydia’s own conclusion was that “I was messed up- I didn’t think there would ever be a full recovery in sight.”

Working in co-operation with the physios that travel with the Aerial ski team, Trish was able to put in place a specific and progressive exercise and movement re-education program for Lydia, utilising the principles of the BounceBack spinal stability program. This program is now delivered through an online platform – Physitrack – which facilitated communication with Lydia and her support team, and progression of her program wherever she was training over the following months.

Lydia was the perfect patient, and worked extremely HARD on her exercise program! Trish’s expert and incisive approach, combined with Lydia’s hard work was rewarded. Within 2 months Lydia was transformed, her pain almost resolved. Not only that, within 6 months Lydia says: “I found myself in the best shape of my life with not a trace of back pain. I had to be diligent with keeping up my exercises (and still do) to cope with the load of my sport, but managed to keep it under control”.

Lydia was able to move on from this crisis point to secure a bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. She has continued to work hard on maintaining and progressing her movement control and strength throughout a 3 year lay-off from the sport, and the birth of her second child. She returned to the World Cup circuit this season winning an astounding 3 out of 6 events, and has qualified for her fifth Olympic Games, which will be held in PyeongChang, South Korea in February 2018.What an inspiration! We wish her every success.

My Physio is one of only 4 clinics in Melbourne that offer the BounceBack program. It is a science based program that is proven to work for all levels of ability and fitness including:

• People with significant back, neck, shoulder and hip pain. It has even helped chronic back pain sufferers overcome their illness
• Post-surgical patients
• Preparing the body for Pilates or general exercise, no matter what a patient’s condition
• The Industrial Athlete (manual worker) wanting to get back to work
• Desk workers suffering postural pain and overuse issues
• Elite athletes looking for that performance edge
• Anybody wanting to fulfill their physical and mental potential.

To learn more about the program, or how My Physio can help you Bounce Back from pain or injury and achieve your goals, drop in to My Physio reception for a chat, call to speak with one of our physio team (PH. 1800 MY PHYSIO) or go to www.myphysiogroup.com.

Thanks to Trish, Lydia, GESAC and all our sponsors and attendees for helping to make this wonderful event such a success, as we raised funds for the Leukaemia Foundation.