People of Asuwere - Callum Farquharson
From wakeboarding and snowboarding to launching his own clinic, Callum Farquharson knows a thing or two about keeping the body moving. Now the founder of SOMA Clinic in Parnell, he’s helping others stay mobile, pain-free, and swinging freely - especially on the golf course. We caught up with him to talk back pain, golf warm-ups, and why movement might be the best medicine.
- First up, huge congrats on launching Soma. Quick question - is it actually true your back just gives out once you hit your thirties?
Thanks, it has been something I have wanted to do for a while, so it is amazing to finally see it come to life.
Honestly it certainly feels like it, but there is a lot more going on here. We get into our 30s and life and work getextra busy, things get in the way, we might have less time to exercise and spend more time at a desk but we still expect ourselves to be able to do the sports we love and did a lot in our teens and 20s but are now effectively untrained and this leads to injuries.
- You’ve got a background in competitive wakeboarding, snowboarding, and surfing (and of course a healthy golf habit). How has that shaped the way you treat sports injuries now?
My sporting background definitely had increased risk of injuries and I still do these sports just less often. Something that has always stood out to me is that despite the huge crashes that come along with extreme sports, people might not get injured in a big crash and walk away unharmed, yet here we are swinging a golf club or slipping in the shower and we are debilitated with back pain; what I’m saying is that the force of the trauma doesn’t always correlate well with the severity of the injury.
I suppose what I have taken from this is that a sport doesn’t have to be hugely physically taxing or dangerous to get a huge benefit from strength training and mobility work. The more we can do to be ready for our sports the less likely injuries are to occur.
I have had my share of shoulder and knee issues from wakeboarding so I am pretty familiar personally and professionally with the rehab process, everything from how frustrating it can be to how much benefit there is to committing properly to rehab. I try to use this to help people through the process, but prevention is always better than treatment.
- Your Masters honed in on lower back and pelvic biomechanics. What are the most common back issues you see - and what could we be doing daily to avoid them?
Acute muscle spasms are often the most debilitating and can be quite chronic. They are definitely more likely to be an issue when we are sitting at a desk all day and not moving around enough. It might feel like a dead lift or a golf swing has caused back pain, but it is more likely caused by inactivity. The research clearly shows the more we move and the stronger our backs and core are the less pain we have.
It’s also worth talking about “slipped discs” here, discs don’t slip but most people over the age of 30 have some wear and tear in their lumbar discs but are not necessarily in any pain. What this means is don’t freak out if a physio or doctor tells you your back pain is coming from the disc. It doesn’t mean it won’t improve with rehab, movement and strengthening.
I think the more people can get moving, get out of the office chair and do some exercise, the more we offset the stiffness, pain and lack of strength sedentary lifestyles cause. In today’s world most of us do have to sit at a desk all day and there is not a lot we can do about it, standing desks can help but the best thing to do is get moving.Get up and down and walk around the office more and get into the gym or find a form of exercise you like and want to do all the time. The more you like exercise the more likely you are to do it regularly and this is what will have the most benefit.
- As a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) certified practitioner - how can osteo help your golf game, and any mobility moves we should all be doing?
I’m a shocker for turning up on the course 5 minutes before tee times, and it’s the worst thing to do. Stiffness in the lower back and hips will make you swing all arms, probably early extend, stand up and snap hook your ball into the bushes. Warming up on the range and getting a few dynamic stretches in is vital to get those first few tee shots going straight.
Most of what I see in the simulator on the slow motion camera is golfers trying to swing through tight hips and loading up their lower backs in the process. In addition if your upper back and shoulders are tight too then the only part of the body left to rotate is the lower back and it therefore takes all of the loading. Osteopathy can help a lot with this, I treat a lot of old shoulder injuries and hip tightness to help unload the lower back and get you swinging freely.
The more we can mobilise and stretch out our hips, upper back and shoulders the easier the golf swing should be on our lower back.
What’s the vision for Soma from here?
SOMA is still a new and developing business within Parnell, my vision is to continue to build the SOMA brand whilst growing both the osteopathic and golf mobility product sides of the business. My passion for golf and surfing drives me to want to do these sports for as long as possible. I want the same for my patients; I want to help them do what they love for as long as they can too. Health and longevity are the focus and I want to be able to offer more than just osteopathy.
You’ve been part of the Asuwere crew for a while - what are your go-to pieces?
Definitely the linen pants, I have a few colours and wear them a lot for a variety of occasions. Clean white tee shirts are always a must have as well. My fiancée really wants me to get the matching army green set from this photoshoot too.
Check out Soma Clinic here
As you were!
