​What is EDS? Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a group of 13 inherited connective tissue disorders that affects the connective tissue in the body (Ehlers-Danlos, 2024). Connective tissues are important to provide strength, elasticity, support, and protection in our body’s skin, joints, blood vessels, and other organs. Each type of EDS presents with its own diagnostic criteria, but common characteristics include joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility, and tissue fragility. Consequently, people with EDS often present with hypermobility, skin that bruises, tears or scars easily, chronic pain ..read more

​Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory process that occurs within the body which usually results in the pain, swelling and stiffness in a joint. ​ It is one of the most common joint problems with 595 million people being affected by it as of 2020.[1] Within Australia, 1 in 5 over the age of 45 have osteoarthritis.[2] Those with this condition may talk about pain that is gradual in onset and worsens with activity, feels stiff (reduced range of motion), increased swelling, and pain after prolonged sitting or resting.   Research shows many factors can contribute to Osteoarthritis incl ..read more

​Whether you're a sufferer or a carer of someone with severe chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), long COVID or another debilitating chronic illness, you know how it robs quality of life. ? ​ With 25% of chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers being so sick they are housebound or bed ridden, it means that many people are limited in their ability to implement self-care strategies that others may take for granted. Things such as going for a walk or having coffee with a friend. To complicate things further, symptoms such as light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, food intolerances, brain fog, pain and mo ..read more

These Gingerbread Bliss Balls are the bomb!  Deliciously tasty and a little bit fancy... perfect for a Christmas treat.  INGREDIENTS 150g fresh medjool dates 3/4 cup raw macadamias 1/2 cup raw cashews 1 tbsp tahini 2 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp cocoa powder 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp mixed spice (optional) A few square of dark (70% plus) chocolate for drizzling ​DIRECTIONS Remove the pips from the dates and place in a bowl. Cover with warm water and soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Place soaked dates into a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients (exc ..read more

​Pacing is the term given to the strategy of managing fatigue and other symptoms in chronic conditions including post-viral fatigue, Long Covid, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and many others. ​ What this looks like can be slightly different for everyone, but it essentially means being strategic about how you coordinate your life scheduling rest around activities and listening to your body, stopping before your body reaches tipping point. This requires understanding your baseline (which can unfortunately fluctuate), recognising your triggers and structuring your day, week and ..read more

​While we would love for the government to invest more in Australian’s musculoskeletal health, currently the only way to see a Physiotherapist using Medicare is if your GP has referred you under a Chronic Disease Management Plan – formally and still commonly called an Enhanced Primary Care Plan or EPC for short. ​ ​What’s an EPC? An EPC (or Chronic Disease Management Plan) is a plan created by your GP for their patients who suffer from a chronic or terminal medical condition to see other medical providers – such as physiotherapists! Am I eligible to get an EPC? A chronic medical condition is ..read more

Winter’s here and now more than ever we’re all scrambling to find ways of improving our immunity and warding off the myriad of viruses that are waiting in the wings for a viable host. ​​Using food as medicine is a tool that we all have in our toolkit. We all eat right? So why not make your diet work for you and throw in some foods that have been scientifically demonstrated to reduce the frequency and severity of the winter bugs. ​ Here are my top 5 flu flighting foods to add to your diet ASAP…. MUSHROOMS All varieties of mushrooms contain beta glucans. Beta glucans can engage receptors in th ..read more

You may have seen the headlines recently about a new trial giving hope to millions suffering from back pain. This research was assessing to see if there were different outcomes between participants who received ‘Cognitive Functional Therapy’ (CFT) and those who received ‘usual care’. (if you are interested you can read the abstract of the article on this link https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00441-5/fulltext) Low back pain costs the Australian health system 4.8 billion annually (1) with the overuse of medicines, spinal surgery and passive treatments that fo ..read more

Dysautonomia is the inability of the autonomic nervous system to regulate itself and is a common feature of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MECFS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia (POTS), Fibromyalgia and Long COVID. ​ The autonomic nervous system consists of the parasympathetic (relaxation) and sympathetic nervous system and controls involuntary actions in the body including heart rate, blood pressure, digestive and bladder function. When the autonomic nervous system is constantly out of balance it can leave people with some debility symptoms which severely impact quality of life. Symptoms of ..read more

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! Easter is just around the corner and chocolate is everywhere. ​ Celebrating and showing affection using chocolates and sugar filled treats has become an important and unavoidable part of our culture. It can be a difficult time for some of us who have health concerns around consuming so much sugary and processed foods. Maintaining moderation can be a huge challenge but there's no need to restrict yourself from this tasty treat altogether (unless you're allergic...please don't eat it!). You can however use the following tips and tricks to help reduce the impact o ..read more