Client Spotlight: Olympic Weightlifter - Dylan.

Our First Sponsored Athlete at SW Sports Therapy Aberdeen.

Dylan is an up and coming Olympic Weightlifter who has already won the British U20s and represented Scotland in the 2025 Celtic games. More recently he placed second at BUCS 2026 in Lincoln with PBs in both his Snatch and Clean and Jerk.

Clean & Jerk = 157kg

Snatch = 125kg

We had initial discussions about what Dylan's goals are and how we can assist him throughout his competition and journey towards representing Scotland again. This is how our first session went...

Client Consultation.

Our first session with Dylan is like any other session, and starts with a consultation.

The consultation includes a brief discussion about upcoming events. In this case it included BUCS 2026. We had actually talked about this prior to the session too, and I advised coming in for his session 3-5 days prior to the event, to get the most benefit out of the treatment in order to aid performance at his weigthlifting competition in Lincoln. We also discussed bringing him in to see me after his last training session prior to the event. Generally speaking we would try to avoid hard training in the 48 hour time period, post treatment.

We talked about what Dylan wanted from the session and how he had been feeling physically. Dylan mentioned that his training had been going well but had felt some tightness and a small amount of discomfort in his lower back on the left side.

The session was always set up to be 'pre-event' treatment (Legs, back and shoulders) but seeing as this is his first session, and he mentioned some tightness. We decided to do a full body physical assessment.

Physical Assessment.

In the physical assessment, we checked Dyland over, head to toe. This included some simple passive, active and resisted movements. After doing this, we established some tightness and lack of range of motion in his left Hamstring. His Hip rotation was generally good, although it was more restricted with his internal and external rotation on his left side. All matching up with his earlier explanation of tightness in the lower back (left side).

The physical assessment established that Dylan would need more focused treatment on his left side, posterior chain.

Treatment Preperation

I explained in detail what the treatment would include and Dylan was happy to go ahead. At this point, I explained to Dylan how I would like to be initially positioned on our physio table, and then gave him some privacy to get changed and cover himself with towels (as discussed).

He was happy with everything we talked about, so we cracked on.

The Treatment.

During the treatment, some people prefer the piece and quiet and to just relax. We all have busy lives and sometimes the last thing you want is someone talking at you for an hour. However in this instance, we spoke about the treatment and what I was doing as I went along. I would also ask questions regarding pressure and explaining why certain things felt certain ways.

Whilst treating the hamstrings, there was an obvious different in tension through the left side, and Dylan felt it too. I offered the option of some cupping on that side to give it some extra work whilst I worked on other sections.

This continued up through the left glute and lower left back. You can see from the images, the use of cupping that was used. This was in conjunction with prioritised sports massage. This used deep pressure on trigger points as well and frictions through the muscles and tendons.

After Care.

Post treatment, I explained to Dylan how he might feel in the coming hours and things he can do over the coming weeks to help with his mobility, flexibility and improved performance. I also talked to his about the effect of the dry cupping which left significantly darker circles in the effected areas on the left side of the lower back, glutes and hamstring. Matching up with the physical assessment and Dylan's subjective history.

The after care also includes some exercises/warm ups for Dylan to try in his own time. The session doesnt end when the client leaves the clinic. It continues so that the athlete can continue to improve and move better.

Dylan went on to achive a combined 13KG on top of his original PBs at the 2026 BUCS. Well done!