Rachael Burke


The Ladder Barrel

What is a Ladder Barrel? Fair question!  It's a piece of equipment that is used for assisting in Pilates exercises.  It looks a bit like a ladder and a barrel connected together - funnily enough! The barrel connects to the ladder rungs via a sliding base - so you can adjust the distance between the [...]
Ladder barrel

Prevent & Understand Biking Injuries

Biking Injuries   As physiotherapists working in a population full of outdoor sport enthusiasts, we are exposed to a wide range of  biking injuries! Injuries can be traumatic accidents or chronic injuries that manifest gradually over time and typically arise from an error in technique, training, or equipment. We can certainly take simple measures to […]


What is RED-S and Why Does it Matter?

RED-S, or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, is a condition of low energy which can affect high performing athletes who do not fuel enough to support their energy output.   Simply put: Input < Output      When there is not enough energy available, the body cannot perform its normal functions.  So energy which is […]

Athlete RED-S

Ski Injuries – what do we see the most…

It’s the middle of the snow season so it’s a good time to talk about ski injuries. AND its probably what a lot of us (including myself) are desperate to get back out doing!   Participating in snow sports is very popular across all ages where we live here in Wanaka. Skiing and snowboarding is […]


Achilles photo

Achilles Tendinopathy

What is an Achilles Tendinopathy? The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body, it is a band of tissue attaching the calf muscle to the heel bone and it takes much of the load when walking, running, and jumping, acting like a spring when you push your foot off the floor. Achilles injury […]


What is Evidence Based Medicine?

What is Evidence Based Medicine? What advantages and disadvantages does a treatment have? Is it necessary and are there any alternatives? Is it based on scientific proof, and not just theories or expert opinions? Will the treatment lead to a faster recovery?   Making the right decisions when it comes to medical issues can sometimes […]

Light bulb picture for Evidence Based Medicine blog

diagram of body fascia

Fascia – Why so ‘fascia’nating?!

More is emerging in the research world about this structure we can find in our body called fascia. It’s literally everywhere! It connects our muscles to the bones (via tendons), acts as a continuum through our muscles and even wraps around all our organs! Without our fascia we would be a pile of bones, muscles […]


Studio Pilates Classes

Many people walk into our Physio and Pilates studio and are astonished at the strange looking equipment we have in there.  If you haven’t come across Pilates equipment it can look a bit like medieval torture devices…….or something a little more x-rated!! In-fact, studio Pilates equipment was developed by the fabulous Mr Joseph Pilates in […]

Pilates Equipment at Central Lakes Physio, Wanaka

Sleep

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything” (Irish Proverb) Recently we seem to have realised that sleep is a bit more important than we thought. But why do we need to sleep, and how do we get more of it?…….   How Much? We should all be getting […]