healthy lifestyle – Inlife Blog.

Choosing the Right Chair

Many times I see a client sitting in a chair that is a really bad fit. Not only that, it is often not assisting them in the primary functions it is being used for.

A chair is for sitting in – Does it fit your body? Is it supportive of your sore back, long legs? Does it provide support across the width of your hips or does it sag?

A chair is for standing from – Does it have arms above the seat that help you push up from sitting? Is it a good height off the floor, or is it too low? Is it stable to push up from or does it rock and move as you transfer your weight?

A chair needs to be comfortable – What is it made from? Will it last for as long as you need it to? How long will you be sitting in it?

A good chair provides relief from aches with good posture, it brings rest and comfort. It needs to allow you to sit for long periods of time and then help you get up when you’re done with it.

Non supportive

Supportive

World COPD Day

On this day World COPD Day 2019, https://goldcopd.org/world-copd-day/ bringing awareness of COPD, it’s important to remember some key self management strategies that you need in the community to prevent unnecessary admissions and stay at home independently:

COPD plans must be filled in by your allied health professional or GP to better understand how and when your medications are to be used and left where family/housemates are aware of your needs when you are too breathless to talk yourself.
Correct inhaler device and spacer use means the medication is effectively going into your lungs and not lining your mouth and causing side effects such as thrush. Asthma relievers if used more than 2 in 7 days is not under control, please seek help from your GP or your breath management health professional.
Breathing techniques that take the work out of breathing and reduce recovery times post activity keep you moving through the day for longer.
Exercise is an important way of preventing deconditioning. Less exercise/ activity can lead to more breathlessness.
Meaningful activity engagement whether it be household chores, hobbies or social engagement are important motivators that keep us moving.
Use oxygen as prescribed – exertional oxygen during activity, nocturnal oxygen while sleeping or continuous long term oxygen for at least 18hrs.
Bush fire smoke reduction – close doors and windows, air conditioning on recycle, rest and hydrate, avoid strenuous exercise, P2 respirator masks, emergency evacuation plan to reduce exposure.

Occupational Therapy Assists with Breathlessness

Occupational Therapy Week 2019 is here! How can we help you improve your quality of life?

Occupational therapists help you deal with health issues that impact on your activities by:

looking at ways we can do the activities differently,
teaching you skills that will help you do the activity,
using adaptive equipment or
changing the environment you are doing the activity in.

For example I see patients with breathlessness. Someone who has trouble sweeping the floor may need to use a long handled broom and dustpan to eliminate bending which worsens their symptoms. They can also learn breathing techniques that take the effort out of breathing and reduce the time it takes to catch their breath during and following the task. When a person understands the nature of their condition and ways to alleviate symptoms they feel less anxious and their confidence to self manage improves.
Go to https://www.otaus.com.au/find-an-ot to get back on top of your activities today.
#THISISOT

Singing Improves Breathing Symptoms in COPD

I have just read an interesting article on a study conducted in Kent, UK, on a group of participants with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) that had completed a 10 month community singing program learning breath control, relaxation and breathing exercises whilst singing weekly as a group – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29160737 .

Any activity that you find meaningful can distract you from the odious task of purposefully exercising muscle groups for health management. We all find it difficult to motivate ourselves to continuously do the actions required to maintain muscular strength and mobility when we are unwell.

Here is an activity that brings relaxation , enjoyment, friendship, mental dexterity and challenge whilst improving respiratory symptoms. I can personally vouch for the mental dexterity part after being involved in a Sing From Scratch with Schubert’s Mass No.2 in G Major in Germanic Latin! The study reported that the majority found their symptoms improved over the 10 weeks as well as their mental and social well-being.

A timely reminder as many choirs around the world are presently involved in practicing and performing parts of Handel’s Messiah for Easter celebrations.

Hill over Everest

Everyone has new year resolutions, whether it be in the realms of fitness, budgets,or new behaviours. People I work with all tend to have one constant aim and that is to not lose what they have.

This could be activities, independence, to breath freely after exerting themselves, or to get back to work. In order to keep this they need to devote themselves to something that needs repeating , may not be enjoyable and may have some level of difficulty. I think we can all relate to this.

The way to navigate towards what we want is to set a goal.

How to set a goal?

It must be personal and meaningful – own it – My goal is…
It must be specific – detail – walk 30 min in the shopping centre, 3x per week
It must be measurable so you know when you’ve achieved it
It must be achievable – no point setting an Everest, choose a hill you can climb
It must be realistic – don’t look at Ferrari when Holden is a better fit for you
It must be timely – don’t overload yourself

Start with one goal and go from there.

Don’t forget when you reach that goal to reward yourself for a job well done!

The Christmas Rush

Christmas can be a time of of scheduled events, family and friend catch ups, gift and food shopping, racing round to see those lights. For me its a time of thankfulness, blessing and promises fulfilled and I like to make sure I have moments to stop, rest and enjoy the togetherness of family and friends.

Christmas is also a time of traditions and habits , things we do every year because we have always done so. I have spent my time this year assisting my clients in developing healthy breathing and activity habits and hope that they continue into the new year seeing the fruits of their labour.

I heard recently that we can be so caught up in being busy that we think that this alone is enough for justification of our time. Instead we need to stop and look to see if, and what, we have actually achieved, and if we cannot see something for our efforts then we need to re-calibrate and be more purposeful in our actions and not just busy.

I saw a video recently of Bill Gates talking about time and of a friend who had showed him his diary with spare days in it instead of every one filled with appointments. He had said to Bill, “I can buy anything I want but I can’t buy time”.

So this Christmas try to slow down and simply breathe…, noticing the breath in ….and out…, feel your muscles release and relax…. and give your time where it can be purposeful and make a positive difference.

Noses, odours and memories

A recent article that I was made aware of through social networking has found that breathing through the nose significantly increased memory recognition. Olfactory sensory neurons detect the pressure created by the airflow into the nose and send this on via the olfactory bulb and on to the hippocampus, an important centre for memory function in the brain. In lay terms what does this mean?

nose breathing enhances the encoding and retrieval of memories
core brain functions can be impacted by breathing patterns

What this is leading to clinically is in the hands of researchers but I for one like the fact that as I teach breath management that promotes nose intake over mouth I find it a wonderful thought that perhaps I am positively influencing the patients olfactory senses and strengthening memory pathways to the brain’s heart, the hippocampus.

In older age memory is something that is an important part of who we are as individuals so next time you are out smelling the roses take a moment longer to really breath in through your nose and strengthen those neural pathways that keep our happy memories alive.

Occupational Therapy Week 2019!!

It is Occupational Therapy Week!!

The age old question of what is an OT has had much written about but to keep it simple after 24 years of being an occupational therapist the easiest way is to ask you: Do you do activity? Is illness or disability preventing you from doing this activity on a regular basis? If you answered yes to both these questions then an OT can help you.

There are many different types of OT’s as there are many people doing different activities affected with many different types of illnesses and disabilities.

I focus on breathlessness and fatigue in pulmonary and cardiac conditions.

I have heard my patients blame old age when I first see them and then they always say “But I’m 80 something (or 90 something), it’s too late you can’t do anything for me”.

We start talking to find the root source of their breathlessness and I then assess their movements and breathing as they do a simple house chore. With my findings we begin to explore new ways for them to manage. They start to see how they can make things easier and keep doing the activities they find rewarding for longer than they anticipated.

I think that is priceless.

From the Horses Mouth

A recent Lung Foundation Seminar at Chermside had two lovely ladies give their knowledgable tips on coping with chronic breathlessness. Thank you to Lyn McDade and Joanne Smith! Have a try of these top 10:

Understand your limits by listening to your body
Go gently on difficult days but keep going.
Connect with peers, friends and support groups
Stress management and meditation
Avoid foods that increase inflammatory responses in the body
Complimentary medicine pathways
Quiet Time and Prayer
Exercise – walk groups, yoga, massage, hydrotherapy
Self care as a prevention tool – layering for cold sensitivity
Avoid ill acquaintances and high risk situations – busy crowds in flu season!

Retiring Society

Spent the morning at Tricare Mt Gravatt Retirement Village giving a talk on Breath Management and catching up with residents afterwards. Lovely to meet the residents who were talkative, great on the puns and sharing plenty of laughs.

Questions on breathing technique and do we avoid certain movements or modify were the hot topics for the morning.

Thank you for a lovely morning!