Kate thought back surgery would be the end of her back pain which she had experienced throughout her day to day life for quite some time. Over the last few months though, Kate had become increasingly frustrated with her pain. She didn’t want to rely on medication for pain relief, she wanted a way to reset.

When coming in to Kinetic Medicine Kate was grateful to be heard out as she reflected on her experiences with her pain. It was comforting to know that it’s not uncommon for pain to persist after an initial injury and the natural healing process, and even after surgical intervention.

Diabetes is an umbrella term for several different conditions in which blood glucose levels (BGL’s) are elevated in the blood. Glucose is a form of energy that the body requires for our cells to function and allows the body to move. Glucose comes from carbohydrate foods for example a banana 🍌

Exercise might not seem like one of the first things to come to mind when thinking about PCOS but it has a multitude of benefits. Firstly, exercise can help reduce insulin resistance by allowing muscles to take up some of the glucose stored in the blood and use it for fuel. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a type of training that incorporates short efforts followed by a longer rest and has been shown to have a large impact on reducing insulin resistance. HIIT also releases adrenaline to maintain the pace, and once the muscles use up the glucose, it will turn towards using fat as a primary source of fuel. This can help with weight loss by burning fat and reducing the amount of insulin the body has to release hence decreasing hunger signals and lowering blood pressure. By reducing weight, we also minimise the risk of pregnancy complications and increase fertility.

Have you ever wanted to be flexible? The idea of being flexible is tied up with a notion of feeling free or easy, and is usually a physical description. But what about being psychologically flexible? This might sound like a bit of a complicated idea, yet there is something just as appealing about being mentally and emotionally flexible as there is about being physically so. Fortunately enough if you like this idea - and even if you don’t feel naturally inclined to be so flexible - there is a way that these qualities can be broken down into components you can cultivate for yourself. Emerging out of a field of psychology that has become ‘Acceptance Commitment Therapy’ or ACT, these 6 components or traits are able to be developed like psychological ‘muscles’.

Sometimes it can be powerful to ask ourselves the tough question of ‘have we been wrong about this?’ Whether it’s about a decision that we’ve made in the past or one we keep on making, it can be powerful to ask the boldest of questions of self reflection. Doing so, though, in a way that doesn’t lead us to shame, guilt or regret is somewhat of an art. Being objective doesn’t come as easy to some as it does to others because the notion of ‘failure’ can have such a powerful and lasting impact. This notion of ‘failure’ – either considering our actions or even ourselves in our entirety as either living up to a standard or falling short – often does more harm than good and as a result the management of this concept is emerging as a secret weapon in helping people do things of significant.

You see there are a range of beliefs when it comes to behaviours and habits as they relate to our health. It’s not scandalous to say that there are as many different dietary persuasions as there are instagram influencers and it’s potentially not possible to say that there is universal agreement about what ‘good eating’ should look like. Equally, we’re seeing people be particularly brazen about other more technical aspects to health and medicine like pharmaceuticals. There are those in staunch opposition to anything remotely pharmaceutical, and those who expect there to be a pill or a jab to fix each and every ailment. Whilst the truth is always somewhere in the middle, it all stands to prove that the age of information is as much the age of dis-information – where there’s a YouTube video for almost any every task you could ever hope for instruction in.

We generally talk about pain by asking sufferers how ‘bad’ it is, as if bad is the objective standard by which we measure pain. The reality is that, because pain is such a complex experience, we need to have a more ‘sophisticated’ way to talk about pain. Moreover, we know that when people have a better way to communicate their experience with pain we have a greater likelihood of applying more effective interventions. So how do we as a community need to break down this experience if we are truly going to understand the way pain affects those who suffer with it? Three domains we should consider are the notions of intensity, bothersomeness and interference.

Pain certainly feels, at least initially anyway, like it’s something that should be avoided and that certainly can be the case in at least the initial stages. If you’ve suffered the onset of an acute injury then ensuring that your body has the time and space to settle down and/or heal can be important. Yet bed rest has become something we know, in principle, doesn’t lead to better results. That’s why it’s vitally important to get expert oversight when you become injured or suffer the onset of pain, and that the result of this should include at least some idea of what a map of recovery should look like. Yet, health professionals who simply provide the advice to wait until all pain resolves are providing advice that has been found to often lead to impaired recovery and even poorer rates of healing. Our body thrives on stimulus and when we withdraw physical stimulus that keeps our systems regulated appropriately towards tolerating stress we do it a disservice.

So how do you know when you actually need help with your mental health? There are potentially 3 considerations to make when asking yourself “do I need to get some help?” Briefly stated, these are a consideration of the severity of symptoms, an appraisal of the current ability you have to cope with these symptoms amongst everyday tasks, as well as the length of time symptoms have persisted. Of all these considerations, though, the often most underrated is an appraisal of our ability to cope. It’s the thing we all reassure ourselves about with adages like “it’s not that bad” or “there are people worse off than me”.

All of us are finding the current times challenging in one way or another. People have lost their jobs and have had their future plans interrupted or even ruined. Thankfully, there’s been a lot of attention paid to mental health and psychological wellbeing.

If there is a question that we get asked often, this would be right up there. As much as we can all say that exercise is a virtuous or healthy practice, the most significant reason why people don’t is because of pain and discomfort. To add confusion and conflict to the matter, there persists a certain attitude that ranges from the sentiment of ‘toughen up’, to the cliché of ‘no pain, no gain’. Whilst it certainly is true that we can expect some discomfort with exercise – fatigue, in some degree, is a necessary part of effective exercise – the complexity of the experience of pain means that this sentiment is not particularly healthy and certainly not always true. To really understand why, there’s two things that warrant explaining: what pain actually is, and what is required to make exercise worth it.

Karen’s* foot wasn’t actually ‘killing her’, but she used that metaphor frequently when anyone asked why she was walking with a limp. It’s true, she would continue to live on despite her foot pain, but her concern over how she was going to continue to earn a living was real. Semi-retired, she lived fairly comfortably off what she made from her weekly market stall. All of that was at risk though as she weighed up what was going to give in her day-to-day life in the hopes of making her pain manageable.

There are few certainties in life. ‘Death and taxes’ is the cliche, but there is another certainty. After middle age, most people will lose around 3% of muscle mass per year. Ultimately this is a critical factor which can contribute to increased chances of joints pain, poor blood circulation, a syndrome known as sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass and strength), increase falls risk and increase mortality risk.

Finding an intervention that can reduce cognitive decline and improve memory and communication is the ultimate goal in the treatment of dementia. But could a therapy as well known as exercise be one of those interventions?

For so long we’ve been used to treating health conditions by putting them in neat little packages. It’s as though we’ve assumed that having a particular reason for ill health can be so discretely extracted from the whole of a person in order for us to treat it and thus restore someone to full health. If only it were that easy.

Did you know that after 8 weeks of exercise participants with dust disease in the study had improved their aerobic capacity and quality of life. This meant they were able to walk for longer without getting as effected by shortness of breath.

Dave’s* shoulder hasn’t been ‘right’ for a while. He’s pretty fit for someone in their fifties but he wouldn’t call himself old – especially since he still gives a bunch of younger people a decent challenge at the weekly ParkRun. But as a tradie, it’s the little things that have started to get to him. Lifting his arms over his head, reaching into awkward positions - it’s the little things that have been challenging his ability to keep on soldiering on. It’s in the odd moments though, when he doesn’t even know what he’s does to make it sore, that really get to him. Sometimes he causes himself such grief that it’s hard to sleep at night, he tosses and turns trying to get comfortable.

Fibromyalgia is a poorly understood health condition with no quick fixes or sure-fire treatments.  A chronic musculoskeletal syndrome, symptoms often manifest as unexplained persistent pain, and can also result in secondary effects like sensitivity to pressure or temperature. Pain is often widespread throughout the body. Pain can also be localised and can include symptoms of stiffness, weakness, headaches, physical and mental fatigue, sleep disturbances and mood alterations. People living with fibromyalgia often live with wildly variable symptoms and the secondary effects of persistent pain - memory problems, a reduction in their sense of joy in life, depression, anxiety and social isolation

Gary had been told by every surgeon that he spoke to that there was nothing they could do for him. He had been a strong person for a long time, even when the back pain started to become a problem – persisting with all the usual things he loved to do even when those who loved him could see the discomfort on his face and asked him if he was ok. 

It may well be that, for many, the idea of running either for recreation or health sounds like punishment, sadism or just downright unsafe. Yet, for many, running can be a task that can not only be safe but also help you achieve lasting health and even enjoyment. It’s also easier to start than you think.

You might be surprised to find that a condition affecting nearly 1 in 5 women is actually relatively unknown. Polycycstic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a metabolic condition almost 50% more prevalent than breast cancer and yet it’s estimated nearly 70% of sufferers haven't received a formal diagnosis.

Our bodies are pretty remarkable. Among the many vital and intriguing processes that go on without our knowledge is the way that our processes of energy production, storage and distribution. Throughout the day, our liver stores and releases sugar in the form of glycogen according to need, increasing the available sugar or glucose in our blood. When we consume food, our body breaks down carbohydrate into sugar which is then absorbed into our blood and dependent upon our need, will be either stored or put to use. This is where a vital hormone called insulin comes into play. Insulin is how our body tells its tissues (for example, the muscles, liver and brain) to transport glucose out of the blood stream.

“By delivering graded low impact exercise such as light weights, hydrotherapy or water-based exercises as well as yoga, Pilates and walking we can assist in improving blood flow and drainage in built up adipose tissue. A graded exercise program in conjunction with compression bandages or garments and massage which both work together to encourage the flow of fluid though the body. Exercise physiologists are not only trained in the delivering a structured program for both these conditions but can also assist with pain management and emotional support  ‘

Those of us with healthy hearts and lungs we struggle to understand the difficulties of those living with a chronic cardiopulmonary concerns. The condition known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or emphysema, can be a debilitating illness that makes breathing incredibly difficult and the thought of physical tasks a cause for anxiety.

when we think about toughness you might be surprised to learn just how tough your body actually is. Did you know that it actually takes pressure of more than 250kg per square centimetre to deform connective tissue like the plantar fascia or the iliotibial band by just 1%. To lengthen connective tissue like fascia its been found that it takes a force greater than 4515 Newtons or 460kg to create just 1% change. This means that your body is actually really tough! But why then do we hurt?

More than a third of all women will experience back pain during their pregnancy. Whilst many a mother might attest to this experience as being normal, few things are able to provide comfort for women is experiencing pain. Of greater concern is that 20% of these women continue to have back pain well after giving birth