University of Winchester physio students gained hands-on experience at the London Marathon

Specialist sports and musculoskeletal physiotherapist Liam Newton (pictured second left) supervised four students who helped runners who had taken part in Sunday’s London Marathon (23 April).

Liam manages the Winchester Health Clinic – which is run by the University of Winchester, where the students are studying physiotherapy.

He gained his physiotherapy degree at the University of Birmingham in 2015 and went on to become a senior physiotherapist in the NHS before spells working for Hampshire Cricket and Southampton Football Club’s highly-rated academy.

The opportunity provided valuable exposure for the students to support individuals who had completed such a fantastic physical challenge [Liam Newton]

The students – Robert Salvi, Emily Jones, Sean Thomson and Khushi Pancholi – were on-hand to offer the runners sports massages and general guidance on recovery. They had been recruited by the charity Parkinson’s UK, which had 200 fund-raising runners in the race. The charity set up a massage room in the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms as a way expressing its appreciation for their efforts.

Valuable experience

Liam said: ‘The opportunity provided valuable exposure for the students to support individuals who had completed such a fantastic physical challenge.' 

He added: ‘We saw about 70-80 runners and as the day went on and the less-fit started to come in we saw some people who were limping and hobbling. Everyone we helped was very appreciative of our efforts and said they felt better for our help.'

The Winchester Health Clinic, which was set up in 2021, provides high-quality physiotherapy assessment and treatment to the local community. Appointment bookings for can be made here 

For information about the university's physiotherapy programme, click