Call Carys on 01632 960 284

Open Mon to Sat

Request an appointment

Physiotherapy in Chester for Sports injuries

Dev treats runners, footballers, hockey and tennis players, and people who overdid it at the gym. The approach is the same for all of them: find out what’s gone wrong, keep you doing as much as is safe while it heals, and bring you back in stages so it holds.

Ask about a sports injury or call Carys on 01632 960 284
A physiotherapist’s hands pressing around a bent knee, feeling for where it’s sore.
Sprains and strains
2 to 6 weeks
Tendon problems
About 12 weeks
You’ll see
Dev

Sounds like you?

Most sports injuries aren’t dramatic. They’re the niggle that didn’t go away.

You’ll see Dev. Dev looks after our runners and club players, and you’ll see him at every visit.

  • The front of your knee aches on stairs, on hills, or after sitting through a film.
  • Your Achilles is stiff and sore for the first few steps every morning.
  • The back of your thigh grabbed mid‑sprint, and has grabbed again each time you’ve tried to come back.
  • You went over on your ankle weeks ago and it still doesn’t feel trustworthy.
  • Your shoulder pinches when you serve, or after the first few lengths.
  • It’s fine when you rest and back within a mile when you don’t.

Not sure it counts as a sports injury? If it happened while you were being active, Dev is the right person.

What Dev sees most

A physiotherapist holding a bare foot in both hands, one under the heel and one across the toes, to move the ankle.
Finding out how far an ankle moves, and where it stops.
Runner’s knee
Pain around or behind the kneecap. It’s usually about how much load the knee is taking and how well the hip and thigh share it, so we adjust your running rather than stop it where we can. Allow six to twelve weeks.
Achilles and calf
Tendons respond to the right amount of loading, built up slowly, and to not much else. That means heel raises, done properly and progressed over about twelve weeks. Calf strains are quicker: typically three to six.
Hamstrings
A mild strain can be two or three weeks; a bad one, a couple of months. The ones that keep recurring were usually rushed, so we test strength and sprinting before you go back.
Ankle sprains
Most settle in two to six weeks, but an ankle that isn’t retrained tends to go over again. We work on balance and strength as well as the swelling.
Shoulders, from racket sports and swimming
Pain at the top or front of the shoulder when your arm is overhead. We look at the shoulder blade and upper back as well as the joint, and at how much you serve or swim each week.
Only after a sports massage?
That’s 30 minutes with Dev for £40, and you don’t need an assessment first. Good for tight, tired legs and shoulders.

What happens when you come

A first appointment is 45 minutes with Dev. Bring your trainers, and shorts if it’s a leg.

0 90 120
What goes in your notes: which part is sore, and how far the joint bends before it complains.

  1. What you did, and what you want to get back to

    Dev asks about the injury, your training in the weeks before it, and what you’re aiming for: a Saturday 5k, a season, a race you’ve already paid for.

  2. Testing, not guessing

    He looks at the sore part and at what feeds into it: strength, balance, how you squat, hop and land. Sometimes that means watching you run.

  3. A straight answer

    What it is, how long it usually takes, and what you can keep doing in the meantime. If it needs a scan or a surgeon’s opinion, he’ll say so and write the letter.

  4. Treatment and a programme

    Hands‑on treatment or sports massage where it helps, taping now and then, and a short strength programme with sets, reps and days on it.

  5. Back in stages

    You return to sport a step at a time, as set out below, with a test to pass before each step up.

Getting back to sport in stages

Going back too soon is the commonest reason injuries return. You move on when you pass the test for a stage, not when a date arrives.

The legs of someone in black leggings and trainers walking away along a lane of a red running track.
Stage three starts somewhere flat and forgiving, at part speed.

  1. Calm it down

    Ease the pain and swelling. Keep fit with whatever doesn’t aggravate it: often cycling, swimming or the cross‑trainer.

    Move on when: Walking and daily life are comfortable.

  2. Build strength

    Load the injured part progressively until it’s as strong as the other side, or near enough.

    Move on when: Strength is within about a tenth of the other side.

  3. Sport‑specific work

    Running, jumping, turning, throwing: brought in one at a time, at part speed.

    Move on when: Full speed, with no reaction the next day.

  4. Full training

    Back with your club or at your usual mileage, with a session in hand each week.

    Move on when: Two normal weeks of training.

  5. Competition

    Matches and races. Keep one strength session a week going: it’s what stops this happening again.

How long it takes

Sprains and muscle strains: most people are back to normal activity in two to six weeks and see Dev three to five times. Tendon problems, such as a sore Achilles, are slower: twelve weeks is typical, with visits spread further apart.

If you have a date in mind, a race or a first match, tell him at the start. He’ll say honestly whether it’s realistic.

Ankle sprains and muscle strains
2 to 6 weeks, 3 to 5 sessions
Runner’s knee
6 to 12 weeks, 4 to 6 sessions
Achilles and other tendons
About 12 weeks, sometimes longer

Three things people ask about sports injuries

Do I have to stop running completely?

Usually not. Complete rest tends to leave you weaker without fixing the cause. Most people carry on with a reduced amount, at a level that keeps the pain low while they’re doing it and settled by the next morning.

I’m not sporty. Is this for me?

Yes. A calf pulled running for a bus gets the same treatment as one pulled on a pitch. If it happened while you were being active, Dev is the right person to see.

Can I just book a sports massage?

Yes: 30 minutes with Dev for £40. If he finds something that needs a proper assessment he’ll tell you, and it’s up to you whether to book one.

“I’d had a sore Achilles for most of a year. Dev gave me three exercises and told me when I could expect to be running properly again. He was out by a week.”

Gareth, runner, Upton

Request an appointment with Dev

You’re asking about: Sports injuries

Leave your name and number and Carys will ring you within one working day to find a time with Dev.

Choose days and times on the full form⁠

We’ll only use these details to arrange your appointment.