Hello fellow veterans.
I’m Chas Staines, the owner and principal sports and exercise therapist at Physio Fitness.
I served for over twenty-two years in the British Army, attaining the rank of Warrant Officer Class One (WO1); I am confident we all have much in common.
I joined up initially as a tradesman in the REME but quickly found my niche within the physical training arena. I transferred into the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC (now RAPTC)) in 1990 and went on to serve in a training establishment, the Army School of Physical Training in Aldershot and then, for the rest of my career, served with special and airborne forces.
I served in Northern Ireland in both overt and undercover operations, deployed to the Balkans, and served on Op.Telic. I was also involved with operations in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. So, like so many of you, I have seen conflict in many guises. I am also very aware of the toll the physical challenges placed upon you throughout your careers take on your bodies. I’m sure that like me, most of you just battled on and it is only now that the effects are starting to cause you pain, discomfort and inhibit your movements.
During my career in the APTC, I continually pursued personal development to ensure I delivered the best effect on, and the optimal outcome for the troops in terms of battle readiness and longevity of health and wellbeing.
I secured a place at Manchester Metropolitan University, where I read Sports Science, gaining a BSc (Hons). In the miliary system I was lucky enough to be selected to go to the Joint Services School for Remedial Instructors (JSSRI) at Woolwich, London, to attend the Remedial Instructor (short course). I used my hard-earned knowledge to best effect by ensuring a progressive continuum of exercise was in place, taking injured troops into pre-habilitation, i.e. building them up for surgery, post surgery rehabilitation, pre-unit physical development, into fighting units under a strict remedial PT programme until fit enough to return to combat readiness. I enjoyed immense success with this, working with the fittest and most determined soldiers of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces.
This continuum most definitely helped to reduce the potential permanent damage that Armed Forces personnel would otherwise experience, something that many of you veterans might be suffering today!
I set up Physio Fitness in 2018, initially converting my garage to a small rehabilitation clinic where I was able to host one patient/client only.
With the onset of the Covid – 19 pandemic, patients continued to require exercise rehabilitation, corrective exercise and personal development. I started to run an on-line clinic and, within a very short period of time, found myself working with more and more new clients, desperate to use the down time that the pandemic had forced upon them, to address their injuries and ailments. I further extended my services to include on-line personal training and progressed to hosting group fitness classes. I have now opened a new clinic in Gosport and I can now host group exercise rehabilitation, fitness classes, Pilates sessions and, with the assistance of additional therapists, treat several patients one to one in the same premise.
I remain active amongst fellow veterans and hear only too often, the struggles many have to even get to see their GP regarding an historic injury that has now surfaced as a painful problem. Others are challenged financially to secure help from the private sector and many that do get to see a chiropractor or physiotherapist, are seeing someone that has not lived in the military system and therefore does not understand our mindset. I am really keen to work with all our veterans, whether you visit my clinic, I visit you or we meet on-line. If you are struggling with an injury, contact me TODAY and let me help a fellow veteran get back on their feet.