Physiotherapy for pain and injury in London
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who has written and spoken about compassion and mindfulness for many years, talks to Oprah Winfrey. There is a great deal that we can learn from him, in particular the potency of breathing and awareness of the breath that anchors us to the present moment, the only ‘real’ […]
We know that catastrophising about pain can shape the way in which the immune system responds to nociception – see the article in Figure 1. Catastrophising refers to the interpretation of pain as signalling something damaging and dangerous and is often preceded by hypervigilance to body sensations. This maintains a negative focus upon the body […]
There are significant health and performance-based benefits that come from brief periods of mindful practice during the day including: An ability to focus with clarity Avoid being ‘bogged down’ by negative thinking Emotional regulation Clear thinking Emotional intelligence Awareness of self and others (empathy) Reduced feelings of anxiety and tension Tackle stress Pain relief Improved […]
Mindfulness has grown in popularity over recent years, and for good reason. Those who regularly practice mindful meditation and mindfulness on a day-to-day basis will tell you about their clarity of thought, their sense of ease and their good physical health. The practice is recommended by NICE for depression as well as the frequent teaching […]
These three titles I frequently recommend to patients to help develop the necessary deeper understanding of pain, stress and the role of the mind in physical health. They are all extremely well written and designed to educate to promote change towards more healthy behaviours. This sits exactly with my approach to physiotherapy for painful conditions […]
I love neuroscience. It makes my job much easier despite being a hugely complex subject. Neuroscience research has cast light over some of the vast workings of our brains and helped to explain how we experience ourselves and the richness of life. An enormous topic, in this blog I am briefly going to outline the way in […]
Treatment Programme for life’s ailments Aches and pains are a normal part of life, reminding us that we are doing too much, too little or something potentially injurious. Classically, sitting at the desk for hours, using a computer mouse repeatedly, texting and emailing on phones with small keypads, going from being sedentary all day to […]
Suffering with fibromyalgia? Our specialist approach tackles the condition comprehensively Fibromyalgia can be a debilitating condition that impacts significantly upon quality of life. The widespread pain, the fatigue, the poor concentration and general sense of being unwell can all play a part in limiting activity at home, at work and in leisure time. In recent […]
Feeling numb can mean that the self has lost its physical presence, or in an emotional sense, feelings have become blunted. These are both different constructs of loss for which we are compelled to seek an answer, often causing great angst. To step out of the normal sense of self is profound, difficult to define […]
The ‘Living with Dystonia’ Day, organised by the Dystonia Society, was held in London in November. This was an opportunity to talk to neck dystonia sufferers and their carers about the sensorimotor training programme that I am using in conjunction with botox treatment — see here. We have an understanding of how the brain plans and […]