Shoreline Physio - Neurological Specialist

30/09/2022

The power of the poles!
This gentleman has been experiencing severe pain from a lumbar fracture on a pre-existing diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Here we can see immediate improvements in:
-left arm swing (most affected by PD)
-back extension (most affected by pain)
-gait speed
With his usual walking aid (fisher stick) he demonstrates no left arm swing and keeps his eyes on the ground immediately in front of him.
With our adapted Nordic poles, he demonstrates active bilateral arm swing, driving an increased pace of walking, and is able to raise his head to use vision more effectively to aid balance.
The client (and his wife) have been understandably delighted with the improvements, seen on our first session. Now the practice starts!👏🏼

15/09/2022

Absolutely incredible news from the Inter Spinal Unit Games that Team Sailsbury took the 🏆GOLD🏆
That’s 8 wins out of the last 10 Annual Games.
Two team members from Cornwall put in their absolute all, trying every sport on offer, from rugby, weightlifting, table tennis, kayaking, hand cycling, swimming and more……oh and turns out is an absolute hustler at shooting! What a truly amazing round up for your first year of life beyond spinal cord injury.
This is the power of saying YES!!!! Even if that means getting really uncomfortable and pushing your boundaries. This is what creates your new norm and this is where LIFE GROWS. As a physiotherapist working with spinal cord injured clients, THANKYOU to everyone involved in this incredible event

14/09/2022

A fantastic finale to my time at the Inter Spinal Unit Games with a go at wheelchair basketball, with some great coaching tips from former GB para basketball player and basketball coach .
As a TV researcher, she has worked with BBC and Channel4 in preparing commentators with the necessary facts and figures to present on sporting events, including Rio 2016 Paralympics.
Dubbed the “Joe Wicks for wheelchair users”, and a really lovely lady, be sure to check out her weekly online wheelchair exercise classes.
➡️ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RMahBRVhGZM
As for wheelchair basketball? I’m hooked!!
Check out for wheelchair basketball in Cornwall 🤩

14/09/2022

An incredible morning at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium pool for the Inter Spinal Unit Games Swimming.
Seeing people overcome the biggest fears and hurdles (and complete refusal to swim!) to then go on and swim 25m under race conditions, was incredible.
To see them then go back and do it again and again, and even push on to 50m races was beyond words.
This is FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY. Learning to do SO much MORE with your injury in spite of any neurological recovery that may or may not come.
There is so much life and hope after SCI. So proud of everyone here.

13/09/2022

As an accomplished triathlete AND a spinal cord injury survivor, was a great find at the Inter Spinal Unit Games today!!
Claire was paralysed in an RTA less than three months after winning gold in her age group at the European Triathlon Championships in 2019.
Wishing Claire every success in her Paratriathlon and Paralympic aspirations.
I’ve always said, paratriathletes are
💯 % my inspiration for my own triathlon journey. 💪🏼🤩🙏🏼

12/09/2022

Another beautiful Horatio’s Garden, this time at Sailsbury Spinal Unit, on our way to the Inter Spinal Unit Games at Stoke Mandeville.
♿️♿️♿️
So excited for it all to kick off tomorrow!
🏆🏆🏆

10/09/2022

Great as always to catch up with Stroke Survivor Mark Bowra, founder of The Bowra Foundation.
This time we enjoyed a fleeting “hello” as he and Team Bowra power through Cornwall on day 1 of the Ride Across Britain.
9 days to complete Lands End to John O’Groats!
Great to be joined by fellow brain injury survivors/beneficiaries of Team Bowra’s fantastic work.
For more information on how The Bowra Foundation helps survivors of brain injury in the South West and beyond, and to make a donation towards their £22,000 current target, please follow the link below:
https://www.collectionpot.com/pot/mark-bowra-rab/

09/09/2022

Look out for Team Bowra cycling Lands End to John O’Groats, starting tomorrow morning.
Mark’s charitable foundation not only funds rehab kit bags for people recovering from stroke and brain injury, but also funds opportunities for people recovering from brain injury to participate in adaptive sports.
Track their progress below, and please donate if you can. Mark is a stroke survivor himself and lives with the effects of aphasia and hemiplegia.

After 12 months of unrelenting training Mark Bowra and the team are at the start line - Lands End. Ready and primed for the off at 07:30 tomorrow. Follow Mark live using the Geo Track http://bowra-foundation.org/phone/brab.html
Mark is aiming to raise £22,000 for his charity. If you're able please help him towards this total by donating
https://www.collectionpot.com/pot/mark-bowra-rab/

23/08/2022

I had the pleasure of popping by the Welsh Spinal Injuries and Neurological Rehabilitation Centre today and learned about the incredible charity .
Originally the brainchild of schoolboy Horatio Chapple, who volunteered at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Unit in Sailsbury, before he was tragically killed in a polar bear attack at the age of 17.
Horatio wanted to create an outside space for inpatients and their families to enjoy, and subsequently, the charity funds the creation and maintenance of expertly designed gardens in each of the eleven national spinal injury units.
Sailsbury was the first to open its garden, with the garden in Cardiff opening this year.
It was just perfect to see inpatients enjoying an art class out in the fantastic garden space today, and to learn that they benefit from horticultural workshops on site too.
I was already toying with the idea of requesting permission to create some raised garden spaces around the table tennis tables , where we are currently working with volunteers and Heartlands to get the area resurfaced for better access.
After todays inspiration, this idea is definitely gaining momentum!
Lots to look forward to for our Shoreline Brain and Spine group 🙌🏼

15/08/2022

Thunder is on the way.
That’s ok! We learn to master our storms. A bit more practice won’t hurt.
“You can master your weather…you can duck and hide or walk out in the open”, Patricia Cornwell

12/08/2022

Let’s talk about LATS!
Latissimus dorsi, often abbreviated to “Lats” are a much undervalued muscle in many neurorehab programmes.
Now I *love* LATS and here are just a couple of reasons why!
As the largest muscle in the upper body, the lats’ primary role is to extend the upper arm backwards (particularly from a flexed ie reaching forwards position). They also internally rotate the shoulder and have a synergistic role (helping hand) in extending and laterally flexing the lower back.
Hemiplegia caused by stroke or other brain injury often weakens the ability to reach forwards, and a lot of emphasis is often placed on strengthening the muscles at the front of the shoulder.
More often than not though, a weakened reach forwards is accompanied by tenderness and a feeling of tightness at the back of the shoulder (back border of the armpit). Rapid gains in range of reach (both passive and active range) can be possible by addressing the weakness and accompanying “tightness” in the lats.
Pic 2 demonstrates activation of the lats to aid isolated elbow flexion/extension. By stabilising downwards during elbow flexion/extension, the associated overactivity (hitching the shoulder up) so often seen is reduced. Notice the use of ankle weights to bolster the elbow up to achieve better elbow extension - push for that last 5-10 degrees! We then put this action into the functional task of answering the phone - which is pretty amazing considering this was a largely inactive arm even after prolonged specialist inpatient rehab!
This lats activation also helps to increase the range of reach via the contract/relax muscle energy technique (contract first to get a better stretch immediately afterwards).
In addition, because of it’s extension over the lower back, sitting slumped in an armchair for long periods can also restrict upper limb reach.
Now, this extension over the lumbar spine has another really interesting context within spinal cord injury rehab, but I’ll save that for another post!!
Learn to Love your Lats!!

03/08/2022

Steven Webb, Mayor of Truro, was recently re-elected for another year. This is him in his other role, talking about finding inner peace in spite of extreme adversity, and living with a C5 spinal cord injury.

This is "About Steven Webb September 2020" by Steven Webb on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

26/07/2022

Another long day on the SWCP “supporting” (ie trying to keep up with) as he storms back along the south coast towards his destination; Poole, Dorset.
Multiple sections today might as well have been the Great Wall of China, with over 1km of vertical elevation gain!
It’s difficult to portray the enormity of what Jonny is achieving. Roughly 40km per day, often averaging 1km vert, with the added challenge of hemiplegia, (including a foot drop), caused by a brain injury.
The mental and physical resilience of doing this day after day are astounding!
If you are remotely impressed with his efforts and would like to show your support, Jonny is fundraising for the charities that aided him in his own recovery, helping them to help more injured serving and veteran military service personnel.
Please donate on the link below:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/swcp2022

25/07/2022

Big news! Shoreline Physio was in Port Isaac last week……oh no, that was Doc Martin that made the papers!!!!
Unfortunately Martin Clunes didn’t catch me in between my busy schedule!! 😆

24/07/2022

Could you be a Returning Physical Activity Advocate?

Active Cornwall is looking for individuals, aged 55+, at the very start of their journey taking the first steps back to a fitter lifestyle.

We'd like to keep in touch over a series of weeks to hear what it's like to become Active Again.

If you're returning to activity and would like to know more, please get in touch.

24/07/2022

At Shoreline Physio, probably 20% of what I do is voluntary, and centred around connecting people living with neurodisability in the community and promoting skills, socials and sporting opportunities.
This has developed from taking an holistic view of rehab and from wanting the best quality of life for the incredible people I have the privilege to work with.
Today brought together a few individuals from our informal brain injury social group and our spinal injury social group to promote our campaign to make the table tennis tables more accessible.
We have the full backing of Heartlands and are very fortunate to have a team of volunteers willing to take on the ground works.
We are seeking the donation of materials to carry out the work to replace the gravel around the table tennis tables with a smooth, more accessible surface.
Please share and let’s see if we can get this done asap.

23/07/2022

I feel a road trip coming on!!

The lake now has a wheelchair hoist and disability changing rooms, thanks to a grant from the Great Lakes fund | ITV News West Country

16/07/2022

Brilliant and inspiring day on the with .
Inspiring not only those living with to strive for their next goal, but also getting this rusty ol’ runner back on the coast path for a solid 10hours!
Absolutely incredible show of determination from Jonny who survived a bleed in the brain aged 29 and who lives with the effects of hemiplegia.
Even more incredible is that he will continue this journey for over three weeks.
It has been a long road back to endurance sport for Jonny who didn’t run for 6 years after his brain injury.
Great to see him achieve this goal in spectacular style with sheer perseverance.