Nociplastic Pain and the Sensitive Nervous System by Professor Leslie Russek

Nociplasitic pain is due to sensitive nerves that have changed to become better at processing pain. This pain needs to be managed quite differently than “Issues with the Tissues.”

Creating safety in our own hypermobile bodies is key

“When we feel safe, we can be whoever we were meant to be”. Stephen Porges, author of The Polyvagal Theory, said this at an event I attended with him. I have been curious and passionate about creating a sense of safety for myself and my clients since I created my Integral Movement Method.

Thanks for sticking with me when things got tough

“Thanks for sticking with me when things go tough”. I received this at the end of an email from a lovely EDS client. I work with some very complex cases. There are always going to be ups and downs. A condition like EDS or HSD is never linear. I am prepared for the unexpected.

What’s tissue tolerance? Can it help me avoid injury with hypermobility?

Injury prevention – how do we work towards that with hypermobility?

Should I Squeeze my Glutes when I exercise with hypermobility?

Squeezing, pushing, pulling – all words I try to avoid when teaching my hypermobile clients. Why – because they tend to put more tension into the body rather than helping someone move with ease and less pain.

Relationships and Chronic Pain

I recently did a post about pain management. Someone raised the question on the post of ‘how can I communicate my pain to my partner effectively?’

What really happens when we lock our joints?

What happens when we lock our Hypermobile Joints? As someone who always stood with locked knees and picked things up with hyperextended elbows, changing this pattern was really important for my joint health.

Chronic Illness Exercise – Do you mourn your previous regime?

What’s your relationship with exercise? Has it changed over the years? Did a chronic illness diagnosis change your approach?

Has the exercise message been movement at any cost?

Have you ever felt the message was ‘movement at any cost? I was speaking with a client recently who felt this was very much the message she had always perceived. We need to exercise, you must do it every day no matter what, even if it takes an hour or more. Regardless of how you feel or what the body is telling you. And if you don’t do them, you are failing or lazy. This is not the way forward. It is not healthy physically or mentally.

The Lonely Chronic Illness Life

Living with a chronic illness can sometimes be lonely. It can be difficult for friends and family to really understand how we are feeling and why we don’t ‘get better’. It drives me crazy when people say ‘you just need a good night sleep’ – like it’s a miracle cure.