What if you could move easier?

In movement and in pain, your outcome is inseparable to your expectations. Expectations determine the sorts of things that you will try, and they alter your pain system ...

In the climate of complicated options and strong opinions, the answer may lie in simplicity. Find footwear that fits and is comfortable. Then be confident in your decision. Spend your energy on strategies that are more likely to yield the result you want. More on this later.

I am thrilled to announce that I will be participating in Pain Revolution, a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide this April where a group of researchers and clinicians are journeying through country towns by bike, promoting better outcomes for people with long-term pain.

While studying physiotherapy I made some money selling coffee. Coffee offered a unique opportunity to explore the world through others’ world-views and experiences. I really enjoyed how coffee could accelerate the transfer of information, and make big ideas seem simple.

There is really strong evidence that perceived threat can turn-up the pain system.

People with long-term pain have all sorts of threat associated with their injury. Pain itself can be threatening – it can interfere with work, sport, family life, and hobbies. Movement can be threatening because it sometimes makes pain worse. Of course movement can make pain better too.  

Form Physiotherapy is almost one year old.

To celebrate this we decided to survey all of our clients and 1) measure the impact we had in our first year, and 2) seek ideas to make our practice even better. 

We are thrilled to announce that almost 70% of our patients answered this survey. A big thanks to all those who participated! This is a snap shot of our first year.

Running is freedom. I can run anywhere. I feel light and loose when I run. Time slows down and my mind feels clear. Running on a frosty night under a full moon with steaming warm skin makes a fond memory of New Zealand. It is rhythmic, almost hypnotic. Running is something just for me. Or shared with a friend. With a smart approach, it can be perpetual, non-stop for horizon after horizon.

If you have read the previous posts in this series you will have an appreciation for the complexity of pain. It is not a simple cause and effect, 'stub-your-toe-and-it-hurts' phenomenon. Instead, pain is an intricate protective mechanism. It is generated by your brain to look after you, and will protect you from real or perceived danger. And because of this, pain can exist with or without tissue injury. This is really significant. Just because it hurts, doesn't mean there is injury. Injury is not required or sufficient to cause pain.