A former chronic pain sufferer, I now work with clients to use education, exercise, movement and evidence-based mind-body strategies to promote self-efficacy and help them ease pain, move better, learn to relax and get back to activities they love. As well as GP Referral and exercise for low back pain, I am qualified in Pilates, Yoga, Clinical Somatic Education (aka Hanna Somatics - neuroscience-based movement and bodywork derived from the Feldenkrais Method) and Mindfulness.
I understand the experience of chronic pain myself, as I struggled with debilitating, persistent pain for several years after the birth of my son in 2011. Pain makes you desperate, and you can waste a lot of time going down rabbit holes. The silver lining in this expereince is that I also have understanding of the process of recovery. Pain is multifactorial in nature, and needs a biopsychosocial approach. When I started looking at the evidence for what turns up pain, and what winds it down, it became easier to navigate the road to wellness. There were many things I needed to learn about the nervous system and brain, posture, movement, strength, load and capacity, grading exposure to tasks, exercise intensity, relaxation and coping strategies. I still have fibromyalgia, a spondylolisthesis and hypermobility, however I no longer suffer persistent pain. Movement is my medicine, I walk the talk and I practise what I preach.
My work is also my hobby. I am an avid follower of research in the fields of neuroscience in relation to touch therapy, movement and mindset, pain science, exercise and pain managment, and have attended many CPD trainings, for example Explain Pain and Neurodynamics for the Sensitised Nervous System with NoiGroup, and Making Sense of Back Pain with Professor Peter O'Sullivan. I attended the Paincloud Convention 2018 and have been a virtual attendee at the San Diego Pain Summit 2017, the International Chronic Pain Conference 2020 and Therapy Live 2020.