The Sports Pharmacist

Let's talk about athlete's bums for a bit. Not the part where they are muscular and well formed, but the part where they can become painful and uncomfortable. That's right......haemorrhoids. It's estimated that around 50% of the population will have experienced problems with haemorrhoids by the age of 50. While they usually occur more often… Continue reading Exercise and Haemorrhoids →

Summer is officially over here in Australia for another year. As the temperatures begin to drop and the daylight hours begin to shorten, being outside gradually becomes just a bit more unpleasant! Over the coming months, we tend to spend a bit less time training and exercising outdoors. But why does this matter?? Quite simply,… Continue reading Vitamin D Deficiency in Athletes →

On the 1st of January this year, WADA updated their Banned Substances List, as they do every year. Minor changes are usually made, such as varying the dosing allowances for asthma medications. However, quite a significant change occurred this year.....glucocorticoid injections are now completely banned "in competition". But what does this mean? WHAT EXACTLY ARE… Continue reading New Rules For Steroid Injections →

Yes. Yes you should.

Whenever you talk about monitoring your weight, you will invariably hear the letters BMI referred to. BMI, or Body Mass Index, has been around for quite a while. The basic concept of BMI was actually introduced sometime around the 1830s! BMI is widely used as a simple basis for determining whether an individual is under… Continue reading Is BMI accurate? →

You've just had a long session on the bike, a big workout at the gym, or a marathon run. Completely exhausted, you slip your shoes off, and bam!! That horrible stench wafts straight through the air and into your sinuses, making you gag. Yup, you have smelly feet. The smell is overpowering and takes over… Continue reading How to treat smelly feet →

A new year, a fresh start. As the hangover from new year's celebrations clears, you begin to thing of your goals for the 12 months ahead.....and let's face it, after the crap show that was 2020, there is good reason to set positive targets for the new year. Inevitably, improving your fitness will appear somewhere… Continue reading New Year’s Exercise Resolutions →

Sleep. It's something we all do, it's something we all need. For most of us, it's something we need to do more! But why exactly do we need to spend so much of our time in the land of nod; and in what ways does a lack of sleep affect our exercise and athletic performance?… Continue reading How does sleep affect your performance? →

Anybody who exercises on a regular basis will be familiar with the feeling of tight, stiff muscles. After a long, hard training session, and even venturing into the following day or two, sore muscles come with the territory....and if you're anything like me, muscle soreness is pretty much a never ending experience. Stretching, massage, hot… Continue reading Cough medicine as a muscle relaxant? →

For the past 30 years, asthma treatments in Australia have remained relatively consistent. Mild asthma, where attacks are infrequent, has always been treated with "as needed" doses of salbutamol (Ventolin), which is a short acting beta agonist (a type of stimulant). Inhaled corticosteroids (an anti-inflammatory), often combined with a long acting beta agonist, are usually… Continue reading New Asthma Guidelines – What They Mean For Athletes →