Physiotherapy Service

Skype consultations with Nina Tappin

Do you have an acute or nagging injury that is disrupting your training and holding you back, but you are not sure if you can justify the time and expense of seeing a physiotherapist?

Perhaps you are injured but do not have access to a practitioner who has a sufficient understanding of climbing?

Maybe you’ve tweaked a muscle or tendon and need to recover in the quickest possible time for a trip, competition or project?

If any of these scenarios apply, then a Skype consultation with pioneering physiotherapist Nina Tappin (MHPC, MCSP, MCPTBC, ACPSEM, AACP) could be exactly what you want to get your climbing back on track.

Nina Tappin treating at an injury prevention seminar at Westway CC, London in 2012.

How it works:

Nina Tappin offers Skype consultations to climbers who are struggling to find access to appropriate advice and treatment. The Skype consultation is NOT a full physiotherapy assessment. Nina will be able to perform a partial assessment by observing joint mobility, flexibility and strength tests that are easily performed in front of a screen.

Nina's aim will be to make a diagnosis and come up with a user-friendly treatment plan that suits your time constraints. If she concludes this is not possible via Skype she will assist with referral to a local practitioner or a doctor. Nina is also happy to liaise with any local therapists, climbing coaches and/or personal trainers after the consultation to help with further investigation and/or with the rehabilitation plan.

Nina Tappin has given lectures and seminars on the prevention of climbing injuries to climbing coaches and healthcare professionals in the UK and Europe.

Contact: neil@neilgresham.com

▪ Send an email to Neil, briefly outlining the following details: your name, age, years climbing, type of climbing you do, nature of your injury - how and when it occurred and where you feel pain (a few sentences will suffice in your initial contact). Neil will then liaise with Nina and she will contact you to arrange a Skype call.

▪ Before the call she will ask for a more detailed history of your injury and will send a standard medical and personal history questionnaire ahead of time. She will also communicate beforehand about any exercise equipment you may need for the assessment.

Nina presenting an injury prevention seminar at Westway CC in London in 2012

▪ During the consultation you can discuss any specific details or concerns relating, or any issues in your overall approach to climbing, which may be related to your injury. Nina’s aim is always to conclude the session with a firm diagnosis and with overview advice on rehab.

▪ For an additional charge, after the session Nina can work on a detailed rehab plan and email this to you. She will also be available for a fixed number of email contacts during the rehab process to answer any questions that may crop up whilst following the plan.

▪ IMPORTANT NOTE: Nina will always recommend that you seek a full physiotherapy and/or medical examination if you have medical issues or if complications ensue.

Nina Tappin demonstrating shoulder rehab exercises at an injury prevention seminar.

Prices and payment

Initial 1 hour Skype consultation: £90

Includes post consultation rehab plan and correspondence (with possible involvement of other health professionals and/or coaches)

(£45 - £60 for follow-ups)

The total fee is to be paid by transfer or PayPal immediately after the Skype consultation and before the rehab plan is sent. We will send payment details.

Sample Skype assessment and rehab plan for a finger injury

Finger injuries are normally straightforward to assess over Skype, as the basic palpation (hands on) tests can be done by the climber with Nina’s guidance. Finger injuries normally require 2-3 rehab sessions in order to get through Stage 1 (early recovery rehabilitation), Stage 2 (mid stage rehabilitation) involves weighted strength training, and Stage 3 (the end stage) involves sport-specific rehab using a hangboard. Again if Nina suspects that the climber requires more specific hands-on tests then she can make recommendations about seeing a local physiotherapist, or hand specialist. For the end stage part of the rehab she is happy to liaise with a climbing coach to help with the fingerboard training and return to climbing technique issues.

About Nina Tappin

Nina Tappin has been treating sport and musculoskeletal injuries in the private sector since qualifying from McGill University in Montreal in 1999. She is highly experienced with climbers and always strives to inspire and motivate her patients. She has treated many elite climbers including, Hazel Findlay, Neil Gresham, Tim Emmett, and Charlie Woodburn, as well as, members of the GB senior and junior teams. Nina treats all levels of climbers across all disciplines of climbing on a regular basis.

Nina writes articles for Rock & Ice magazine and for UKC.com and also presents regular Injury Prevention workshops to coaches at climbing walls. Nina has a special interest in injury prevention amongst children and females in sport and also specialises in advising women who are pregnant, or recovering from birth on how to train safely. Nina is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, the UK Health Professions Council, Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports & Exercise Medicine, the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists, and the College of Physical Therapists of British Columbia.

Neil Gresham performing rehab exercises that were prescribed by Nina Tappin as part of a successful rehab programme for an elbow injury in 2007. He now does these exercises routinely and hasn't been injured since!Photo: Szymon Dziukiewicz — Neil Gresham performing rehab exercises that were prescribed by Nina Tappin as part of a successful rehab programme for an elbow injury in 2007. He now does these exercises routinely and hasn't been injured since!
Photo: Szymon Dziukiewicz

Nina Tappin - Testimonials

‘Not only has Nina Tappin helped me to recover quickly from several career-threatening injuries, her prevention strategies have also transformed my climbing. It is thanks to her that I don’t get injured any more, in spite of my age, and feel empowered to train hard without being set back. Nina is the go-to consultant for climbing coaches throughout the UK. Her injury prevention seminars are always well attended and her online articles are used as a resource by coaches worldwide. Her experience spans from juniors to veterans and from beginners to elites. She is also a great motivator and has inspired me to achieve my best on many occasions. I trust her implicitly and would advise anyone who has injury concerns to take advantage of her fantastic and highly convenient online consultation service.’

Neil Gresham

Taping can assist the rehab process and Nina's rehab programme will provide appropriate advice. Photo: Mike Robertson

‘I’ve had a variety of injuries over the years and Nina has been my first port of call for all of them. Nina has been great at diagnosing the problems and then telling me what to do to get better, even if that included rest! Nina always sets exercises, explains clearly what’s wrong and why I have to do the exercises and that makes it easier to motivate myself to do them.’

Hazel Findlay - Professional Climber & Coach

‘Without Nina, I wouldn’t have been able to send my project: Muy Caliente! in Pembroke. She was quick to diagnose a small fracture in my ankle. I would have just continued climbing and walking on it if I didn’t have her diagnosis and confirmation from X-ray. With the right rehab and training I was still able to complete my route that season. Nina has saved me a few times now!’

Tim Emmett Extreme Sports Athlete & Motivational Speaker

Having diagnosed your injury, Nina will prescribe a programme which introduces the correct rehab exercises in the optimum sequence in order to facilitate a rapid recovery.Photo: Steve Gorton — Having diagnosed your injury, Nina will prescribe a programme which introduces the correct rehab exercises in the optimum sequence in order to facilitate a rapid recovery.
Photo: Steve Gorton

Skype Testimonials for Nina Tappin

Nina on Skype got me climbing again!

After 2 years suffering with climbing induced, chronic elbow injuries Nina helped me recover, stay injury free and climb harder than ever at 44y/o! And all this through Skype!

If you are reading this, you hopefully already know that Nina is leading the way in terms of climbing-specific injury rehabilitation.

It took me a couple of years of seeing various generalist health professionals (Doctors, Physiotherapists, Chiropractors) and no improvement, to realise that specialist help was my only hope. Nina was based too far for me to visit so we had consultations through Skype.

I found the Skype sessions relaxed and comfortable (I was at home!) but effective. They saved me time and money (did not have to travel), but most importantly they got me access to an expert climbing physio who otherwise I would have not been able to see. Now I am well on the way to recovery and climbing a grade higher than my pre injury best!

I highly recommend Skype consultations with Nina.

Dr Perikles Karageorgopoulos