How & Why Chronic Care Came to Be
Chronic Care understands that every individual has an innate need for growth and yearning to strive towards their goals. It is therefore our mission to foster this growth under the platform of exercise and lifestyle modification. Chronic Care exists to help our patients achieve their potential thereby improving functional independence and quality of life. We aim to treat the disease at both the impairment level and the secondary complications associated with the disease. The impairment level refers to the actual initial issue such as loss/dysfunction of neuronal connections after a stroke; And the secondary complications are the result of the initial injury such as muscle weakness, increased blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, reduced balance etc. due to reduced physical activity after stroke. We specialise in neurological conditions such as stroke, parkinsons disease and multiple sclerosis, however we have extensive experience in cardiopulmonary and metabolic disease as these are common co morbidities or pre-cursors to neurological disease. As with all things, Chronic Care Exercise Physiology has a beginning, which is the drive behind our mission and just like most stories, this one comes from humble beginnings...
As a teenager through high school I grew up playing rugby league and was very much into strength and conditioning. And as you may know, this comes with its fair share of injuries. From very early on I found myself researching how to rehabilitate my self and from this developed a passion for rehabilitation. Fast Forward a few years and I found my self studying this relatively new degree called Exercise Physiology at the University of NSW. Exercise physiology is the study of the bodies biological response to physical activity and using that information to treat diseases. It is the principle that exercise is MEDICINE, the same way a drug has a specific dosage to be effective so does exercise. We all know how important exercise is but it can be extremely difficult to know which exercises to choose that will help you reach your goals and be safe at the same time. Now imagine you suffer from a chronic disease or disability, that would make starting an exercise program even more daunting and that’s where an Exercise Physiologist comes into the picture.
Four years later I have graduated and out in the real world. I wanted to make a difference and help people achieve independence and improved quality of life. It was 2014 and that was the year Chronic Care Exercise Physiology began. I started off treating family and friends while I was gaining experience working in the public hospital sector. First working at Sutherland Hospital in the Heart Failure and Pulmonary rehab team. Initially most of my experience was in cardiac and metabolic rehab which I enjoyed, however it wasn’t until my time at Prince of Wales Hospital in the rehab ward that I realised my passion was in neurological rehabilitation. Dealing with mainly brain injury and spinal cord injury I could see there was a massive disconnect between the research and clinical practice. The research was screaming the need for aerobic and functional strength conditioning programs for the neurological population but it wasn’t filtering to the public health sector. I then got an interview with a company that was leading the way in neurological rehab working both in the clinic and in the community. Working in a multidisciplinary team of occupational therapists and physiotherapists I gained an invaluable amount of experience and passion for this population group. Which takes us to now...
If you are dealing with any chronic disease or injury and want to find out out more about how we can help you please contact us. We are registered NDIS, Medicare and WorkCover NSW providers. We can provide services at our clinic, in your home or even your local gym.
