You’ve woken up and looked at yourself in the mirror, one half of your face has dropped and you are unable to make it move. Your first thought is, “OMG I’ve had a stroke!” Check FAST F – Face drooping A – Arm Weakness S – Speech Difficulty T – Time to call an ambulance (dial 061 in Andalucia) If these don’t apply then you could have a facial palsy…
With Peter away for 2 weeks (who said he was allowed holidays?!) he thought he should leave some advice for maintaining your hearing aids in his absence! Hot and Sweaty Summer on the coast means one thing – HEAT! And for most of us that leaves us a bit hot and sweaty. Your own sweat can increase the condensation within the hearing aid itself – basically causing water to get…
Diabetes is a complex condition with far reaching side effects whether Type 1 or Type 2. Nutrition and medication will always be key factors but there are other things to think about. In the UK there are 135 foot amputations EVERY WEEK related to diabetes, that’s over 20 every day! But 4 out of 5 of these could be prevented with good foot care. Here’s how to be that 1 exception!…
One of the things I think is extremely important for any medical professional is constantly updating their skill set. My training in the RAF gave me a much wider and varied range of experience than many physios but that was, “ahem” a little while ago now and things have moved on a teeny bit! Medical Fashion Much of the way I was initially trained has come back into medical fashion…
A friend of mine recently reached a significant birthday and this song was composed by a fabulously creative couple in her honour. It made me laugh so much that I asked for permission to share it here with you! A’s for Arthritis B’s the bad back C’s the chest pains, perhaps cardiac? D is for dental decay and decline E is for eyesight, can’t read that top line! F is…
Few things are more frustrating for a runner than shin splints. They’re painful, restrict your movement and training and seem difficult to treat. What are Shin Splints? This is a useful “catch all” term for pain in the leg below the knee. But true shin splints are painful on the inner part of the shin. Although the pain starts intermittently, running and walking may quickly become extremely painful. If you…
With the Olympics just finished we have had plenty of chances to see “perfect” bodies. But did you know how many Olympic athletes past and present had scoliosis? Usain Bolt – Jamaican runner (you may have heard of him?!) Alexandra Marinescu – Romanian gymnast Jon Olsen – swimmer for the USA Jennifer Thompson – swimmer for the USA, one of the most decorated Olympians in history What is Scoliosis? Scoliosis is a term used…
Knee pain – just one of those things that happens as you get older right? Or because you’re a runner. Or a tennis player. Or a padel player. Or . . . . just one of those things you learn to live with. Or is it? If you’ve got knee pain and you aren’t making progress perhaps there’s more to it? The whole body Everything in the body is connected.…
As August draws to a close many people are preparing to drive home again and long distance driving often results in back pain. Lowered, tipped back seats make the legs too straight, placing strain on the hamstrings, pelvis and lower back. The neck then tilts forward to look “straight ahead”. A recent survey found that male drivers tend to sit with legs fully extended straining the back muscles and women…
Tennis Elbow aka epicondylitis or epicondylagia is when the tendons (stringy bits that attach muscles to bones) on the outside of the elbow become damaged and irritated, usually caused by overuse. This translates to pain on the outside of the elbow because you have been doing a particular action repeatedly, common in tennis players but also seen in plasterers, painters, and anyone who’s job or hobby includes a repetitive action…