Grain based foods are made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or other cereal grains. Bread, cakes, pasta, oatmeal and breakfast cereals are examples of grain based food products

There are many nutritionists, dieticians and researchers who are of the strong opinion that grains should be largely avoided.

Why?

Grains naturally have a high carbohydrate content, even whole grains, especially if prepared using added sugars. Put simply, if we eat more carbohydrate than we need for our basic energy requirements (about 150 grams a day for most people), the rest gets converted to fat and stored.

This promotes weight gain and obesity as well as heart disease and type 2 diabetes over time. The typical western diet will have us eating 300-400 grams of carbohydrate a day, mostly from poor quality, refined grain based sources.

Excessive of poor quality grains, often containing added sugars has been a large factor driving the obesity epidemic we face. Refined grains also promote higher than optimal levels of insulin, which in turn can promote systemic inflammation. This may be a factor in certain chronic pain and autoimmune conditions.

We are welcoming Katie Farrell who joins the clinic as a full time associate physiotherapist as of today. In March and April Katie completed further training in medical acupuncture.

In this blog, Katie gives us an overview of what she learnt and and how these skills will benefit her clients.

Over to Katie...

Over the past two months, I spent two full weekends completing the British Medical Acupuncture Society’s Foundation Course here in Dublin. The course content was extremely useful and very interesting, and was taught by Dr Mike Cummings and Simon Coghlan, Practice Principal here at Mount Merrion Physiotherapy.

We discussed many topics around medical acupuncture, including safety, neurophysiological mechanisms, clinical aspects and how we can apply it into our own practice as healthcare professionals.

The course had both theoretical and practical elements, with lots of time for interactive discussions and questions throughout. There were 10 of us taking the course. This small number allowed for great learning opportunities, and time for one to one guidance and help when needed.

The afternoon nap, around 20 minutes, no longer than thirty.

It's been shown to enhance productivity and creativity, reduce fatigue and improve employee wellbeing. The Japanese take their napping seriously.

Most of us tend to experience an energy slump mid afternoon which may also affect mood and decision making, a nap may help.

I was lying in bed a few nights ago, reflecting upon my day and thinking how fortunate I am to be doing something I really enjoy and am passionate about.

Physiotherapy allows me to work with, and help my clients overcome physical problems which are usually impacting on quality of life. To be able to help is very rewarding. Being able to work, exercise and recreate without pain and with relative ease is so important to most of us, and for good reason. It's what makes us feel alive and well.

That said, as an introvert, treating patients, interacting and engaging closely with many different people on a day to day basis is not an activity I am naturally predisposed to. My personality type would usually be more inclined towards more solitary types of work, such as computer programming perhaps.

I recently attended a further education course on low back pain run by Dr Johnson McEvoy, a practising musculoskeletal physiotherapist in Co. Limerick. He presented us with the latest research regarding the assessment, diagnostic criteria and treatment for lower back pain. Given clients with lower back pain make up a large proportion of those who come to the clinic for treatment, I had a particular interest in furthering my skills and knowledge in this area. I immensely enjoyed this course and have gained valuable knowledge in treating this area of the body.

Here are a few of my learning highlights:

If your New Year’s resolution is to exercise regularly, consider this scenario: It’s a typical winter day with temperatures hovering around freezing. You’ve had a long day at work, you’ve eaten dinner, and you haven’t worked out yet. Are you really going to get bundled up, go warm up the car, scrape ice off the windshield, and drive to the gym? You might have the resolve to fight through your fatigue and brave the cold a time or two, but the first time you decide it’s not worth it and spend the evening binge-watching your favorite show, you’ve broken your resolution. And having given in once, you’re likely to do it again. Another New Year’s resolution gone by the wayside.

You shouldn’t feel bad or disappointed with yourself. After all, it’s really hard to expend a lot of energy after you’ve had a stressful day at the office. That’s the problem with resolutions - they don’t always fit in with your lifestyle … unless you make them fit. That’s why working out at home is such a great option. It’s convenient, it’s comfortable, and you never have to wait on that guy who always hogs the bench press. Here are some effective, yet easy-to-do exercises that’ll help you stick with your resolution.

We’ve evolved in nature, amongst trees, rivers, meadows, beaches, and other trappings of wilderness. Our genes love green space, it’s where they developed and where they are given a chance to be expressed optimally.

Spending brief periods of time in one of the many leafy parks we have on our doorstep, on a hill walking trail in the mountains or at a wild beach helps:

What is dyspraxia?

Dyspraxia is a “loose” diagnosis that combines a co-ordination of movement type disorder with attention, anxiety and memory problems. Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), is the formally recognised diagnosis, a developmental condition in which a person’s gross and fine motor skills are affected. Often the terms are used interchangeably.

So dyspraxia a.k.a DCD results in difficulties with the organisation, planning and execution of physical movements required to carry out daily activities.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is located in the face where the temporal bone (cheek bone) and the mandible (jaw bone) meet, often simply referred to as the jaw.

We have a TMJ on each side of the face and these can sometimes become sources of pain. When this occurs it is often referred to as ‘TMD’ or temporomandibular joint dysfunction. This is a catch all term which includes both intra-articular (joint and disc) and extra-articular (usually muscle, but also ligament and tendon) sources of pain.

TMD can be treated with many different physiotherapy techniques including manual therapy, electrotherapy, exercise and medical acupuncture (sometimes referred to as dry needling).

After 17 years as a practising Chartered Physiotherapist, completing an MSc as well as a Diploma in Medical Acupuncture, and having attended many further education courses on Physiotherapy related topics, I found myself earlier this year asking myself ‘what next?’.

Continuing professional development is very important to me both personally and professionally. However it was proving difficult to find courses and educational opportunities in physiotherapy either not already completed or relevant to my area of practice as a musculoskeletal specialist.

I have always had a keen interest in health in a broader sense, not just physical but also in relation to diet and nutrition, exercise as well as other lifestyle factors such as sleep, the role of sunlight, recreation, communication etc. All factors which can also have a profound impact on pain management and physical function which have helped me develop as a physiotherapist over the years.